So, Coach Wannstedt and the assistants are back from traveling the state and a few others as well. Upon his return, he engaged in a local media blitz. As the various local news outlets had stories with similar quotes.
He figures it was important to get and see the rest of the area since he’ll be fighting some of the biggest names for some of the local talent this season.
Wannstedt is not allowed to comment specifically about recruits, but there are a number of big-time prospects in Western Pennsylvania this year — players such as Jeannette quarterback Terrelle Pryor, Aliquippa receiver Jonathan Baldwin and Thomas Jefferson lineman Lucas Nix — and he said that is evident by the number of colleges he bumped into in Pitt’s back yard.
“USC has been here, Texas has been here, Florida has been here, Notre Dame has been here, Miami has been here,” Wannstedt said. “The list goes on; there are a lot of national-level recruits here, and we know this. But we’re not going anywhere. We’re going to battle for all of them, and I know we’ll get our share. We have to be careful because we only have about 15 scholarships to give, but we’re going to have another excellent class, I promise you that.”
In other articles, the number was 16 scholarships. Either way, that means Pitt has about 17-18 scholarships available in total. Presumably he is already including the freed scholarships from the departures of Corey Davis and Tommie Campbell. Coach Wannstedt isn’t overly concerned at not having any verbals so far this month.
The Panthers reportedly have just two verbal commitments to date. Wilmington running back Chris Burns and Greater Johnstown cornerback Antwuan Reed committed early to Pitt.
“We’ll get another four to five guys and have seven to eight (committed) by June after the camps, and then we’ll have another seven to eight to get next year (before signing day),†Wannstedt said.
When Wannstedt is out there going after the blue-chippers, it seems he isn’t shy about telling them what he can do for them.
What Wannstedt discovered is that many high school prospects choose colleges based on their ability to get them to the “next level” – in this case, the NFL.
That’s just fine with Wannstedt, who won a Super Bowl ring as Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator and was head coach of the Chicago Bears and Miami Dolphins.
…
“I don’t talk about it,” Wannstedt said, “but I do know this: If you want to get to the next level, unless you’re going to maybe Notre Dame or maybe USC, there’s no place and nobody that can prepare you better than I can.”
Where Revis and linebackers Clint Session and H.B. Blades were drafted, Wannstedt noted that six of his seven senior starters are now in NFL camps.
Call it a hunch, but I figure that and this snippet from the same story will have the Hoopies getting pissed at Wannstedt all over again. The same way they did (and still do) about his “wall” quote back when hired.
“If a kid isn’t interested in the city or wants to go to school in the country, then don’t come to Pitt. That’s what I tell them.”
They’ll see it as a slap or shot at them in their own paranoid way.
