From the Desk of Jim Snyder
Rivals.com network is still being rebuilt
I guess you could say that phase one of Rivals.com network conversion has been completed. They have beefed up their technical staff and will now moving to other phases. Some of these involve enhancements which I would say might be for high-end computer users. Many of these new features should be fun and are designed to get users more involved. For competitive reasons I would prefer not to go into details but they are determined to keep pushing the envelop to develop a better product for their subscribers. They are investing a lot of money in this project.
Thread view or topic view
If you want to set yourself up for Topic viewing you must go to User Options in the area on the upper leftin gold. There is a pull down option. Select Topic. Remember if you wish to change your view permanently go to the upper left under User Options. There are a number of other things you can do under User Options but let’s keep it simple for the time being until we get users set up with this function.
Videos worth watching
Earlier this week we featured some terrific video from the Woodland Hills-Central Catholic game. It not only showed the highlights but captured the atmosphere of the Wolverina. If you missed it please check it out. Near the beginning of the video safety Rontez Miles put a big hit on a Central player. Miles has an offer from Pitt. See All the Way to Friday on the Home Page.
We also had highlights of Pitt’s game with The Citadel. Because the game was on ESPN 360 you may have missed it. If so please check it out. There were a lot of big plays by Pitt. It is starting to look like we may have highlights of every game.
Games to watch in the Big East
Rutgers is unbeaten at 4-0 and is ranked No. 23 in the country. They travel to Florida tonight to take on South Florida (3-1). The game is on ESPN2 @ 8:00PM EST. Should Rutgers beat USF and Navy they could come to Pittsburgh in a few weeks ranked in the Top 20 in the country.
Navy (3-1) gets a bid to the bowl in Charlotte this year if they are bowl eligible. The Midshipmen have won some close games if you discount the blowout win over Walt Harris and his Stanford team. Navy travels to UConn (2-1) this week in a Noon game on Saturday. It will be carried on the MSG network. Navy then travels to Air Force and has Rutgers at home. The Midshipmen have an easy three game stretch late in the season so it’s best that the Big East teams knock them off or they will grab a bowl berth away from the conference.
Willie Thrower
I watched the Valley-Shady Side game last night to get another look at Toney Clemons. Valley High School honored Willie Thrower by unveiling a statue of him. Thrower once led New Kensington to two WPIAL championships. He then became the first African-American quarterback in the Big Ten while leading Michigan State to a national championship. Throw played briefly with the Chicago Bear becoming the first African-American quarterback in the NFL. A very nice tribute from Valley High School. Good job!
Basketball recruiting summary
Pitt still has two scholarships to give for the Class of 2007. This weekend Coach Dixon and his staff are scheduled to host Ayodele Coker (6’ 10”) from South Kent Prep. This is the same school that sent Pitt freshman Gilbert Brown (6’6”). Coker has tentative visits set with Indiana, Notre Dame and St. John’s so it might be asking a lot to land a commitment this weekend. There is also a report he might visit Kentucky but they landed a 7-footer by the name of Mike Williams yesterday. I am not sure if that will impact Coker’s recruitment. I do like the fact that Gilbert Brown is already at Pitt. Coker can ask questions of someone he already knows.
Yesterday we had video of Ayodele Coker in action. I liked what I saw. It would be great if they could land the big man. If you missed the video go to Latest News on the Pantherlair Home Page. In addtion Bradley Wanamaker, who has already committed, will make his official visit this weekend.
If Pitt lands another big man to go along Gary McGhee (6’ 10) they might be in a position to wait for the late signing period. Herb Pope and DeJuan Blair both apparently have work to do in the classroom and could wait till next spring. It might not be a bad idea to be patient and recruit them if you have four players in hand.
Pitt is still in the hunt for four-star guard Chris Wright (6’ 1”) along with Georgetown and North Carolina State. On the surface he does not fill a short-term need. He is, however, a very good prospect and a good student so it might be a very good long-term addition. He and his father have refused interviews but you have to think he will make a decision before the early signing period which occurs in November.
Football recruiting summary
Coffeyville Community College has a bye-week this weekend. Defensive lineman Tommie Duhart will take advantage and make his official visit this weekend. Pitt has a good chance of getting a verbal commitment this weekend. I would be a little disappointed if he did not commit. Duhart will be a May graduate with three years of eligibility remaining.
We spoke to Mr. Mabin this week and he assured me his son, Jordan Mabin, would be in Pittsburgh this weekend for his official visit. This is down to Pitt and Northwestern and it could go either way.
