Does not surprise me. He has spread option QB written all over him. He would fit ideally into a system like Texas, WVU, or Florida.

Sure, but we don’t have to worry about WVU, not a chance he lands there. Could definitely see Florida.

I’m surprised we were dropped out so early, but can’t see this as unexpected. He probably realized DW’s hanging his hat on Bostick and would have to sit for a few years, or switch positions. There were rumblings that PITT was recruiting him as a WR, and maybe that didn’t sit well.

We have other priorities though, and now can concentrate on them.

Think: What do all of those teams have in common? Has nothing to do with what particular offense they are running or what their coaches personalities are. Give up? They are all good (except Mich St which baffles me……better than us though) I bet MSU is the next to go.

MSU ran a spread offense (with some options) very effectively with Drew Stanton at the helm. They passed a lot more than WVU and Texas did with Vince Young, but the system is still in place.

Stanton is in the NFL now so maybe that is enticing Pryor.

Granted, MSU has a new coach now with John L. Smith gone, so I don’t know what their offense is going to look like.

Chris Dokish gives some insight (speculation) as to why Pitt was eliminated from Pryor’s list over at the Pgh Sports Report site. I have to say, as I read it, I thought bunk! The kid wants to play QB and Pitt is not a good spot for a hot shot Freshman QB that wants to play right now. Anyhow, according to Dokish, OSU is the early favorite.

Forget receiver- I think he was worried about ending up at LB.

So much for that early commitment…I’m so sick of losing…losing on the field and off of it…maybe I need to get a masters @ University of Florida to experience champship caliber athletics….

I don’t see why this is causing such a fuss???

The kid is an IDEAL option QB, for the spread offense. Big, fast, hard to tackle. He has Vince Young written all over him.

He simply wouldn’t fit in the Wanny “run first” offense. In fact he would be horribly under-used.

Just look at the last fast, athletic QB to come out of Pittsburgh (Woodland Hill’s Steve Breaston). Breaston ended up going to Michigan, converted to WR and return specialist, and never ever capitalized on his potential if you ask me.

I actually think he will end up playing hoops and only hoops…he isn’t done growing yet..what 6′ 8″ qbs do you know of?

I wish him well even if he in fact does not end up at Pitt.

I will or won’t wish him well depending on which of those schools he chooses. 🙂

Steve Breaston was a player that should have come to Pitt. After one year with Larry Fitzgerald, he would have been the man for 3 years. My memory of him at Michigan is that he was always the first guy congratulating Braylon Edwards or Mario Manningham after they caught a touchdown pass. Here he would have been the one catching the big pass. He will go on to play in the NFL but he would have had a better career with the Panthers. But he was a big time recruit. And he went big time.
As for Pryor, he is just the next of the long line of elite national-level recruits from the WPIAL that will not be coming to Pitt. No national TV, no bowl game and a losing record means that all the real talent goes elsewhere. Pitt gets the guys that Ohio State, Michigan and Notre Dame pass on. Until we somehow get some of those blue chippers, we will NEVER be much better than we are. They are Must-Get guys. Why you ask? Because we cannot go anywhere else and sign the elite. The thought that we could go to the state of Michigan and even be considered by a top kid from there is laughable. ( FYI – Larry Fitzgerald was a fluke who came only because of Walt Harris’s committment to passing.) Here is the sad fact of life. We have no geographic base anymore. And you can only do so much with the rejects we get. Looking at last years miserable team proves my point. On defense , we had 3 NFL draftees , but we were so bad that a few decent players could not enough to make up for the rest. Unless we somehow re-establish the base, Pitt will be a permanent bottom tier Big East program

He committed early to play basketball, not football.

Roberto, I don’t think that it is accurate to say that Pitt is losing out on PA recruits. In fact PSR has rated the Top 50 High School players from the last five years, including this year’s seniors (2003-2008). Here is a breakdown of how may of those 50 went to, or will attend Pitt and other schools (note we have offers to several of the 7 “undecided” from this years class):

Colleges

Penn State 14
Pittsburgh 10
Undecided 7
Ohio State 4
Michigan 3
Miami 2
Notre Dame 2
N.C. State 1
Georgia Tech 1
Arizona 1
Virginia 1
Tennessee 1
Iowa 1
Florida State 1
None 1

– Factor in losing Morelli, Bryant, and Johnson when the BE imploded, and we are right there with PSU in chasing the states top talent. There is also a nice synopsis of each player,s career.

All of this and more can be found on the PSR link on the sidebar of this webpage. There is also a Top 50 for this years seniors only. Of course, we have scholorship offers to many of them.

Right but we will only get the ones that Michigan, Ohio State, Notre Dame & Penn State pass on. There is no doubt that when it comes to Pitt football, I get more discouraged every year. Is the glass half empty or half full? I think that it has been shattered and we will not get another. It must be so easy to be an assistant coach at a place like Michigan. I wonder if they call their counterparts at the Pitts of the world and say ” I know you have been involved with Jimmy from Big 4-A Suburban High since he was in 8th grade, but we are now interested. So it’s all over. You can lose his phone number . IMMEDIATELY! ” And when do we ever beat Penn State for a recruit that is not from SW Pennsylvania? Our only hope is that their staff misses on somebody.

