One of those guys (maybe both) said publicly they are a package deal. Then Ford commits to Pitt and we hear nothing if the package deal.
Whatever happened to the Hamlin/Ford package deal?
- Thread starter Sean Miller Fan
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yep. it was hamlin who said on his social media account that they were a package deal.
Pitt fans don't have the stomach for these types of recruiting battles or coaching searches. Remember the angst when Chryst left? Two days in and people here were pining for Joe Rudolph.
If you want to play with the big boys you have to fight these long, drawn out recruiting battles. Otherwise go back to the Paul Chryst model and win against Akron, etc for the 2-star talent.
you have to fight these long, drawn out recruiting battles
And you have to be prepared to lose many of them. That's the nature of the beast when you're going after the kids that everyone else wants just as badly.
As for the PC 2-star comment, let's not throw those stones just yet. This looks an awful lot like a Chryst class so far, and that's with what appears to be a lot more energy, focus and effort going into recruiting than what we saw under PC. The program needs to establish some credibility with HS coaches and players, and one 8-4 season isn't going to do that. Right now I think some recruits and their parents/coaches are justifiably concerned about the stability of the head coaching job at Pitt. Talk is cheap, every coach says he's where he always wanted to be. What else would they say? Remember, Chryst was supposed to be here for a long time too. He was "Mr. Stability" at a time when we most needed it. Until he wasn't.
In my mind, Hamlin probably isn't coming to Pitt, and that's OK. I'd say Hudson is a long shot. Matthews is a guy we realistically should get. George Hill is very likely headed to MSU. We have a decent shot at Miller. Matthews and Miller are ballplayers, we'd be doing well to get both of them.
Maybe we'll get lucky and land one of those others.
Name
I agree w/ those of you that prefer Coach Duzz outgoing personality to that of PC's backword disposition. But , like 'ole Slippin Jimmy' , just being a fast talker does not necessarily mean a whole lot. Be careful that you do not get all caught up in fluff over substance. And let's not alter the past to fit a narrative that somehow PC was so awful to Pitt Football.
H2 PITT & JC !!!
Name me all these PC 2 star recruits that have been such dead weight around the throat of Pitt Football. I'll give ya a few 4 Star, Deshayne Rippy & Rushel Shell, that were just a huge waste of time & effort. This class(which I am happy with) looks almost identical to a PC class.
I agree w/ those of you that prefer Coach Duzz outgoing personality to that of PC's backword disposition. But , like 'ole Slippin Jimmy' , just being a fast talker does not necessarily mean a whole lot. Be careful that you do not get all caught up in fluff over substance. And let's not alter the past to fit a narrative that somehow PC was so awful to Pitt Football.
H2 PITT & JC !!!
I have nothing bad to say about PC. I believe he did stabilize the program when it sorely needed stabilization. And I also give him a lot of credit for infusing much needed talent on our O-Line. Clearly, he was not awful to Pitt football.
Having said that, I think it's ridiculously unfair to imply that PN is comparable to Slippin Jimmy, and just a fast talker.
First, PN has led this program to it's best regular season, 8 wins, in his very first season as HC, something PC didn't accomplish in 3 years. I also believe that the current recruiting class is much stronger and more balanced than any of PC's recruiting classes. And I think this current class will get even stronger come February.
Again, I have no ill feelings toward PC, but I think all the on-field and recruiting evidence, thus far, strongly indicates to me that Pitt is far better off with PN at the helm than we were with PC.
What Narduzzi DOES DO for recruiting:
-Got the money to re-do the UPMC complex, looks WAY better
-Upped money for coaches
-Far more aggressive defense. Big play type defense.
-Utilizes social media
Paul Chryst was behind in all these areas. Was Coach Chryst a good coach? Absolutely! He also found good players, but I think him and Narduzzi are both football guys, gym rat types that will live and breath football. I just think Narduzzi is more well-rounded, and I doubt Coach Chryst would argue that.
-Got the money to re-do the UPMC complex, looks WAY better
-Upped money for coaches
-Far more aggressive defense. Big play type defense.
