Another year, another Purdue player leaving for Pitt. Really, it’s once more about coming home.

When Jason Kacinko was a senior at Penn-Trafford, the four-star recruit nearly backed out of his commitment to Purdue after Pitt hired Dave Wannstedt.

“He really recruited me hard,” Kacinko said. “There was some interest on my part, but I wanted to honor my commitment to Purdue.”

After two seasons as a reserve offensive lineman for the Boilermakers, Kacinko has decided to finally play for the Panthers.

Obviously, he’ll be sitting out this season, but next year he’ll be in the mix for a job and at the very least add needed depth. Kacinko played at both guard and tackle.

I don’t see Altoona RB A.J. Alexander choosing Pitt, but it’s worth noting that he re-opened his recruitment. He bailed on Florida State. Hard not to see him going to RB deprived PSU.

Nice puffer on incoming freshman defensive lineman, Jabaal Sheard.

“There’s a real good shot for me at Pitt, and I’m looking forward to the opportunity,” Sheard said. “I think we have a lot of talent on defense, and I can’t wait to see how I fit in. As far as my training goes, I think I work out pretty hard. But people told me about Buddy before I got here.

“Everyone said what I should expect when I get into working out with Buddy. I guess all the guys like that are a little crazy, and as long as what he puts me through doesn’t kill me it should make me stronger. And that’s what I’m looking to do. I want to get stronger and bigger to prepare for the upcoming football season. I’m ready for the challenge.”

It’s always good when players come to school during the summer. I still think it’s borderline nuts to leave Florida and anywhere near the beach in the summer, though.