Before I get in any more trouble with the wife. Need to get moving to travel to the in-laws (You know, this wouldn’t have been an issue if you had listened to your grandfather and married a nice Jewish girl. Most of his kids didn’t listen to him, why should I?) today.

The Trib. didn’t have the stories out right away last night, but now they have tons. So quick-hitter style:

Overall summary/report on the press conference.

AD Jeff Long gets his man.

Wanndstedt as the Baldwin boy.

Wanny looking forward to recruiting.

Tyler Palko accepts the new coach.

Have a good Christmas. Posting will, obviously, be light for the next few days, but I’m sure I’ll find some time to post.

It definitely wasn’t one of Pitt’s best efforts on the court. Freshman, Keith Benjamin, wanted to make this game his “coming-out party,” but it was all Carl Krauser. And it needed to be. The Richmond Spiders played a tough game against Pitt. They were physically overmatched but they still collapsed inside and took the pounding. Two of their guys fouled out banging so much against bigger stronger Pitt players, but they did their jobs.

Pitt had trouble with the Spider defense, turning the ball over 18 times. Very careless with the ball.

Chevy Troutman had a horrible games with only 8 points on 2-8 shooting, 4 turnovers, 0 blocks, and had Len Elmore jinx him by saying he had become an “outstanding” free throw shooter so that he was only 4-7 at the line. The only positive for Troutman was that he still had 10 rebounds (7 offensive) so he was still mucking.

Taft had a decent game with 11 points on 4-8 shooting, 3-4 from the free throw line, 8 rebounds and 3 blocks. He seemed frustrated with the collapsing defense, but kept himself in check.

Demetrius played 36 minutes but only shot 3 times. He was out there scrapping on defense and helping pass the ball.

Ramon played 35 minutes, and put defense first. He still scored 10 points, but he seemed to understand that playing defense keeps you out on the court.

Richmond just did a great job of keeping the ball from getting inside to Taft and Troutman.

About 4 minutes into the second half, Richmond down by 3 and Pitt unable to get the ball inside, and turning it over a lot because of the zone pressure. I started thinking about the Syracuse game last February. And as if on cue, the ESPN2 crew started talking about that game — though, only in terms of the one time Pitt has lost at the Pete, not in terms of similarity of defensive schemes.

Still Pitt was just too talented, and Richmond wasn’t able to keep shooting at around 50% like it did in the first half. If Pitt could have made its free throws (16-28) the game wouldn’t have gotten tight in the last 4 minutes.

The bench was mixed. Aaron Gray is going to keep earning more minutes. He only played 10 minutes but took good shots inside and decent defense.

Mark McCarroll’s bad start continued. He just had no shot last night 1-6 shooting and 0-4 at the charity stripe. He was, though, working much harder on defense. He had 5 rebounds and a block.

I don’t know if Benjamin’s declarations about showing his skills rubbed Coach Jamie Dixon and the rest of the staff the wrong way, but Benjamin was only on the court for 8 minutes. He seemed mostly a non-factor.

DeGroat did not play.

The game, though, was Krauser’s. He was just on his game. A career high 31 points on 9-18 shooting (6-8 on 3s). He played all 40 minutes and was just energy out there. This was what Pitt needed to win the game. He was hot, and with Richmond continually collapsing inside, Pitt needed to make the outside shots. Richmond had speed to close the gap so Ramon and Demetrius either took contested shots or didn’t feel comfortable and passed on shots. Krauser was the only outside threat who could get the ball off quickly against Richmond.

Other notes and thoughts. Hated those Richmond unis. The style reminded me of the mid-90s Atlanta Hawks jerseys with white on the shoulders instead of yellow.

Ray Fittipaldo, the P-G Pitt basketball beat writer has his Q&A up, with the usual question about Demetrius and his take on the reported interest USC had in Jamie Dixon.

The dance team looked good.

Reasoned, rational analysis probably won’t happen for at least a week or so. Maybe sometime after the Fiesta Bowl I’ll take some time to really look at what Wannstedt brings to Pitt in terms of coaching, recruiting, raising the school’s profile, and dumb moustache jokes. Right now, I’m just enjoying the giddyness.

