Dave Wannstedt now has a week or so to at least get some of his assistants and recruiters hired before the NCAA imposed “dead period” for contacting recruits expires. This also means that there is plenty of time to wonder and hope that his hiring will immediately catch the fancy of local recruits. At the very least, present Pitt commits seem juiced about the hiring.
There is an air of excitement among Pitt recruits and targeted prospects about Thursday’s hiring of Dave Wannstedt as the Panthers’ new football coach.
Recruits said Wannstedt’s NFL experience — he was head coach of the Miami Dolphins and Chicago Bears and won a Super Bowl ring as an assistant with the Dallas Cowboys — is an attractive quality that should make a recruiting impact.
“He was an NFL guy, so he obviously knows how to run a successful program,” said Burrell offensive tackle John Brown, who in March became the first player from the Class of 2005 to commit to the Panthers. “Kids are going to look at coach Wannstedt as a guy who has been successful in the NFL, has coached some Hall of Famers and should have an idea in their head that, ‘He can do that for me.’ ”
That is what went through the mind of linebacker Steve Dell of Lantana, Fla., who committed to the Panthers the day before Walt Harris accepted the Stanford job. Dell also is considering Florida, Indiana and North Carolina State, but he said Wannstedt’s hiring was a bold move.
“Wow,” Dell said. “That was my first impression. He knows what the NFL wants. He sure has enough contacts in the NFL. That’s very much a plus.”
Further down the article is praise for Paul Rhoads (of course) and Bob Junko, the present associate head coach and guy in charge of recruiting for most of Western PA. Now, what I don’t get is that the criticism of Harris was that he didn’t recruit Western PA very hard, yet there has been nothing but praise in the last week or so for Rhoads and Junko from high schoolers and their coaches. Is everything just being piled on Harris? If so, why hasn’t anyone come out and accuse Harris of ignoring his own staff recommendations? These seem to be some of the unasked questions.
Sorry, got off topic. There are just a lot of things never explained that may remain that way.
Apparently Wanny’s hiring doesn’t just intrigue the recruits. At least one local college coach is hoping for some interest.
Pitt and the Steelers’ coaches are also planning to talk more. It can only help, and enhance interest from recruits to see more and more ties to pro teams.
