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From the Desk of Jim Snyder
Hurricanes and transfers
I was scheduled to leave Thursday morning for Tampa, Florida. I had planned to spend sometime on the beach the next few days and to wonder over to the University of South Florida campus. I had hoped to give you a report from Florida. Unfortunately Hurricane Frances changed all of that and early Thursday morning I did an about face. The prospect of sitting in a hotel for a few days not knowing if the game on Monday would be played started to sound less than appetizing. As a result we will make this an abbreviated War Room today.
Let me make a comment or two of Luke Getsy and Andy Alleman after talking to a couple of “birdies”. Both of these players are good kids from good families. Pitt needs more players like Andy and Luke if they are two move the program to a higher level. Both players have somewhat unique stories although both have found themselves in a similar circumstance. Both players wanted to transfer to Akron or another Mid-American school. The Pitt staff has tried to make it very difficult for them to transfer apparently hoping they will change their minds if they make the process difficult. One story in the paper indicated Pitt “might” play Akron if the NCAA approves a 12 game schedule. I am not sure exactly when the football staff started to fear the Zips but I have the feeling it came right after two players wanted to transfer and they thought they might back them down.
Andy Alleman should have been redshirted as a freshman but the staff blew a year of eligibility over a few plays. A similar thing happened to Jawan Walker. Quite frankly Andy is a leader by example off the field. He is a workout fanatic. He has been treated not always fairly during his stay at Pitt. He suffered an ankle injury during the fall camp, which hampered his progress. He was again faced with the prospect of burning a third year of eligibility without seeing much playing time.
Luke faced the prospect of playing behind Tyler Palko for three years. Coaches and players often differ in their options as to who the starter should be. From the day Pitt took two quarterbacks in the same year the possibility of one of them becoming very unhappy was a real possibility. The fact the competition was close was bound to cause problems. Luke also was a player that worked hard watching films and doing the preparation work any coach would love to see.
As I write this I am not sure where Andy and Luke will attend school going forward. I wish them both the best. Any program that ends up with either of these two will be better off because they are there.
A little hoops talk
We spoke yesterday to forward John Garcia. You will recall that John has visited Pitt, UConn, St John’s and Seton Hall. He was scheduled to Villanova this past week but was unable to make the trip because of the death of one of his grandparents. John indicated that he now plans to visit Villanova next week. We will check back with him after his visit.
Note to Pantherlair.com Fans: The staff at Pantherlair.com works diligently to bring you the best information on University of Pittsburgh football and basketball recruiting (in addition to game coverage). Thousands of Panther fans visit our site on a daily basis. We have received a tremendous amount of e-mail thanking us for our efforts. If you like our site, please feel free to tell other fans about it. “Spread the word” and let’s add to our online family of Panther fans.
From the Desk of Jim Snyder
Hurricanes and transfers
I was scheduled to leave Thursday morning for Tampa, Florida. I had planned to spend sometime on the beach the next few days and to wonder over to the University of South Florida campus. I had hoped to give you a report from Florida. Unfortunately Hurricane Frances changed all of that and early Thursday morning I did an about face. The prospect of sitting in a hotel for a few days not knowing if the game on Monday would be played started to sound less than appetizing. As a result we will make this an abbreviated War Room today.
Let me make a comment or two of Luke Getsy and Andy Alleman after talking to a couple of “birdies”. Both of these players are good kids from good families. Pitt needs more players like Andy and Luke if they are two move the program to a higher level. Both players have somewhat unique stories although both have found themselves in a similar circumstance. Both players wanted to transfer to Akron or another Mid-American school. The Pitt staff has tried to make it very difficult for them to transfer apparently hoping they will change their minds if they make the process difficult. One story in the paper indicated Pitt “might” play Akron if the NCAA approves a 12 game schedule. I am not sure exactly when the football staff started to fear the Zips but I have the feeling it came right after two players wanted to transfer and they thought they might back them down.
Andy Alleman should have been redshirted as a freshman but the staff blew a year of eligibility over a few plays. A similar thing happened to Jawan Walker. Quite frankly Andy is a leader by example off the field. He is a workout fanatic. He has been treated not always fairly during his stay at Pitt. He suffered an ankle injury during the fall camp, which hampered his progress. He was again faced with the prospect of burning a third year of eligibility without seeing much playing time.
Luke faced the prospect of playing behind Tyler Palko for three years. Coaches and players often differ in their options as to who the starter should be. From the day Pitt took two quarterbacks in the same year the possibility of one of them becoming very unhappy was a real possibility. The fact the competition was close was bound to cause problems. Luke also was a player that worked hard watching films and doing the preparation work any coach would love to see.
As I write this I am not sure where Andy and Luke will attend school going forward. I wish them both the best. Any program that ends up with either of these two will be better off because they are there.
A little hoops talk
We spoke yesterday to forward John Garcia. You will recall that John has visited Pitt, UConn, St John’s and Seton Hall. He was scheduled to Villanova this past week but was unable to make the trip because of the death of one of his grandparents. John indicated that he now plans to visit Villanova next week. We will check back with him after his visit.
Note to Pantherlair.com Fans: The staff at Pantherlair.com works diligently to bring you the best information on University of Pittsburgh football and basketball recruiting (in addition to game coverage). Thousands of Panther fans visit our site on a daily basis. We have received a tremendous amount of e-mail thanking us for our efforts. If you like our site, please feel free to tell other fans about it. “Spread the word” and let’s add to our online family of Panther fans.