-Utilizes social media
Paul Chryst was behind in all these areas. Was Coach Chryst a good coach? Absolutely! He also found good players, but I think him and Narduzzi are both football guys, gym rat types that will live and breath football. I just think Narduzzi is more well-rounded, and I doubt Coach Chryst would argue that.
I didn't highly respect it.
I saw it for what it was, his taking the easy route and not wanting to battle for kids.
I hoped for the best, but there was definitely a strong push to assimilate to thinking it was something better than what it was.
Let's assume they are still a package deal. Since neither one has said they're not.
Let's assume they are still a package deal. Since neither one has said they're not.
Yeah, I guess we will see when they each sign their LOIs; Hamlin in 2016 and Ford in 2017.
Narduzzi and staff tweet a lot.
That's about the only change thus far in the recruits we are landing .
That's about the only change thus far in the recruits we are landing .
I could give you at least a half dozen names but I don't want to call the kids out.
I think Hudson would be an absolute star in this defense as LB... love watching that kid play and his style is a perfect fit.
This may be the most ridiculous thing I've read on this board.
The second most ridiculous occured earlier in the same thread.
Wow!!!
Nope, just someone who looks at results versus hype.
The recruiting this far is pretty much landing the same kind of kids Pitt usually gets.
And that's okay..: talent has not been our problem for years .
How so??
Are you forgetting we also got the #1 TE, 5 star recruit, in the country from last year as well?
Are you forgetting we also got the #1 TE, 5 star recruit, in the country from last year as well?
We'll see.
With that kids track record, I'm not confident he'll finish his career a panther.
Rivals has undergone "star inflation" over the last 5/10 years. Chryst's 3 stars were mostly G5/low P5 recruits (based on offers) Narduzzi's 3 stars are mostly solid P5 players.
The average Chryst 3 stars chose us over Toledo, Kent, UMass, and Syr. The average Narduzzi 3 star chose us over Syr, RU, UVa, WVU, and NCSU for example.
I'm going to start judging classes by how many stick three years later. stars and rankings are all probably going to be similar no matter who the coach is. what kills us is three quarters of the class leaving two years later. If 2 years from now for 75% of last year's class is still on the roster it is a great improvement
I think.he is a good offensive coordinator that's in over his head as a head coach. Much like wlat in my opinion.
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Agreed - PC took the easy path on recruiting, filling the bulk of the class with kids who they were close to the best offer they could get and they didn't have to fight for them. In this class, Nards has not taken the easy way out, he is going after kids who are good enough that other P5 programs are fighting for them, too.
That is the reason the depth on this team this year was the likes of Weah, Caprara, Poker ...
This right here has to be obvious to anyone that follows the recruiting. IMO, Chryst also reached for kids before he had to. He could have tried to recruit better kids and used some of the others as fall back but he did it the opposite.
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I think he is a super college OC.
I don't think he is in over his head, so to speak as a HC at the college level. He was underwhelming at Pitt, but they muddled along at .500, and left things in decent enough shape that Nards could get 8 wins going into the bowl game this year. So, it wasn't like the wheels came off.
I do think he has a ceiling as a head coach, because for the game today he is low energy.
That was more problematic at Pitt, because there is not the institutional energy to make up for his lack of energy. And, frankly, his heart was not in it, he was sort of just doing through the motions.
Wisky is the best case scenario, his heart is in it more, and there is the institutional energy to make up for his lack of energy. So. while he muddled to 6 wins a year at Pitt, he can probably clock 8-9 wins a year at Wisky.
But, again, I don't know that he is alpha enough to get them to where they fancy themselves.
That is exactly what he did - he mostly filled the class out early in the process, offering the best kids that would commit after they were at the camps, then held out for the last few for a bigger fish like Boyd or Whitehead ...
Lewis, Baker, Edwards, Green, Harper, Howard, Poker, Weah, Taleni, Soto, Roy and Trahan for openers.
Right on the money!
You can't judge a class until the class is 3 yrs old.
How many are still playing for PITT
How has that group performed and how has the PITT team performed
How many two or three stars exceeded expectations and earned ACC honors or became NFL material
How many four and five stars lived up to expectations, weren't busts and moved on to the NFL
etc
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These are examples of why offers matter. If you land a G5/low P5 recruit, 4 times out of 5, that's what you get. On rare occasions, you get a Dion Lewis and everyone says stars dont matter.
