Dennis noted the Gorman blog post on Houser, here’s the local coverage in Butte, California.
Putting an end to what was one of the winter’s closest Big East Conference football recruiting battles, sought-after Butte College center Robb Houser verbally committed to Pittsburgh over Syracuse on Saturday morning.
He’s an important recruit and a vital get for Pitt. That was, however, a bit of an overstatement.
“They have a real similar approach to what I have been doing at Butte and that was a big factor for me,” Houser said.
He will begin the spring semester at the school Jan. 7 and be an immediate candidate to fill the Panthers’ open starting center spot when spring football workouts begin.
Head coach Dave Wannstedt, a longtime NFL assistant who was also the Miami Dolphins head coach before coming to Pitt, recently cited landing a junior college center as one of his top offseason priorities. The Panthers’ starting center last season, fifth-year senior Chris Vangas, graduated.
“When we set our personnel board, the area I will have to spend the most time with is the offensive line,” Wannstedt told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette earlier this month. “It will be easy defensively, guys will move around a little, but where we need to get it laid out right, depth-chart-wise, is the offensive line.”
It would be a huge shock in the depth chart after spring practices if Houser isn’t #1 at the center position.
Starkey had a Sunday piece about Cliff Stoudt not holding a grudge against Pittsburgh and giving his blessing to his son, Zack committing to Pitt.
Mike Farrell of Rivals.com takes note of Pitt’s recruiting fun in the last couple weeks.
Watch out for Pitt to have some quick success based on the momentum from its upset of West Virginia. Pitt received a commitment from running back Cameron Saddler and quarterbacks Zack Stoudt and Greg Cross. But the big news is that Aliquippa, Pa., tight end/wide receiver Jonathan Baldwin committed Monday. The Panthers also lead for Saddler’s teammate, linebacker Shayne Hale, and in-state cornerback standout Jared Holley. One thing is for sure: Dave Wannstedt can recruit.
One potential good thing for Pitt over Ohio State for Shayne Hale. The Buckeyes already have 4 DL in this recruiting class.
And possibly the best quote from the article:
“The West Virginia boosters have become close to Mr. Rodriguez and acknowledged that he grew depressed — one described it as despairing — over the 13-9 loss to Pitt that cost the Mountaineers a chance to play in the national championship game.”
Here’s a good article that Reynolds and company should read.
Guess he was tired of waiting for ol’pa to leave or die.
I would think Pitt will only benefit more from this.
I think we should put their whole state on a suicide watch
When you guys get a chance take a look at PSU on rivals. They really have a chance at about two more players. Their class might not even break the top 30. I credit joe for the recruiting.
Unfortunately PSU wont be on the decline. They were an awful team this year. They played four absolutely God awful non con games and went 4-4 in con. Their only respectable win at all was Wisc. Joe Pa will always have 4 wins becuase his non con is so easy every year, and the big ten’s bottom half is about as comparible to the mac or wac… Crap
…wvu fans going on and on, whining about how poor their lives are…
…or michigan fans writing as if DickRod is the second coming of Christ…here’s their ringleader:
“…and one really ill-timed thumb dislocation…”
No mention of the man-handling, that is their sole excuse why WVU didn’t make the national championship. They have no idea what they’re in for…they think App State was a choke job…i guess they don’t realize they have to play OSU for their lasy game every year…