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January 31, 2011

2011 Recruiting Coming to Close

Filed under: Football,Recruiting — Chas @ 12:50 pm

The final recruiting weekend brought more commits and seems to have at least put Pitt in the finalist category for a bunch of players that will do the whole reveal on signing day.

Last night Roderick Ryles and LaQuentin Smith got back to Orlando, Florida from their recruiting trip to Morgantown. As with many, seeing West Virginia that close was enough to make the decision for them.

Ryles and Smith both committed to the University of Pittsburgh on Sunday night, hours after returning home from a visit to West Virginia.

The pair talked to their families and friends and both decided Pitt was the best place for them to continue with their education and football career.

“It’s real cool, because we are family already,” Smith said of he and Ryles being able to continue playing together. “We can make our relationship even better.”

And the word family came up several times when both players talked about what it was that put Pitt over West Virginia in this latest of Backyard Brawl stories that will surely increase the hatred between these two interstate rivals.

“It was just the whole part of me feeling like family,” Smith said of his Pitt visit compared to the visit to Morgantown, W.Va. “(Pitt) also has some great coaches and players and, also, the school aspect was even better.”

For Ryles (6-1, 187), the all-time leader in career interceptions at Dr. Phillips with 15, seven of which he picked in both his junior and senior seasons, the feelings were similar.

“I just felt that God sent them my way,” Ryles said. “I vibed with the coaches and everything just was a family.”

Or it could just be common sense, when comparing the two.

In recruits closer to home, Pitt will have to wait for signing day announcements to find out about Desimon Green (DB/QB), Branden Jackson (DE/LB) and Delvon Simmons (DT).

But McKeesport lineman Delvon Simmons was at USC this weekend.

Simmons will make his college decision in the next few days, and he came home today from USC. It shouldn’t be a surprise that Simmons visited a place so far away. He also has been to Oregon and Texas Tech.

Meanwhile, Simmons’ McKeesport teammate, defensive end-linebacker Branden Jackson, visited Pitt this weekend and now has Pitt in his final three along with Oregon and Texas Tech.

I have said for years that when it comes time to pull the trigger on a decision, a kid from Western Pennsylvania who has a scholarship offer from a local school won’t pick a school as far away as Texas, California or Oregon. Maybe once in 200 times pick a school that far away. Will Jackson, or Simmons, be that one exception?

Lastly, Clairton quarterback-defensive back Desimon Green said he probably won’t make a decision until signing day Wednesday. He will be Pitt or Texas Tech.

Don’t really think Simmons will choose Pitt, but I like the chances of landing Jackson or Green. It’s going to be a little tense on Wednesday around here for a while.

Brian Bennett at ESPN.com runs through needs for each Big East team.

Running back: Dion Lewis bolted for the NFL as a draft-eligible sophomore, and fullback Henry Hynoski went pro early as well. That leaves Ray Graham as the only real option for handoffs. It’s no surprise that Pitt has commitments from four players identified as running backs in this class so far.

Wide receiver: Jon Baldwin took his talents to the NFL after his junior year. True, the Panthers still have plenty of talent at the position, including Mike Shanahan and the emerging Devin Street. But Todd Graham’s new wide-open offense is going to need a lot of targets in the passing game, especially versatile players who can do lots of things in space.

Offensive line: Pitt’s problems in the middle of its offensive line to start last season exposed a shocking lack of depth at the position, which had suffered through several recruiting misses in the past. The Panthers now have to replace their All-Big East left tackle in Jason Pinkston and find a new starting center. And Graham’s offense is going to require a different kind of blocking scheme.

WRs don’t have me too worried. Aside from Shanahan, Street and Saddler, there is also Ed Tinker, Todd Thomas, Drew Carswell and Salath Williams in the pipe.

The O-line as always has me stressed. To say nothing of linebacking and defensive backs.





from an earlier post… thanks for keeping us up to date Chas… i wonder if we have some more juco offers lined up for the oline

been following this from all ends… he is killing it with kids who werent even on Pitt’s radar before

I like that he is planting a flag in Florida (like walt!) and Texas… back to national recruiting instead of just WPIAL and Jersey.

big ones still left:
Pitts – not sure if the cousin coming/being offered to Pitt will help him come back from Rutgers commit… but should be interesting

Michael Eubank – 6’5? 220lb qb from California with a soft verbal to ASU… had a great visit and is between Pitt, ASU, and Utah. Could start next year… great talent and physical prowess. Will have those 3 hats out when he does press conference signing day… fingers crossed
link to recruiting.scout.com