I hate to admit you are right, but you are. Our class so far is nothing special. Hope it picks up at the end and next year see better results
Lewis, Donald, Conner, Street + others I don't have the list so it kinda works itself out over time. Wasn't one of our lineman that recently went to the NFL a 2 or 3 star? How about the list of 4 star busts lots of them too!
A lot of recruit performance is dependent on how proficient the coaching staff is and how they relate and communicate with players.
HCNarduzzi seems to have good communication and player development skills and makes that a priority for his staff.
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Well, I will say this, when Chryst, and I think most coaches do this... see someone that stands out during the camps they will offer them. If the kid has zero offers and zero tape, then they will hold out to see that kid in action during the season.
So, occasionally, you will get a one star, no star, 2 star kid that the coaches liked from camps and will sign with Pitt. Obviously, this is not a bad thing. To our eyes down the road, it appears we have a subpar class or whatever (not this year, this year has been solid), but in reality, the coaches like some of these under the radar guys way back when and offer a ship then for whatever reason other schools do not and they stay low ranked. As you start commanding better talent, obviously this kinda thing wanes and you may only offer a few flyers to kids that just are above and beyond during camps and that is all.
So, occasionally, you will get a one star, no star, 2 star kid that the coaches liked from camps and will sign with Pitt. Obviously, this is not a bad thing. To our eyes down the road, it appears we have a subpar class or whatever (not this year, this year has been solid), but in reality, the coaches like some of these under the radar guys way back when and offer a ship then for whatever reason other schools do not and they stay low ranked. As you start commanding better talent, obviously this kinda thing wanes and you may only offer a few flyers to kids that just are above and beyond during camps and that is all.
One of the things that Michigan State did so well was overachieve with 3 star recruits. A lot of Michigan State fans told us to not get hung up on stars. Narduzzi seems to have an eye for talent.
Gary, I was just pushing buttons of some people that go overboard w/ their double standards. When PC got hired people said they liked his soft spoken tone as being a doer not a talker like Todd Graham. Then all of a sudden when they decide PC did not win to their expectations all of a sudden he is a buffoon.
Of course I do not compare Coach Duzz to Franklin but one cannot deny that they both are outgoing personalities. Point is not to attack someone based on personality traits as being a character flaw when not a year previous that was exactly what you luved about the person.
Chris Peak has said time & again that away from the TV camera PC was a very approachable, fun, quick witted yet for some reason he freezes up under the light of a TV camera & goes blank. In any case Pitt made progress under his brief time at Pitt.
And for anyone to pass judgement on a kid's career after his Soph. year is unfair at best & wrong on so many levels at worst.
After all whose kid's(for the overwhelming majority outside of a few stragglers that Coach Duzz got in late Jan.) just went 8-4.
I'm not even a huge PC fan outside of just being so offended when people flat out re-write history to fit their need to hate over a coach leaving to take his dream job.
It's 1 thing to be happy that he is gone because we ended up in a much better position. I will even go along w/ that because I believe Coach Duzz just has a better handle on what he envisions for Pitt Football. But I also believe Coach Duzz does not even consider Pitt if PC had not changed what he did in his brief 3 years here. Because of what PC did Coach Duzz was able to come in a take off from the get-go.
Taking cheap shots when the guy has nothing to do w/ us any longer is just lame, get over it. Especially when you have to make up shit about the guy's time here to justify your need to hate.
H2 PITT & JC !!!
H2 PITT & JC !!!
Chryst really only had 2 full classes and 2 partial classes. The 2012 class he inherited from Graham was small (about 16 guys), and 8 of those guys did not hang around very long. The 2013 class was big (about 26 guys) and the retention rate was improved.
The 2014 class caused a lot of hang wringing and moaning from pitt fans because of the quantity of low ranked players and high profile misses (montae nicholson, dravon henry). Oddly enough, the lightly recruited guys that created the most whining from pitt fans have seen a decent amount of playing time-Dennis Briggs, Rori Blair, and Quitin Wriginis.
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