Wanny and the school didn’t let me down. Dave showed up during the game — nearly halfway through the 1st half (about 11 minutes left) until about the 7 minute mark. Nearly 10 minutes of real time. During the interview, they cut to a shot of Elmore, Wannstedt and Picozzi, with Pitt students in the background. You could hear chants of “Wann-stedt! Wann-stedt!” He just had to be loving it. Wannstedt actually said that Coach Harris did do a great job at Pitt. Seemed a little conflicted about the Pete. He commented that it was his first time in it, but he did used to play here since it was built on what was Pitt Stadium.

His hiring made the sports pundit shows on ESPN. Overwhelming response was that he would do quite well in the job. We all hope so.

Here are some of the stories: the New York Times piece isn’t that good. Great quote from Wannstedt in this piece from Florida:

“I plan on this being my last coaching job,” Wannstedt said at his introductory news conference. “I’ve been removed from college football for 15 years, but I promise you there hasn’t been a Saturday where I was removed from the University of Pittsburgh when I did not check a score or watch on TV or call a friend to see who won the game.”
…
“The toughest thing is not going to be recruiting,” Wannstedt said. “With free agency in the NFL, you are recruiting. The challenge is going to be assembling a coaching staff.

“That needs to be done at a relatively fast pace.”

Apparently some of the present Pitt coaching staff will be at least attempted to be kept. This includes defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads. Paul Rhoads will at least listen.

Wannstedt met with many people today, including Walt Harris, Bill Cowher and Dan Rooney

Wannstedt met with Harris for a half-hour and also had an extended session with Harris’ assistant coaches that delayed his introductory news conference by 40 minutes. He also had a surprise visit from Steelers owner Dan Rooney and coach Bill Cowher, and Wannstedt and Cowher agreed their staffs should occasionally get together and exchange ideas.

There was some irony there – Wannstedt and Cowher were the finalists for the Steelers’ job in 1992.

“Now, I’m in the same building,” Wannstedt said of the practice complex the Steelers and Pitt share.

Wannstedt plans to keep some of Harris’ staff and wants to retain Rhoads, though the two must talk to see if their defensive philosophies are alike. Wannstedt said his top priority will be hiring an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach since his background is in defense.

Wannstedt also promised not to tinker with productive sophomore quarterback Tyler Palko’s game.

“I went through six quarterbacks in six years with the Bears,” Wannstedt said, looking at Palko sitting a few feet away. “I’ve had all the QB issues I need. I want to talk offensive line.”

Glad he is recognizing his limits.

Palko was already playing the good soldier. The kid comes off as so mature. I’m impressed. You know how much he wanted to have Harris stay, yet there he was putting on the positive face backing the new coach. Impressive.

Local columnists seemed to have been caught up in his energy, at least for today.

This is why, if you’re Pitt, you hire a Pitt guy.

A guy who speaks with passion, as well as with more than a hint of a western Pennsylvania accent.

A guy who speaks of running the ball, of playing defense, of winning the national championship.

Dave Wannstedt mentioned that about six times in his first five minutes at the podium as the head coach of his alma mater, the University of Pittsburgh.

Displayed to the left of the podium was a blown-up photo of Wannstedt as Pitt’s 1973 captain. It said “Pitt” on the wall of old Pitt Stadium in the background.

It still said “Pittsburgh” on the placard in front of the podium, but that’s another problem for another day.

The football problem is solved.

Wannstedt blew in like a breath of fresh air on Thursday afternoon. He started talking before he even entered the meeting room of the Panthers’ South Side lair, acknowledging photographers — “Hi, how ya doin’?” — that were clicking off pictures in the hallway as if a new pope had been anointed rather than a new coach.

I also appreciated the dig at “Pittsburgh” rather than “Pitt.”

Even the usually cynical and mostly sarcastic Gene Collier seemed to have been taken in by Wanny.