Aliquippa linebacker Brandon Lindsey told Bill Kurelic this week that he expects to be at the Pitt-Toledo game this weekend. This would be another unofficial visit. Aliquippa kids seldom commit early. Pitt has not landed a linebacker yet and they have three graduating. Landing Lindsey will be a high priority. Note: It is possible TJ’s Dom DeCicco could grow into an outside linebacker.
Yesterday we reported on linebacker Ronnie Thornton from Miami Killian who is anxious to come to Pittsburgh for a visit.
Today we will have an article on Tyson Butler from Fort Myers, Florida. He too is anxious to come to Pittsburgh. Sometimes you have to wait until the staff actually schedules these Florida players to be sure where you stand with them.
There was a post on the Between Fifth & Forbes board yesterday suggesting that Coach Wannstedt talked about Pitt being close to having four verbal commitments on the radio earlier this week. As far as we can tell there are no verbals from the Class of 2008 yet but he could have been referring to tight end Mike Cruz from Bishop McCort or tight end Mic DeLillo from Madison, Ohio. Both of these tight ends camped at Pitt this past summer and have offers. He also could have been referring to Thomas Jefferson’s offensive tackle Nate Nix, Aliquippa’s Jonathan Baldwin or Johnstown’s Antwuan Reed. All are five are Pitt leans at this point. Incidentally we hear that Antwuan Reed is fairly close to LaRod Stephens-Howling and that certainly helps the Pitt cause.
To red shirt or not to redshirt
Chris Peak reported that Coach Wannstedt suggested that he might be ready to burn the redshirts of Dorin Dickerson and Jason Pinkston and perhaps Nate Nix too. As a general rule you hate breaking a redshirt year if they are not on the two-deep chart but there are egos involved. The flip side is also true. Andy Alleman left Pitt when he was only used for a few plays. He now plays offensive guard for the University of Akron and some scouts feel he is a candidate to be drafted by the NFL. Alleman left because he was not redshirted. Do you think Dickerson, Pinkston and Nix should play this year even if it only on special teams?
The War Room is targeted towards our premium customers. We ask that all information reported in the War Room MUST stay right here! That’s the way this deal works. When this information is repeated outside of the Between Fifth and Forbes forum it only cheapens the price of yours and every other die-hard who have purchased premium services. The War Room is one of our more popular features...thank you all for keeping the information on this board.
This post was edited on 9/29 8:07 AM by Jim Pantherlairif(GetAdminCookie() != 0) {document.write(' (Revisions[/URL])');}
Rivals.com network is still being rebuilt
I guess you could say that phase one of Rivals.com network conversion has been completed. They have beefed up their technical staff and will now moving to other phases. Some of these involve enhancements which I would say might be for high-end computer users. Many of these new features should be fun and are designed to get users more involved. For competitive reasons I would prefer not to go into details but they are determined to keep pushing the envelop to develop a better product for their subscribers. They are investing a lot of money in this project.
Thread view or topic view
If you want to set yourself up for Topic viewing you must go to User Options in the area on the upper leftin gold. There is a pull down option. Select Topic. Remember if you wish to change your view permanently go to the upper left under User Options. There are a number of other things you can do under User Options but let’s keep it simple for the time being until we get users set up with this function.
Videos worth watching
Earlier this week we featured some terrific video from the Woodland Hills-Central Catholic game. It not only showed the highlights but captured the atmosphere of the Wolverina. If you missed it please check it out. Near the beginning of the video safety Rontez Miles put a big hit on a Central player. Miles has an offer from Pitt. See All the Way to Friday on the Home Page.
We also had highlights of Pitt’s game with The Citadel. Because the game was on ESPN 360 you may have missed it. If so please check it out. There were a lot of big plays by Pitt. It is starting to look like we may have highlights of every game.
Games to watch in the Big East
Rutgers is unbeaten at 4-0 and is ranked No. 23 in the country. They travel to Florida tonight to take on South Florida (3-1). The game is on ESPN2 @ 8:00PM EST. Should Rutgers beat USF and Navy they could come to Pittsburgh in a few weeks ranked in the Top 20 in the country.
Navy (3-1) gets a bid to the bowl in Charlotte this year if they are bowl eligible. The Midshipmen have won some close games if you discount the blowout win over Walt Harris and his Stanford team. Navy travels to UConn (2-1) this week in a Noon game on Saturday. It will be carried on the MSG network. Navy then travels to Air Force and has Rutgers at home. The Midshipmen have an easy three game stretch late in the season so it’s best that the Big East teams knock them off or they will grab a bowl berth away from the conference.
Willie Thrower
I watched the Valley-Shady Side game last night to get another look at Toney Clemons. Valley High School honored Willie Thrower by unveiling a statue of him. Thrower once led New Kensington to two WPIAL championships. He then became the first African-American quarterback in the Big Ten while leading Michigan State to a national championship. Throw played briefly with the Chicago Bear becoming the first African-American quarterback in the NFL. A very nice tribute from Valley High School. Good job!
