Gary Nova, the new Pitt verbal knows exactly what to say.
“Pitt is a great school and a great program,” Nova said. “We can compete with anybody, whether it is in the Big Ten or Big East or anywhere else so, really, Pitt will be fine no matter what happens. I’m not really worried about that at all.”
Nova chose the Panthers over scholarship offers from Rutgers, Boston College, Virginia, Colorado and Vanderbilt.
He said the two most important factors in his decision were trust and loyalty, and no other staff showed as much as Pitt’s during the process.
“When I went out and visited Pitt, I got a real good feel for the city and for the family atmosphere of the program,” said Nova, who threw for 1,668 yards, 23 touchdowns and only three interceptions last season. “The biggest thing, though, was coach Wannstedt and coach [Frank] Cignetti and coach [Jeff] Hafley — they were honest with me every step of the way. They didn’t lie to me about anything, they were up front about everything and they were loyal and true to their word.
“And I feel like if there is anyone who can get me ready for the NFL it is coach Cignetti, so I am really excited to go there and learn.”
For an arbitrary and unscientific confirmation of OC Cignetti being a top OC, Matt Hayes at the Sporting News ranked him amongst the best OC’s in the country.
6. Frank Cignetti Jr., Pitt. His reclamation of quarterback Bill Stull last season was remarkable, and his grooming of Tino Sunseri will pay off this fall. His offense is influenced by numerous stops, including his days as an NFL assistant, his time in the high-flying WAC at Fresno State and his season under Cal coach Jeff Tedford, one of the game’s best offensive minds.
New offensive lineman recruit Artie Howell answers the question of whether he is 6-3 or 6-2.
Rowell felt the same way. The 6-foot-2, 295-pound guard-center, who was recruited by tight ends coach Brian Angelichio, picked Pitt over offers from Northwestern and Temple. Rowell credited Panthers offensive line coach Tony Wise for believing in his ability despite his less-than-ideal height.
“His credentials are exceptional, with his NFL experience,” said Rowell, a three-year starter on both sides of the ball who has a 3.7 grade-point average. “A lot of schools turned me down because I’m 6-2, but he embraced that. He’s won with guys my size. He tells me it’s not how tall you are but how good you can block people.
“I have good feet, and I think I play exceptionally hard. I go to the whistle. I get after it. That’s what fits me with Pitt. That’s how their offensive line plays. They’re a bunch of hard-nosed football players, and that’s the way I am.”
Speaking of hard-nosed, there’s a story from Rivals.com on strength and conditioning coaches featuring Buddy Morris.
With spring practice over and the school year winding down, now is the time when Pitt’s players become Morris’ project. The players will start getting bigger, faster and better. And Morris will become even more wired — if that’s possible.
Actually, that scenario will play out all over the nation, highlighting the importance of strength and conditioning coaches — who might be the most vital members of a coaching staff. During the offseason, the strength and conditioning staff serves as the eyes and ears for the rest of the coaching staff. Even during the school year, players have more contact with the strength coach than they do with any other assistant.
If you have a good program, then you have a good strength coach. And he does his best — and perhaps most important — work in the offseason.
“After the spring game, our guys came in for recovery and restorative workouts three times a week,” Morris says. “After restorative work, we have finals. We then come in twice a week. We have a two-week break, and then the summer program starts.”
Interesting piece, featuring Coach Wannstedt pointing out that with all the other coaches out recruiting, the strength coach becomes that much more important over the summer in terms of talking to the kids and knowing what is happening.
