For whatever it is worth, Pitt has its first verbal for the 2014 class. Not 2013, 2014. Chandler Kincade from Blackhawk High has decided to verbal really early.
“After they offered me, I had a pretty good idea I wanted to commit,” Kincade said. “I just wanted to wait until after the season. The coaches are great guys and the program seems like it is progressing each week.”
Kincade, 6-foot-5, 218 pounds, missed part of Blackhawk’s season with a shoulder injury, but he completed 40 of 68 passes for 547 yards and three touchdowns in five games. Hamilton said Kincade is athletic enough to run, but that wasn’t part of Blackhawk’s offensive game plan.
“We didn’t allow him to run very much,” Hamilton said. “We only had one quarterback.”
“I’ve never been a running quarterback,” Kincade said. “I’ve always been a passing quarterback, but I can run.”
Kincade said he chose Pitt partially because his brother, Anthony, who doesn’t play football, may enroll there after he graduates from Blackhawk next year.
“It means a lot to be with him,” Kincade said.
As you can imagine with a sophomore in high school, there isn’t that much on the kid yet. He had been drawing interest from PSU and OSU as well, but no scholarship offers that early. He has taken part in Elite 11 and 7-on-7 camps (the links to the stories are behind paywalls).
My general rule is that any kid who commits that early, can not be held too tightly to the commitment. There is still over 2 years before he can sign an NLI. A lot can change for both sides.
Kincade also played basketball prior to this season, so he has athleticism. His size makes him appear to be more of a pro-style QB, but if he has the athleticism that is suggested he could fit the system.
No other college had offered Kincade a scholarship yet, but he is only a 16-year-old 10th-grader, and other major colleges were showing interest.
“He’s a very good athlete,” said Blackhawk coach Joe Hamilton. “He has a strong arm, he’s tall and he has an awful lot of maturity for his age, both athletically and socially.”
Here’s a highlight from last year.
He will have to continue to develop in many ways though. Just hard to imagine that someone this young should be something we start tabbing as the next saviour of our program.
As for a perfect fit for the system…it’s tough to say based on what we have seen so far of the “system”.
He and his family up until a year ago or so was thinking basketball, his early success and showings at camps have them leaning strictly to football now.
There is a whole lot between now and when he gets on the field at Pitt. Lets hope all continues to go well for Chan, his brother, who is also a great kid, and their family.
It should be known that Kincade was also an all-section basketball player as a freshman. He is obviously more of a fit for Graham’s system … or he wouldn’t have been offered a schollie before his soph year
Remember aside from Myers slowness a foot (6’5″ kids are usually quicker – they both play basketball),his slow release, and his questionable intellectual ability (St. Ignatius, Cleveland honor student)failing to allow him to comprehend the complex system of Graham a Texas schooled coach who has excelled at the head coaching level in the USA-Conference (60%) winning percentage.
I am not excited am another 5’11” QB at Pitt. With Penn State in such disaray now is the time to dump Graham and his HO offense and hire someone with a strong recruiting background in Ohio, N,J, and PA. Players in theses high schools are quality players use to playing straight up hard nose football. Pick the Penn State tree (solid OL, DL, Linebackers) there are enough skilled players and excellent tall pro style QB ‘s. Junk the smoke and mirrors offense because there would be no weaknesses to hide Alabama, LSU).
Make Myers the QB next year and this kid if he is good enough his predesscer.
Stop using logic, reason and facts, it confuses me!
He was fired after 2 dismal seasons that Louisville is only now shown some rebirth.
The point is Graham built his “reputation” on the offense statistics of Tulsa that were skewed by offensive production against the bottom feeders of the USA-Conference not on program rebuilding. He was a hire of desperation sold as the person Peterson wanted from the beginning. Yet no othe rprogram searching for a head coached offered him a position that is why he was available at such short notice.
Second, and most importantly, he has displayed what in my opinion is a personality trait that often is present in unsuccesful managers taking over a new position. They may not slowly adapt to the strengths they inherited but discard them and sacrifice the teams possibilities for immediate success because of their inflexibility.
Finally, N.J., PA., and Ohio, high school football is much different in approach and style than TX. and OKL. so I fear his system will be new to all his recruits and turn away many quality local QBs who has no interest in sacrificing any pro career by being a hybrid running back.
Once the injury bug hit the O line, we were in deep dodo quick. The only bright spot there was how Turnley worked out at center.
In camp, Graham is having nightmares over that position if he doesn’t develop a player who could reliably snap the ball in the shotgun, now 3/4 the way through the season and you can count on the fingers of one hand how many bad snaps from center that we’ve had. Turnley is a real success story for this season.
Can you imagine the debacle that would have resulted if Tino was having to run around fielding bad snaps on top of everything else that he’s been dealing with??
This team has plenty of unrealized potential, STILL! It’s a Dr. Jekyll Mr. Hyde personality this team has. Who shows up tomorrow???? I wouldn’t be surprised if we don’t win another game this season. I also wouldn’t be surprised if we win out, go to a minor bowl and win there too. Even this late into the season anything could happen.
We’ve really been in every game, and if we ever figure out how to get out of our own way and bring home a win in the fourth quarter the entire persona on game outcomes turns around.
I’m just impressed by the fact that Graham hasn’t lost the team by this point in a disappointing season. Everybody still seems to be bought into his mantra and are still playing hard even without the breaks ever going our way.
With Shell and Voytik coming in, the probable return of Jacobsen and Ray Graham returning from injuries for a final season, if we can just shore up the offensive line with a couple more JC transfers to supplement that weak spot, Pitt could be a surprise next year.
I just hope that Voytik is the real deal. I’ve heard it so many times before that I’m gun shy now about our next great QB. Bostick, Sunseri, Meyers all were supposed to be the savior of Pitt football, well? Voytik is next in line, we’ll see.
Speaking of LOI, I believe yeaterday was the first day for 2012 basketball commits to sign LOIs