Delvon Simmons – the big fish… Pitt, USC, Oregon, Rutgers, and Texas Tech… will announce signing day, anybody’s guess at this point
link to recruiting.scout.com

Branden Jackson – had a great visit with Pitt… and with so many commits coming from this weekend Im liking Pitt’s chances. These commits tend to come in waves and hopefully the momentum from this weekend carries on…between Pitt, Oregon, and Texas Tech… shares those 3 with Simmons.. both announcing on signing day at press conference
link to recruiting.scout.com

Cortez Johnson – cb out of New Orleans… had a good visit… same high school as Keenan Lewis and Mike Wallace… announcing Wednesday between Pitt and Arizona
link to pittsburgh.scout.com

Desimon Green – back from visit from Texas Tech, gave it high marks… especially living arrangements. Will decide between Texas Tech and Pitt wednesday at 10am
link to pittsburgh.scout.com

Comment by DeVanzo 01.31.11 @ 12:59 pm

looks like Jevonte Pitts is coming to Pitt….

per his twitter:
looks like i’ll be going to PITT
about 19 hours ago via web

this is his twitter address ha…
link to twitter.com

Comment by DeVanzo 01.31.11 @ 1:10 pm

Just the fact that we’re in the running for Simmons is impressive. We have a bright recruiting future if we can muster even a middle of the road Big East class in 3 weeks

Comment by Tony Cancilla 01.31.11 @ 1:27 pm

Is Jevonte a package deal with Lafayette? Or is this an offer to make the Woodland Hills coach happy? Anyone have any clue on this?

Comment by XBlackMagicX 01.31.11 @ 1:36 pm

Based on his twitter page Javonte looks like a real class act. If I were Coach Graham I’d say “thanks but no thanks”. Maybe I’m just old fashioned that way, though.

Comment by Bobby 01.31.11 @ 1:42 pm

Scout.com has Jevonte Pitts committing to Pitt. I am scratching my head on this one. How many DB’s is Graham going to take in this class, let alone not heavily recruited ones? I hope this is a package deal with his cousin.

Comment by winedogs 01.31.11 @ 2:03 pm

hes adding speed and athlete… pitts played qb and secondary…

booby… it is reality now… you need to look at all twitters and open your eyes, this is the norm

Comment by DeVanzo 01.31.11 @ 2:14 pm

Yeah, Bobby, that looks bad at first glance. To be optimistic, I’m sure that that account will be shut down by the coaching staff once he gets here. They’ll make him a nice sanitized version.

I do hope that that tweet about him ditching psychology is not a sign of his commitment to attending classes.

Keep in mind that he is just a high school kid, and that he will have an opportunity to mature once he gets up here.

Comment by Chuck Morris 01.31.11 @ 2:29 pm

Yo Bobby, get wit it bro, dis the digital age and me and my boys r phat wit dat. A sad reality, but soon we will all be communicating in nothing but phonitics and acronyms, totally understandable why when you saw Pitts Twitter page you said OMG, LOL! See what I mean?

Comment by Dr. Tom 01.31.11 @ 2:50 pm

Lol,

Guys I recommend cracking open a Shakesperean play and trying to read it out loud.

If you were to be flash frozen and thawed out 500 years later. The English that was being spoken (if spoken) that day would sound nothing like the language you used.

Just like if Shakespeare himself were to appear before our very eyes today.

DaveD

Comment by DaveD 01.31.11 @ 3:03 pm

To be or not to be……

Comment by Pitt Is It! 01.31.11 @ 3:34 pm

Shakespeare could still understand most of us even today!! Most of us!!

Comment by Dan 01.31.11 @ 3:41 pm

I do need to step back and try to put myself in his shoes. Yes, my goal when I was a single man way back when was to fool around with as many girls as possible. It probably was the only thing I was good at back then. The difference was that I sure as hell wouldn’t publicize to the world (which included my immediate family) and any future coaches (I was a recruited athlete) that my ‘handle’ was “pantie-droppa”. My point is a bigger one and isn’t appropriate for a Pitt sports blog, but it should be entirely obvious to one and all why future generations will likely be speaking either Hindi or Chinese. Last post by me on the morals of any recruit – or our new coach for that matter. I need to continually remind myself that there is only one judge that matters. Rev. George may back me up on this….

Comment by Bobby 01.31.11 @ 4:23 pm

might as well take yourself out of the big time athletics world if you dont like seeing this… its universal… i saw it in the ivy league too

Comment by DeVanzo 01.31.11 @ 4:25 pm

You guys made my day with the Shakespeare reference!