The fact is, Wannstedt remains a tremendously impressive presence, and that will be easily evident even to the most self-absorbed 18-year-old. He can flash the Super Bowl ring he won as a Dallas assistant, when his defense forced nine turnovers in a 52-17 blasting of the Buffalo Bills. Or maybe the national championship ring he won at the University of Miami, where the 1987 Hurricanes went 12-0.

If that fails, he can be himself, the regular Pittsburgh nice guy coach Majors so easily remembered yesterday.

“I remember when he’d get back to town, we’d meet with his buddies over at the firehouse in Baldwin,” Majors said. “He’s a very loyal guy. He’d have his high school coach there, former teammates, myself, Steve Petro, Alex Kramer. We’d have some snacks, you know?”

Yeah, I know. They’d talk Pitt football, and it was fun. Wannstedt said he was adamant about making it consistently fun again, and he was very believable.

More in the morning. I need some sleep. It’s been a long day.

It’s official. Press release from Pitt:

More than three decades after captaining the Panthers’ 1973 Fiesta Bowl team, Wannstedt was named the new head football coach at the University of Pittsburgh today by Athletic Director Jeff Long.

A rugged offensive tackle for the Panthers from 1970-73, Wannstedt returns to his alma mater with 30 years of coaching experience on the collegiate level and in the National Football League. His career has produced three championship rings, including a Super Bowl title and two national collegiate championships.

“The first time I met Dave Wannstedt, I was immediately struck by his pride and passion for the University of Pittsburgh,” Long said. “Although Dave’s long and successful coaching career has taken him many different places, his love for Pitt has remained. He not only understands our tradition but has also helped build it.”

“This opportunity is something I have dreamed about since my early coaching days at Pitt,” said Wannstedt, who is a native of Baldwin, Pa. “I am excited about rejoining the Pitt family and making a positive contribution and difference with the football team, the University and community.”

Wannstedt is the 34th head football coach in Pittsburgh history and becomes the ninth graduate of Pitt to lead the Panthers’ football program.

Read the rest for a narrative of his resume. You should click it, just to see a photo of him from 1973. Here’s the AP wire story.

I’m telling you, Wannstedt has to show up at the b-ball game tonight. Too good an opportunity to miss. You would think a coach reviled in Miami and Chicago wouldn’t miss an opportunity to bask in some pure love. Especially one that would be nationally televised.

Whoo-Hoo!!!

Hat tip to Rob. Dave Wannstedt has accepted the job as the next head coach of Pitt!

The coach told ESPN’s Chris Mortenson that he had reconsidered after originially withdrawing his name from consideration last week and would return to his alma mater. A news conference is expected at 3 p.m.

“Yeah, I’m going to do it,” Wannstedt said. “The more I thought about it and talked it over with Jan [his wife], I realized that this was the right job for me at this stage of my career. Jan said, ‘Who are you fooling about doing TV? You’re a coach. Let’s go home.’ “

Naturally Pitt has nothing on its website yet. Relief and happiness right now. I still may have questions about Wanny, but the fact is that he got the school to pony up the money to show how serious they were — for him and almost as important, the assistant coaches. And of course, Paul Rhoads will not be the next head coach.

Hail to Pitt! And Hail to Lee and I keeping our season tickets!

7 PM on ESPN2, and barely on the radar it seems. The Pitt Athletic Department has just put out the game notes (PDF). The ESPN2 broadcasting crew will be Bob Picozzi and Len Elmore.

Richmond has been unpredictable. Wins against Seton Hall, USF and UAB and losses to Wake and Virginia Commonwealth. Last year Richmond upset Kansas, Xavier and Stanford — all on the road.

Freshman Keith Benjamin, is talking about making this game his “coming-out party” (not that there’s anything wrong with that).

Carl Krauser appeared on I, Max recently. You can see video from this page (you will need to use IE 5.0 or higher and Windows Media Player). This might be a direct link to the video. His explaination for picking Beyonce over Jenny from the Bronx is excellent.

