A good article in the P-G today by Paul Zeise about Coach Wannstedt and the Pitt coaching staff recruiting effort for year 2.
Wannstedt has been on the road again this May, and this time the situation is much different.
The Panthers are coming off a losing season, and Wannstedt must deal with the fact that three of the four BCS winners — Penn State, West Virginia and Ohio State — are within three hours of Pitt’s campus.
Conventional wisdom would hold that Wannstedt has little chance of duplicating last year’s success. But Wannstedt, based on his experiences thus far, disagrees. He said if anything his chances for success are even better this year than they were last year for several reasons. The biggest one being that he has a much better understanding of what it is he is trying to sell.
Pitt’s losing record has not been an issue, he said, because people understand the roster has some holes that need to be filled, which the team’s struggles clearly highlight.
“Last year, we were selling dreams and frankly didn’t fully know what we were dealing with because we were new,” Wannstedt said. “And people also know now that we really do mean business. They see we are genuine and they respect our work ethic. They see we really have made a commitment, especially in Pennsylvania, and they are more excited about what we’re doing now then they were last year because it is real.
“I can say this with all honesty — the reception for us has been even better this year than it was last. We’re going to get six or seven more commitments heading into the fall and we’ll be off and running again.”
While Wannstedts’ track record of success as a recruiter is hard to argue with, there are a few signs that his second time around won’t be as easy.
This almost seems to be building on this post from Chris Dokish last week on recruiting. Last week saw several recruits targeted by Pitt choose WVU, ND and PSU. Figure any decent beat writer, and I happen to think Zeise is quite good, pays attention to the message board discussions and blogs these days (even if they don’t want to admit it). They can find out what is on the mind of the fans and what things they want to know more. So what you get is an article discussing the matter with more detail, information and quotes. Helping to bridge the gap from discussion and speculation to information and fact.
Wannstedt also is being very proactive to maintain the Panthers’ recruiting momentum and the enthusiasm surrounding the program, which remains very high. That’s a big reason he spent the spring evaluation period — coaches get four weeks in the spring to evaluate prospects — on the road with his assistant coaches.
Most head coaches, especially those at established programs, stay home in the spring, saving their road trips until later in the year when they are able to make school and home visits with prospects.
Wannstedt, however, believes the work he does on the road in the spring is building a foundation for another successful signing day for the Panthers.
“I need to be out on the road right now to help get things established,” he said. “A few years down the road, once we get things up and running like we want it to be, like we know it will be, maybe I sit back a bit and do it the way other head coaches do it.
“But I just don’t think it would be fair for me to push my assistants out the door and make them do the hard work of rebuilding things. I want to be there to help. I also never get tired of selling people on our great city and our great university.
“I am far more excited about our future now than I ever was at any point last year.”
Anyone really feel like arguing against it right now? I suppose there is the feeling that he is burning his visits too soon and it could cost Pitt some blue-chippers who wait to decide and get those final visits from another school.
I think Wannstedt makes a compelling case that he needs to be out there early and often to keep selling the program, his staff and coming to Pitt. Overall, it is also hard to argue against the early returns.
