So Paul Zeise is back with some weekly Q&A.
Q: How do you think Pitt had done in recruiting this year? Do you think there is enough talent in the state to sustain a great program or does Pitt have to go out of state more?
ZEISE: Let’s start with your second question — no, not anymore. I think if you look at the recruiting classes of Pitt and Penn State in recent years it is clear there aren’t enough high quality players in this state any more. I like Pitt’s new strategy of going into Maryland, Delaware and Virginia more because I do think they have a chance to be very successful there. There are still a lot of good players and even great players from Pennsylvania, but it is a pipe dream to think you can recruit this state exclusively and build a consistent winner.
As for your first question — I touched on this in the opening — I like this recruiting class because I think it has a lot of potential and that’s all you can ask. You want guys with talent, good character and a good work ethic and trust you have a good coaching staff that can help them reach their potential.
I also think the way Dave Wannstedt has closed — by landing blue chippers like Tony Tucker, Sherod Murdock, Brandon Lindsay, LeSean McCoy, Mo Williams — for the second year in a row and it shows how good of a recruiter he is. The best recruiters are the ones that can close the deal on the most coveted kids (like Bobby Bowden does each year) late in the process. It gives a lot of hope for the future but the team needs to start showing some of the fruits of this labor in the fall.
That there was more kids verballing from outside of Western Pennsylvania has had an impact on the level of excitement and coverage of the recruits. There is less familiarity with the players. We are told they are good. We get the good reports, it’s nice to see all those stars next to their names. But we just don’t know as well.
As for the rest of the Q&A, not that much real info.
I guess its a common practice to jettison 5th year seniors of the scholarship boat.
The part of the puzzle that’s missing is, of course, seeing the actual progress on the field. But, I do have to give DW credit for his insistence that we have patience for what he’s trying to do. I can be patient, and I remain optimistic that we will see a difference in the fundamental aspects of what makes a team successful.
Zeise’s comment “Last year’s class had more big name stars but I think this team lacked hard-nosed, blue collar type kids, tough guys who are willing to work hard.” is interesting because it addresses what a lot of us wondered about over the last two years – whether the Harris kids were willing to buy into the new coach and his different approach. This might have more validity to it than was thought. I’ve had a nagging feeling that a lot of the more senior kids were going through the motions and hadn’t fully embraced the new coach and had a hard time with the change – you could see it on the bench when PITT got behind even by a little margin. And, at least to my inexperienced eye, this new regime is more strict and demanding than the last (still would like to know the story behind Del Sardo’s disappearance), or at least demanded more accountability – on the team and in the classroom. If that is indeed true, I applaud him for that alone.
On another note – Tommie Duhart seems to have canceled his official visit to Florida, so either Florida never offered or Duhart wanted to stay with us – either way I think that’s a big deal as he could see time soon next season.