Idle thought while waiting to hear if Dave Wannstedt will be announced as the next head football coach for Pitt today. Assuming it goes down today, can you imagine the reaction he would get at the Pete, if introduced during the Richmond-Pitt game tonight. On ESPN2? Could Pitt possibly blow that kind of opportunity and national exposure? It would be perfect. He’d probably sit in with the play-callers for the game for a few minutes to talk. You want to talk about the chance for helping to raise the profile of the program in one day?

Details are still sketchy. Reports are vague. Paul Rhoads has reportedly strangled the family cat (okay, I made that last one up).

Not that it appears to matter now, but here, you can read Brian Billick trying to pimp Matt Cavanaugh during a conference call with Steeler beat writers.

If Dave Wannstedt is actually named head coach (hey, he could change his mind again) tomorrow, he immediately succeeds in one area. Forcing Pitt to start paying like it is actually serious about being a real player in contending for a national championship. And I’m not just talking about the head coaching salary.

One of the other sticking points last week according to a source was that the university was reluctant to meet Wannstedt’s demands for salaries for his assistant coaches. He reportedly had asked for no assistant to be paid less than $100,000, and he wanted between $250,000-$300,000 for his coordinators.

The majority of the current staff makes less than $100,000 — with a low of about $65,000 — with the exception of defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads, who got a significant raise following the 2002 season because he nearly took a similar job at Auburn. He makes approximately $250,000 a year.

Over the years, retaining staff has been an issue because the university has not paid the assistant coaches the equivalent of many other Bowl Championship Series conference schools.

University officials, however, reportedly upped the ante in order to remain competitive within the Big East. Louisville signed its head coach, Bobby Petrino, to a $1 million-per-year contract this week and Memphis coach Tommy West just got an extension worth $800,000 a year. Wannstedt reportedly had asked for about $800,000 per year, which is a slight increase from Harris’s package, which is about $650,000.

Wow. I knew Pitt assistants were underpaid but that’s ridiculous. Even the fiercest Walt Harris hater has to admit that Pitt was getting more than what it paid for with respect to how the team managed to recruit and coach.

It’s been the dirty story, that comes up on the Pitt message boards and the beat writers have alluded to it, but I’ve never actually seen the numbers until now. That’s pathetic. No wonder Harris wore all the hats on offense. Who could he afford to hire who could actually implement and run the offense he likes?

Hail to Pitt signing Wanny!

If you were actually watching the GMAC Bowl the entire way through, it would appear that ESPN broke into the game to report Wannstedt will take the Pitt job. More to come.

Okay, I just have to get something out real fast about Wannstedt reconsidering.

Lee actually called me up for this (and something else that he might actually post), since he saw the report on Fox Sports Pittsburgh, and since I live in the Cleveland area, I don’t usually see FSP.

Initial impulse is, “Good!”

Not necessarily because I am sure he would be the best choice. But because I am sure Paul Rhoads would be the worst, and that was what my gut was feeling would happen. Anything that keeps Pitt from being turned over to Rhoads (and causing me to cancel my season tickets) is a positive.

Funny to read that the timing is now right, a week later, though. Does every school go through crap like this when it comes to getting a new coach, or is it just Pitt?

That’s all we can do. There has been nothing, but wire stories saying a decision is coming. Maybe this afternoon. I hope not. I mean, I may be driving myself nuts but a decision or announcement today would make it most likely to be Rhoads. Cavanaugh and even Pelini would take a little more time to get even the basics of the contract in place.

I’m just worried. The more I think about it, the more I become convinced that Pitt is looking to go cheap. Real cheap. I look at how Louisville just gave Petrino a big raise, and even then the AD acknowledged there will still be risks that he leaves.

Louisville athletic director Tom Jurich still expects Petrino’s name to come up when higher-profile jobs open.

“There are certainly schools out there that have more money than us,” Jurich said. “But we’re going to do everything in our power to keep everything stabilized here.”

That’s understanding the nature of college football, awillingness to look clear-eyed at it, and understanding if you want to keep or get someone you don’t wait to respond with the money and/or contract. Yeah, Petrino nearly bolted last winter for Auburn. There’s no guarantee he won’t go somewhere else in a year or two. But you deal with the situation, and prepare just in case.

