Well if there’s any consolation to the end of Pitt’s B-ball season (and I don’t see much), it’s that attention will start shifting to Spring football practice (yes, Reed, you can do a happy dance that I am finally getting to it).
Pitt hosted its “pro day” on Saturday. Things were a little different then in the past.
“We had to re-organize some things, just try and make it better for our players,” Wannstedt said. “We have guys from about 20 teams coming in, from scouts to personnel guys and even some coaches and I will meet with them all before the workouts begin.
“It is something different I wanted to do for our players to show them we are committed to helping them get to the next level. It is the way they do things at programs like Miami that produce a lot of NFL players and it is the way we are going to do things here.”
Wannstedt and his staff will meet with the scouts at 6 a.m. today at the UPMC Sports Performance Complex on the South Side and review tape with them. The team’s medical staff will be available to answer questions and perform any tests that are requested. Wannstedt’s assistant coaches also will meet with the representatives from the NFL teams to answer any questions about individual players.
The reason behind the changes to the format is so the Panthers can give as much information as possible to the NFL teams about every player who has aspirations to play professionally.
All of the seniors from last year’s team — as well as junior receiver Greg Lee, who left school a year early — are expected to be in attendance at the combine-style workout today.
Seniors who worked out included Josh Cummings, Eric Gill, Josh Lay, Charles Spencer and J.J. Horne.
Additionally, Pitt had Juniors Tyler Palko and H.B. Blades have informal workouts for the scouts to get them additional exposure. Not to mention put on a show for the numerous high school juniors who attended unofficially, of course.
The Pitt coaches took this opportunity to bring in some top local high school prospects. Among them was Downingtown East quarterback PAT BOSTCK, the No. 1 rated quarterback in the state and one of the top rated in the country. Local quarterbacks in attendance included Bethel Park’s JEFF STEWART and Seton LaSalle’s MATT RODGERS.
Other local players attending included top offensive line prospects GINO GRADKOWSKI, also from Seton LaSalle, Mt. Lebanon’s ANDREW DEVLIN, Seneca Valley’s DONNIE BARCLAY, Peabody’s ANDRE WESTON, and MATT OSTROWSKI from Highlands. Gradkowski and Devlin hold written offers from the Panthers.
Two Keystone Oaks standouts, Chris Jacobson and Myles Caragein, also attended. Jacobson, one of the best offensive guard prospects in the country, has already verbally committed to the Panthers, while Caragein, a fast rising defensive lineman, is also being heavily pursued by the Panthers, who have already offered.
Others HS Juniors who attended included Dom DeCicco and Chris Drager.
“My favorites right now are Pitt, Penn State, West Virginia, Iowa and Ohio State,” he said. “Chris (Drager) and I are a little disappointed we don’t have an offer yet from Pitt but we remain really interested. We go to almost every activity they have.”
DeCicco has been a three year starter. He is capable of playing wide receiver, safety and cornerback on the next level. Although most schools prefer him at safety, he stated the Panthers’ coaching staff may have other ideas. “We spoke with several of the coaches there. Coach (Dave) Wannstedt, Coach (Bob) Junko and Coach (Curtis) Bray spoke with me. They told me they were very interested in me and that they like me at outside linebacker.”
Drager plays TE and DE, and Pitt seems more interested in him on defense.
I can’t help but think that having Palko and Blades performing for scouts was primarily for the recruits. A way to make a point to showing them that Pitt will do what it can to help them get to the next level in football and noticed by the scouts. Coach Wannstedt does his best to use any event as a recruiting opportunity.
It has to be considered a positive that Pat Bostick keeps attending Pitt events. He keeps coming from the other side of the state for the activities. Not exactly like they are things in his own backyard.