Comment by Dan 72 01.31.11 @ 4:32 pm

It is a sad commentary Bobby, and if our policies keep going the way they are, Chinese will be in the future. Don’t fret though, or give the youth away yet, a good portion of the young people today still can carry on a conversation in English. Ya, my last post too, before I get myself in trouble. Hopefully he runs fast and can cover people, I guess that’s all to worry about, right?? ha ha lol!!

Comment by Dan 01.31.11 @ 4:32 pm

Take a look at some of our current players twitters. EJ Borghetti’s is listed on the right of this page, and he often communicates with them. Click on his, then click on the name, and their own page comes up. Horrifying. The class guys either don’t have one, or at least have sense enough to restrict access. I just don’t get it, either.

Comment by Pwmcdupitt 01.31.11 @ 4:41 pm

I think we need to avoid the social/political/moral/cultural/generational commentary on here. I come here to discuss Pitt sports not larger societal issues.

So where did all the doom and gloomers go? We should be in panic mode with no recruits at this time. But instead we are talking about Pitt potentially getting top recruits from all over the nation. Talk about a great job by Toddy Graham.

Comment by XBlackMagicX 01.31.11 @ 4:56 pm

How in the world did Texas move ahead of us in the polls?

Comment by POLE 01.31.11 @ 5:04 pm

Toddy Graham has been working his ass off with his coaching staff to put a recruiting class together and so far so good (better that I expected). I am concerned, however, that attention should be directed toward the academic ability of our new players to meet reasonable colege standards. I will never forget the DISGRACE of the UNLV basketball classes under Tarkanian.
Pitt has become a major academic institution and our athletic graduation rates for our premier sports football/basketball can not be overlooked.

Comment by isnore 01.31.11 @ 5:04 pm

Isnore, I’ve got every confidence in the world that Todd Graham is dedicated to developing his players both on and off the field.

Check out his bio and note also how important his religion is to him.

Comment by steve 01.31.11 @ 5:24 pm

Steve I agree with you. Please note that I have 2 college degrees – Pitt/Penn and I spelled College with one l in my message from 5:04PM.
SHAME ON ME!!!!

Comment by isnore 01.31.11 @ 5:42 pm

Maybe Pitts will major in English, you think.
I also noticed him flashing the sign of the Devil, we certainly need Rev. George to turn this kid around. Is is was it is for lack of a better way to describe whats going on in these United States anymore.

Comment by melvinbennett 01.31.11 @ 5:47 pm

I can’t imagine what Jock Sutherland would think about today’s players. He’d probably think he landed on a different planet. 🙂

Comment by melvinbennett 01.31.11 @ 5:53 pm

To veer back to recruiting stuff, I think I’m going to throw down for a pay site… to those who know, should I go rivals or scout???

Comment by Greg in New Orleans 01.31.11 @ 5:56 pm

Jock Sutherland probably wouldn’t put up with much and I don’t think he would worry about hurting anyone’s feelings either.

Comment by Justinian 01.31.11 @ 5:58 pm

Zombie Jock Sutherland would have made a fantastic hire.

Comment by ChrisA 01.31.11 @ 6:01 pm

Zombies eat brains so he’d have slim pickings with today’s players. He’d have to hang out at Clapp Hall or Mervis Hall to make up the difference.

Such is life as a Zombie in the modern world.

Comment by melvinbennett 01.31.11 @ 6:24 pm

I personally have no use for facebook or twitter, never used them never will. While having said that, it is a fact that the media, in particular sports media, encourage the use of said social media. That being the case it is understandable that the players like to use it.

Comment by Kenny 01.31.11 @ 6:25 pm

And look what it got Elijah Fields.

Comment by Scott 78 01.31.11 @ 6:27 pm

And Fields is a graphic illustration of the pitfalls of social media posting by players.

Comment by Kenny 01.31.11 @ 6:30 pm

Chas, you seemed to have been stressed the last 2 years about the o-line althoughsadly last year was for good reason. We have 3 returning starters and maybe the lights will go on this year for Gaskins or Turnley. Here is an excerpt from Zeise’s blog (Oct 10) about what to expect from the others next year:

Well, not really changes, but some positive news (finally) about the development of some of the young offensive linemen on the team. The coaches are feeling much better about that group after watching some of these youngsters develop over the past two months. Jack Lippert is one who next year should really be in the mix at center or guard next year. Coaches have tried to get him some work at guard this year but he is the back-up center right now so he has to get as much work as possible at practice since he is one play away. But don’t be surprised if Brandon Sacco emerges as the starting center next year, he is a guy I’ve heard a lot of good things about. I’ve heard him compared most often to John Malecki in terms of his athleticism and his physical, hard-nosed, tough-guy approach to the game. The other guy who has shown some promises, believe it or not, is Matt Rotheram, who came in overweight but now that he has slimmed down some has been pretty good. Rotheram could figure into the mix at tackle next year as well. One other player who apparently is coming into his own a little is Juantez Hollins, the kid from Aliquippa. The development of these young guys is crucial to the development of the program so it is at least good news that we are starting to hear some good things about them. And to bring this all togther – if Jordan Gibbs shows he can play this year it means next years line could look something like this – Gibbs at left tackle, Jacobson at left guard, Sacco at center, Lippert at right guard and Lucas Nix at right tackle. In other words, suddenly, there is some hope though playing well in scout team situations is much different than playing well on Saturdays against real competition so we’re a long way from writing any final chapters on any of these guys.

Comment by wbb 01.31.11 @ 6:36 pm

wbb,

I don’t think there hasn’t been a year where the O-line hasn’t been a source of angst for me — at least in the offseason.

Comment by Chas 01.31.11 @ 7:53 pm

if the scouting services are to be believed, then LB Nich Grigsby (4 star in Rivals) will commit since both Rivals and Scout have him as a HIGH interest in Pitt. Michigan, Lousiville and WVU among others also offered.

Desimon Green is high on Pitt and Tx Tech.

If Pitt can get either of these and one of the two McKeesport players, then all things considered it will be a decent class

Comment by wbb 01.31.11 @ 6:59 pm

I would cut my losses with the pitts family, looks like a dummy!

Comment by POLE 01.31.11 @ 7:24 pm

Coach Graham has worked very hard he and his staff.have done there best in the short time they had this is not there fault that the class is not very good. I am sure next years class will be better but we went from a top 25 class to number 78 or so .Graham did the best he could but players are small and not rated that high . not grahams fault it is the AD that is at fault. but the class is what it is below average.

Comment by FRANKCAN 01.31.11 @ 7:59 pm

Give Pitts a year of higher education and he’ll turn his act around. By his sophomore year he’ll be a perfect gentleman with a new Twitter page titled “The descender of ladies under garments”

Comment by Dr. Tom 01.31.11 @ 8:02 pm

Shakespeare: “Not stepping o’er the bounds of modesty…”
Wiz Khalifa: “E’erthing I do, I do it big…”

Not as much a difference as many people think…

Comment by Jason 01.31.11 @ 8:12 pm

Current players are experiencing a new weight room regimine, one much more strict than under the previous regime. (not bad alliteration, eh?)

Interesting, considering Morris was supposed to be the weight room maven.

Comment by steve 01.31.11 @ 8:15 pm

I say again, if Graham can get a CA kid to commit after a visit on a weekend with weather like this…HALLELUAH, I BELIEVE!!

Comment by Pwmcdupitt 01.31.11 @ 8:41 pm

Who truly knows if any players pan out. It sure would be nice to have continued the streak of higher-rated classes Wanny was getting. If however, we consistently end up with mid-level classes but a highly-competitive, BE winning team, that is all this alum needs.

Comment by Big A 01.31.11 @ 9:22 pm

2-stars, 3-stars, or 4-stars. It don’t matter. Just win, baby!

Comment by Scott 78 01.31.11 @ 10:10 pm

Chas, We saw a tremendous drop-off in the offensive line play from last year to this year, so I understand your concern. However, my fear was losing a “recruiting class” and because of some amazing work by the new staff, that apparently won’t happen. Next year they will have more time to focus in the positions and players they want to go after. As it stands now, I’m impressed with how well they’re doing.

Comment by Justinian 01.31.11 @ 10:13 pm

Louisville just lost to Georgetown in a close game. So that is good for the Panthers in standings. Hail to Pitt!

Comment by Justinian 01.31.11 @ 10:22 pm

We have 3 starters returning and a total TEN linemen from last year and half that redshirted so whats the big deal with the line? I am more concered that we will not stop anyone on the other side of the ball.

Comment by POLE 01.31.11 @ 10:26 pm

You crack me up Chas – ““I just felt that God sent them my way,” Ryles said. “I vibed with the coaches and everything just was a family.”

Or it could just be common sense, when comparing the two.”

Of course, if God doesn’t have the ultimate common sense then who does?

Comment by Reed 02.01.11 @ 5:31 am

Grag – I’m a pay-site member and I’d recommend Scouts.com. I don’t remain a member because of the ‘scoops’ because in all honesty whatever big breaking news is happening is posted on the free boards within an hour anyway – but because the level of detail in the back-stories of the recruits and the PITT program in general is interesting reading.