I don’t see that from the Pitt administration. I see unpreparedness, fear and an unwillingness to pay or really look for the kind of coach they say they want– someone to take them to that mythical “next level.”

Antonio Graves appears unlikelty to play tomorrow night because of his ankle. That means the freshmen will get more playing time.

Ramon will probably get the start in place of Graves (if Pitt starts the 3-guard lineup). He got starts early in the season when Graves was first hobbled by the high ankle sprain, and played very well. Coming off the bench, Ramon hasn’t been as good a shooter. With the improved competition of Richmond (as opposed to St. Francis), it will be interesting to see if maybe Ramon just plays better when he starts as opposed to coming off the bench.

Keith Benjamin will also see increased minutes. Benjamin hasn’t played nearly as much because of knee issues in the fall. Benjamin has been a little behind in getting up to speed on the defensive end. And with Pitt, you don’t get the minutes if you don’t play defense.

Then there is a rather silly piece sounding the trumpets of fear for Pitt basketball. That by next season Chevy Troutman and Mark McCarroll will graduate, Chris Taft and Carl Krauser could leave for the NBA, Coach Jamie Dixon leave for another job.

Dixon will get mentioned, but as I’ve said before, it won’t be to USC. They want to hire a new coach in the next couple of weeks, and I just don’t see any coach bolting a top-10 team mid-season to start rebuilding another. If they were waiting until after the season, maybe something to watch, but not now. Really, looking at college basketball right now, there aren’t a lot of jobs that could come open that would be better than Pitt’s. So, yes, his name will come up, but I don’t see many places where I can take it seriously.

Taft is very likely gone. We all knew that going into the season. I’m just happy he is here for his sophomore season. Krauser, could very well leave. That will be a big question mark, but I already like what I’m seeing from Ramon. Graves has so dramatically improved.

Right now, there should be no other feeling other than optimism regarding the b-ball team and program. Changes coming or not.

You know, a couple weeks ago I half-jokingly mentioned that Paul Rhoads pulled his name from consideration for the Utah State job. Since then, things have moved beyond a joke.

Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator and former Pitt quarterback Matt Cavanaugh, and Pitt defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads are the finalists for the Panthers’ football coaching job, vacated Dec. 12 when Walt Harris resigned to take a similar position at Stanford University.

Bo Pelini, considered the lead choice (after Wannstedt) seems out of the mix despite the support of Bob Stoops.

Cavanaugh is hardly beloved in Baltimore. They blame him for their lousy offense. Strange how certain coaches can be magnets for abuse (Harris, Cavanaugh) while others are left alone (Rhoads, Billick).

Sunseri’s looks to have been merely a bone tossed to some old alumni. Tim Lewis’ appears to have been a token sham. This despite, the fact that some consider Lewis to be a legitimate future head coach. From ESPN’s Chris Mortenson:

NFL teams do benefit when they go through the entire process, too. There are a bunch of qualified minority candidates that need to be “discovered.” Almost all of them this year are on the defensive side of the ball – specifically, I’m thinking of Romeo Crennel (Patriots), Tim Lewis (Giants), Donnie Henderson (Jets), Jerry Gray (Bills) and Greg Blache (Redskins), not to mention Cowboys offensive coordinator Maurice Carthon.

Was he really interested in being a college head coach? I don’t know. His agent, the vilified Bob LaMonte seems to indicate otherwise.

Lewis, who also played at Pittsburgh before returning there as an assistant coach, was only mildly interested in the position. He has set his sights on loftier jobs.

“I never spoke to him about the job,” Lewis’ agent, Bob LaMonte, said yesterday. “What we try to do at our agency is to get NFL jobs for our clients. I was never involved in that.”

Of course this comes after he was clearly out of the picture so take what the agent says with that caveat.

Cavanaugh gets an endorsement from Steve Young, who thought well of him with just one season when Cavanaugh was his QB coach. The passage, though reveals the thing I have been suspecting might be an underlying issue for Pitt’s coach search.

He [Rhoads] is an intriguing candidate, not only because of his intelligence (high school valedictorian) and upbeat style, but he would carry a lower price tag than Cavanaugh, who’s worked for four NFL franchises and owns four championship rings (three Super Bowl; one national championship).