Roberto, here’s a gun dude. It’s been real.

Roberto,

Have you bothered to look at the recruiting rankings these last two years? Man I thought I was negative. If losing two recruits this year bothers you that much…..see previous statement from Bill

Roberto,

Dorin Dickerson had offers from all of the schools you mention. Many of the top football schools were heavily recruiting Lesean McCoy and Pat Bostick. TJ Porter had several high profile offers, as did Elijah Fields. You argument is baseless and is not supported by the facts.

To Jon C. 2 recruits? We are goin to lose all of them. And to Omar. As for Dorin Dickerson. Just our typical Panther luck. We do get a big timer and he is going to be a complete bust. A talented athlete without an position. If I did not need the points to keep my basketball tickets, I would not set foot in Heinz Field. I cannot give the football tickets away ( Club Level and I have tried repeatedly ) It is just not an enjoyable experience anymore. Another long and painful year ahead with one humilating defeat after another. If my fellow Jeannette homie, Terrelle ends up going to Ohio State, I just might go with him.

Good riddance.

OK, Experts on recruiting. You talked the trash. Now walk the walk. Show me the error of my ways. Can you name me a Pitt player in the past decade who had an offer from the the Big 3 ( Ohio State, Michigan , Notre Dame) but came to Oakland anyway? Back in the era of Majors/Sherrill, the top SW Pennsylvania player came to Pitt every year. You know the names from that time. ( Dorsett, Fralic, Covert, Marino, Dwight Collins, Gordon Jones.) With the exception of New Castle’s Bruce Clark, Penn State was getting the kids Pitt passed on ( Hempfield’s Matt Knizner, Greensburg’s Duane Taylor, Jeannette’s Carmen Masciantonio & Mount Pleasant’s Rob Holmberg). They were so cut out of the WPIAL, they were forced to ” Go National”. The elite level prospects like Terrelle Pryor, Andrew Sweat, Shayne Hale, Jonathon Baldwin, Lucas Nix, AJ Alexander would likely all be Panthers. We can still beat PSU for a WPIAL guy, but until Wannstedt starts winning over the ” real teams”, we just have to hope and pray that the second echelon guys can play a bit. Or that there are some sleepers that are overlooked or undervalued. I still stand by my original thesis. Without a solid geographic recruiting base, it is going to be impossible to elevate the program. Prove me wrong! Until then it is as Martin Luther said ” Heir standt Ich, Kann nicht anders ” .

Roberto,

How about Rod Rutherford, for starters? Rutherford was one of Street & Smith’s Top 50 seniors and one of the top five QBs in the country. He had offers from all over the place.

Tyler Palko? Had Virginia, Penn State and Michigan in his final four along with Pitt, according to Rivals.com.

Dustin Picciotti came from the east side of the state, but fielded offers from PSU, Miami, Michigan.

Nate Byham, considered to be the top pass-catching TE of his class, came to Pitt despite having USC, Iowa, Miami and Michigan in his final six, according to Rivals.com.

Dickerson chose Pitt over Tennessee, Iowa, Michigan and Penn State.

McCoy reneged on Miami and took Pitt over Penn State.

You wanted one name. There are six.

There’s still a good chance that they’re going to get Nix and Baldwin. They lost Sweat to Ohio State, but did you realize they were in there fighting Florida, Michigan, Penn State, LSU, and Notre Dame for him as well, and it went down to the wire? I don’t see any real shame in losing a kid when you’re in among that crowd. Are you going to try to tell me that tOSU only got him because Florida, Michigan, and LSU passed on him first? I highly doubt that’s the case. He passed on a ton of good schools to go to tOSU; that’s usually the way it works. Same thing with Alexander…Pitt made Alexander’s final cut before he settled on FSU. But they were right there along with Georgia, ND, PSU, Tennessee, VT, WVU and Florida.

Perhaps we are doing better than I catagorized them. BUT! The Panthers need to do a whole lot better than they have been doing if they are to rise from the lower ranks of the Big East Conference. We are not close to being competitive with Louisville, WVU and Rutgers. Notre Dame, Michigan & Ohio State get far too much of the premiere talent from the WPIAL. Pitt getting a player that they have offered is the exception, not the norm. Why I am uncertain of since coming here would practically guarantee them starting as true freshmen. Especially for one of the worst defenses in Division One. During the recruiting process, a lot of coaches blow smoke to kids about them starting immediately when they know that will not be the case. Wannstadt could tell any elite defensive player and any offensive line prospect that and it would be true.

[…] 3. Terrelle Pryor, Basketball/Football Prospect, Jeannette HS Pryor said he wasn’t going to come be a Panther with little explanation. “They’re just not in it,” Pryor said. “That’s my picks.” […]

He has crossed off Penn State saying he does not care for the area.

Rejected Oregon is too far!

Going to Florida but feels that is too far too.

WVU was crossed off earlier but came back in after New Coach!

It comes down to WVU, Ohio State, and Michigan!

I think he is going to Michigan!