The writing from the Scouts staff has been great over the last two years and the diligence they use in getting info out is impressive. Plus, lately they have had a lot of other regional recruiting reporters coming onto the PITT board to discuss the recruits PITT is looking at in their areas… something the didn’t happen much in the past.

But the main reason I do is because I very much enjoy the higher quality of discourse and debate on the pay boards as opposed to the free ones – there is very little or no bitch slapping contests between posters and if one disagrees with others it is treated conversationally as if you were sitting with friends having a beer and talking.

Since this is all a hobby for me and I enjoy talking about PITT, the $10 a month is well worth it.

Comment by Reed 02.01.11 @ 5:38 am

Looks like N. Grisby committed to PITT overnight… and he appears to be a good one.

Comment by Reed 02.01.11 @ 5:39 am

Regarding recruiting stars:

Brian Bennett reviews the 2010 All-BE team and how they were ranked coming into college as recruits…

link to espn.go.com

Again, this just reiterates the fact that the star ranking system is highly subjective in the first place and no real or consistent indicator of future success in the second. It all depends on the player’s ability to adapt at a higher level and, more importantly IMO, the ability of the coaching staff to get the most out of the players.

Honestly – while it’s nice to land 4* and 5* star players I’m pretty content with getting 3* players as the majority or your recruiting class also – as long as the coaching staff has wanted those kids onboard from the beginning (which is a moot point this season with Graham but will play out big time in 2012)

Comment by Reed 02.01.11 @ 5:45 am

@Reed, is that the inside scoop from Scouts.com about Grisby? If so, then that would be the recruiting bomb I was predicting Graham was going to drop on signing day, I wonder if he has any more aces up his sleeve for tomorrow, hmmm? This guy so far is very impressive. He swoons everybody in his initial press conference, shows up in the Oakland Zoo wearing their T-shirt during home basketball games, pulls together a decent recruiting class out of his bum hole in the last couple of weeks before signing day. Whats next? Maybe this guy can bring a lasting peace to the middle east. The thing in recruiting that just jumps off the page is the national scope of his commits. Out of the dozen or so recruits that he has brought in only two, three if Grisby is for real, are from PA. That kind of recruiting, in a couple years, could have a huge influence in both the quality of players on this team as well as Pitt’s profile on the national stage. If he can coach the team anywhere near the way he has pulled Pitt football back from the debacle that SP thrust it into at year’s end then he’s got my vote for BE coach of the year!

Comment by Dr. Tom 02.01.11 @ 7:42 am

Thanks Reed.

Comment by Greg in New Orleans 02.01.11 @ 8:44 am

Dr. Tom – yes… and I forgot to hold off on putting that out as I stole a bit of flash from Chas on here. Sometimes I forget that I wake up three hours before everyone else.

Sorry…

I don’t put much stock in star ratings but when Rivals.com – who is notoriously stingy in give out four and five star ratings gives a kid 4*s, as they have done with Grisby, then I think it means that he’s pretty good. They have been pretty accurate with that.

I believe we are going to get one or two more big surprises either today or tomorrow – Graham has done a great job in even keeping these higher rated kids interested in PITT up until LOI Day.

I’m a little shocked he’s done as well as he has so far. Talk about coming into a volatile situation – very unusual and not like a normal coaching turnover at all where some of the staff may remain on board.

We still have a lot of naysayer PITT fans regarding Graham though and that’s OK – but I think that is more of a disappointment with DW being fired than it is with Graham himself… IMO you have to take things as they come and evaluate as it unfolds. I was a huge DW fan when hired and through the 2008 season when I though he was rebuilding the program to what he wanted… then my opinion changed when he drastically underachieved in 2009 and 2010.

So, I’ll give Graham “wins” on what he’s done so far regarding his infectious attitude and his recruiting efforts.

Comment by Reed 02.01.11 @ 9:02 am

Dr Tom, isn’t Grigsby from OH?

Comment by Pwmcdupitt 02.01.11 @ 11:34 am

Actually Shakespear would sound more like an American now. he just had a bigger vocabulary since he didn’t have federal standards and the teacher unions.

Comment by dcpinpgh 02.01.11 @ 6:02 pm

I’m glad that we didn’t lose a recruiting class. I think Graham and his staff did better than anyone could have expected. They addressed team speed in the secondary and got help at linebacker. If they add a few more tomorrow on signing day, that will icing on the cake.

Comment by Justinian 02.01.11 @ 9:54 pm

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