One NFL source said money could be a sticking point for Cavanaugh, although compensation has yet to be discussed between the two sides in earnest. Harris makes an estimated $600,000 in this, his eighth and final season with the 19th-ranked Panthers, who face unbeaten Utah in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1.

Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback and NFL analyst Steve Young said yesterday that Cavanaugh is ready for a head coaching position. Cavanaugh was briefly Young’s position coach with the 49ers.

“I think a lot of Matt Cavanaugh,” Young said yesterday by phone. “He is a great offensive coach. I think he has done a great job of coaching in Baltimore and been given very little. You have seen the best of Trent Dilfer in Baltimore. You have seen kind of the best of everybody who has gone through there. He hasn’t been given a lot to work with.

I really believe in Matt a lot. I also know he has been preparing for this kind of job for a long time.

“Matt has a sense of what it takes to play. I would be very willing to jump on board of any discussion of Matt Cavanaugh being a coach in college, especially at Pitt.”

This is why I fear Rhoads will get the job. He’d be cheaper, and Pitt won’t spend the money if it isn’t their first choice. To get Cavanaugh, they would have to pay him at least $500-600 K to start. Not to mention he’d be in a better position to to demand better pay for his assistants.

Rhoads would be cheaper from top to bottom. That seems to be what Pitt wants.

Smizik’s column blasting the search is one I can agree completely. Mainly, because, he makes the points we’ve been making here for the last 2 weeks.

Sad to say, but Pitt is not looking for the best man available. It’s looking for a best man who fits a tight job description.

It is curious, to say the least, that Pitt is not in the market for a successful head coach who would consider Pitt an upward move. Wouldn’t a proven commodity be a more safe choice than the men being considered, none of whom have head-coaching experience?

And it’s astonishing, to say the least, that Long, who has worked in and around college football at places such as Michigan, Oklahoma and Virginia Tech for some 20 years, would come up with such a Pitt-oriented list after being at Pitt less than two years.

Indiana, which is a considerable step down from Pitt, had a broader vision for its coaching search. It was able to lure Terry Hoeppner to head its downtrodden program. Hoeppner brings a 48-23 record in six years on the Division I-A level, a top-10 finish in 2003 and the reputation of helping to develop a pretty fair quarterback named Ben Roethlisberger at Miami (Ohio).

If Indiana can reel in a coach with such qualifications, why can’t Pitt at least be considering men with those credentials?

It might have to do something with the money. It might have something to do with how Pitt views itself.

By going after candidates who not only have Pitt ties but who are not at the top — or even on — other school’s lists, Pitt looks to be bargain hunting.

To raid another school means having to pay something approaching the going rate for top-of-the line coaches, which is about $1 million a year. It also means getting involved with possibly having to buy out the coach’s existing contract.

Those appear to be financial areas where Pitt does not want to go.

Another reason for looking at Pitt men almost exclusively is that it lessens the chance of the new coach using Pitt as a stepping-stone for another job.

Meanwhile Ron Cook has gone silent. Actually, other than to take shots at Harris, he had little constructive to say. That’s because if Rhoads gets the job, Cook will be one of the lead cheerleaders. Cook has been puffing him since August 2003.

I guess I keep getting shocked at how much love there is for Rhoads. The defense collapsing last year was the big reason Pitt underachieved. The offense was what bailed out the defense. The Syracuse loss can be pinned right on the defense. The OT game against Furman that people point to as a negative on Harris — The defense allowed 38 points! Last I checked that was Rhoads’ department. Temple? The UConn loss was a joint effort. Ineffective offense helped wear down the defense. The defense carried the offense for only one win this year — Ohio U.