Basketball recruiting summary
Pitt still has two scholarships to give for the Class of 2007. This weekend Coach Dixon and his staff are scheduled to host Ayodele Coker (6’ 10”) from South Kent Prep. This is the same school that sent Pitt freshman Gilbert Brown (6’6”). Coker has tentative visits set with Indiana, Notre Dame and St. John’s so it might be asking a lot to land a commitment this weekend. There is also a report he might visit Kentucky but they landed a 7-footer by the name of Mike Williams yesterday. I am not sure if that will impact Coker’s recruitment. I do like the fact that Gilbert Brown is already at Pitt. Coker can ask questions of someone he already knows.
Yesterday we had video of Ayodele Coker in action. I liked what I saw. It would be great if they could land the big man. If you missed the video go to Latest News on the Pantherlair Home Page. In addtion Bradley Wanamaker, who has already committed, will make his official visit this weekend.
If Pitt lands another big man to go along Gary McGhee (6’ 10) they might be in a position to wait for the late signing period. Herb Pope and DeJuan Blair both apparently have work to do in the classroom and could wait till next spring. It might not be a bad idea to be patient and recruit them if you have four players in hand.
Pitt is still in the hunt for four-star guard Chris Wright (6’ 1”) along with Georgetown and North Carolina State. On the surface he does not fill a short-term need. He is, however, a very good prospect and a good student so it might be a very good long-term addition. He and his father have refused interviews but you have to think he will make a decision before the early signing period which occurs in November.
Football recruiting summary
Coffeyville Community College has a bye-week this weekend. Defensive lineman Tommie Duhart will take advantage and make his official visit this weekend. Pitt has a good chance of getting a verbal commitment this weekend. I would be a little disappointed if he did not commit. Duhart will be a May graduate with three years of eligibility remaining.
We spoke to Mr. Mabin this week and he assured me his son, Jordan Mabin, would be in Pittsburgh this weekend for his official visit. This is down to Pitt and Northwestern and it could go either way.
Aliquippa linebacker Brandon Lindsey told Bill Kurelic this week that he expects to be at the Pitt-Toledo game this weekend. This would be another unofficial visit. Aliquippa kids seldom commit early. Pitt has not landed a linebacker yet and they have three graduating. Landing Lindsey will be a high priority. Note: It is possible TJ’s Dom DeCicco could grow into an outside linebacker.
Yesterday we reported on linebacker Ronnie Thornton from Miami Killian who is anxious to come to Pittsburgh for a visit.
Today we will have an article on Tyson Butler from Fort Myers, Florida. He too is anxious to come to Pittsburgh. Sometimes you have to wait until the staff actually schedules these Florida players to be sure where you stand with them.
There was a post on the Between Fifth & Forbes board yesterday suggesting that Coach Wannstedt talked about Pitt being close to having four verbal commitments on the radio earlier this week. As far as we can tell there are no verbals from the Class of 2008 yet but he could have been referring to tight end Mike Cruz from Bishop McCort or tight end Mic DeLillo from Madison, Ohio. Both of these tight ends camped at Pitt this past summer and have offers. He also could have been referring to Thomas Jefferson’s offensive tackle Nate Nix, Aliquippa’s Jonathan Baldwin or Johnstown’s Antwuan Reed. All are five are Pitt leans at this point. Incidentally we hear that Antwuan Reed is fairly close to LaRod Stephens-Howling and that certainly helps the Pitt cause.
To red shirt or not to redshirt
Chris Peak reported that Coach Wannstedt suggested that he might be ready to burn the redshirts of Dorin Dickerson and Jason Pinkston and perhaps Nate Nix too. As a general rule you hate breaking a redshirt year if they are not on the two-deep chart but there are egos involved. The flip side is also true. Andy Alleman left Pitt when he was only used for a few plays. He now plays offensive guard for the University of Akron and some scouts feel he is a candidate to be drafted by the NFL. Alleman left because he was not redshirted. Do you think Dickerson, Pinkston and Nix should play this year even if it only on special teams?
The War Room is targeted towards our premium customers. We ask that all information reported in the War Room MUST stay right here! That’s the way this deal works. When this information is repeated outside of the Between Fifth and Forbes forum it only cheapens the price of yours and every other die-hard who have purchased premium services. The War Room is one of our more popular features...thank you all for keeping the information on this board.
This post was edited on 9/29 8:07 AM by Jim Pantherlairif(GetAdminCookie() != 0) {document.write(' (Revisions[/URL])');}