Well, at least there’s basketball…

This is for Lee, who is asking for more info on Sal Sunseri, a finalist(?) for the head coach job at Pitt.
A lot of this I’m lifting verbatim from the 1994 Pitt Football Media Guide:
Sal Sunseri, a four year letterman from nearby Central Catholic High School, became an All-American in 1981. He was an enthusiastic leader and the heart and soul of the Pitt Defense. He was like another coach on the field and was known for his bone- crushing tackles. In his (final) three years Pitt, the Panthers were 33-3 with three bowl victories while the defense allowed an average of only 11 points per game. In 1981, he played in the East-West Shrine game and the Senior Bowl. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1982 and suffered a training camp injury which ended his career. Sunseri returned to Pitt where he spent eight years as an assistant coach, including the 1992 season as assistant head coach.

He also was head coach in the final game of the season in 1992, as Hackett was fired with one game remaining (we lost to Hawaii).

Sunseri is from a Pittsburgh family – his relatives operate a popular Italian food wholesale/retail outfit on Penn Avenue in the Strip. His son, currently a senior at Central Catholic, is a division 1 prospect at TE and is considering Pitt.

Now a little history, also compiled with help from the old media guide, as well as my memory:
The 1980 Pitt team, with Sunseri at middle linebacker, boasted this lineup: Hugh Green and Ricky Jackson at DE, Jerry Boyarsky, Greg Meisner and Bill Neill interior line (all started in the NFL in the 1980’s), Caeser Aldisert at LB, Carlton Williamson (of 49er fame) at Safety, joined by Lynn Thomas.
The next season (of the 48-14 fame), Dave Puzzoli, JC Pelusi and future All-American Bill Maas started on the defensive line. Still in the pipeline: Corners Tim Lewis (remember him?) and Troy Hill, Safety Tom Flynn, DE Al Wenglikowski.

On the offensive side, of course Marino at QB (he had to beat out future pro Rick Trocano initially), Randy McMillan and Bryan Thomas at RB, Julius Dawkins and Dwight Collins at WR, Benjie Pryor and John Brown at TE (remember the 1982 Sugar Bowl?), the O-line included All-American Jimbo Covert, Outland Trophy winner Mark May, Emil Boures, Rob Fada, Ron Sams, Paul Dunn, center Russ Grimm – all went on to the NFL. Waiting for a shot: Jim Sweeney and Bill Fralic.

Now, that is what I call recruiting! And player development. Some may remember these names from their play on Sundays, but I was a Pitt fanatic as a kid back in those days, and followed the team closely.

Sunseri may be a sentimental favorite to return Pitt to the glory days – those are some of the fondest Pitt memories any of us have. In his four years, Pitt was 41-7, with his three years as a starter 33-3. He is a Pitt guy, and a Pittsburgh guy, with deep roots in this area.

B.B. asks in a comment:

…do you think Pitt impressed Coppin St. the other night? We moved up from 10 to 7 in the coaches poll after defeating Coppin St. Kentucky only moved up one spot (11 to 10) after beating Louisville. We passed Syracuse, who beat Drexel by 20 points last week in their only game. The difference? Coppin St.’s coach has a vote in the coaches poll. I’m guessing that he had Pitt pretty high.

Indeed, I was surprised we moved at all. Pitt didn’t move at all in the AP Writers’ Poll. Georgia Tech tumbled to #9 from #3 after losing on the road to Gonzaga. While my biases say the ACC is a bit overrated, that seemed fair.

Meanwhile the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll pushed Pitt up to #7. Kentucky winning a tough rivalry game in Louisville, a top-20 team, only got a one spot bump to #10. Yes, the Coppin St. head coach is a voter this year, but so is Dave Odom of South Carolina. Guess who Pitt plays next week? I’m guessing Odom also pushed Pitt a bit higher in his polls so that win or lose it can only help his team in the RPI. Not that we can prove it since coaches don’t release how they voted. Must protect the sanctity of their poll system.

Roughly, though, that would probably explain the jump for Pitt. Last week, Pitt had 479 vote points in the Coaches Poll. This week, they increased that to 545. A whopping 66 point increase. Kentucky had a 46 point increase. Pitt’s point total was only 2 ahead of #8 Syracuse and 9 ahead of #9 GT.

It simply points out one of the terrible problems/hypocrisy with the polls in both college and football where the coaches demand transparency from all except themselves and their program.