masthead.jpg

switchconcepts.com, U3dpdGNo-a25, DIRECT rubiconproject.com, 14766, RESELLER pubmatic.com, 30666, RESELLER, 5d62403b186f2ace appnexus.com, 1117, RESELLER thetradedesk.com, switchconcepts, RESELLER taboola.com, switchconceptopenrtb, RESELLER bidswitch.com, switchconcepts, RESELLER contextweb.com, 560031, RESELLER amazon-adsystem.com, 3160, RESELLER crimtan.com, switch, RESELLER quantcast.com, switchconcepts , RESELLER rhythmone.com, 1934627955, RESELLER ssphwy.com, switchconcepts, RESELLER emxdgt.com, 59, RESELLER appnexus.com, 1356, RESELLER sovrn.com, 96786, RESELLER, fafdf38b16bf6b2b indexexchange.com, 180008, RESELLER nativeads.com, 52853, RESELLER theagency.com, 1058, RESELLER google.com, pub-3515913239267445, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0
January 21, 2012

PITT’S NATIONAL LETTER OF INTENT DAY

Filed under: Uncategorized — Reed @ 9:07 am

The PITT Panther Club is holding its 2012 National Letter of Intent day at Heinz Field on the evening of Wednesday, Feb 1st.  It will be in held the East Club Lounge with a 5:00 PM door opening with the event starting at 6:00 pm.

The event is open to Panther Club members, season ticket holders and their guests.  RSVPs have to be in, with your guests’ name, by Friday Jan 27th  to 412-648-888 or pantherclub@athletics.pitt.edu.

I haven’t been to one yet but I plan on making the drive up and attending this year.  The fans I have talked to who have attended have all said that it is a lot of fun as the staff (these guys will stick around, promise!) introduces the recruits, talks about why PITT wanted them and shows film on their HS play.  It will consist of two hours on Rushel Shell, an hour discussing Chad Voytik , intermission and then a five minute wrap up on the other guys.

Just kidding, I have no idea how long it lasts but I’d think a couple of hours at least.

There is “game day” food and booze available by concession so if all else fails we can sit in the back, drink beer, bitch about Fraud Graham, generally bullshit and make extraordinarily absurd predictions regarding the  upcoming season.

 “Game day” food  is all the stuff us peons in the cheap seats have to eat and not what the normal fancy pants East Lounge members get to eat at the football games… which gives us another thing to drink beer and bitch about.

Now that I think about it we can use the two weeks before the event to organize and generate a PITT Blather Manifesto to present in protest.  Then we can conduct an “Occupy East Lounge” movement, but with booze.  It is important to establish PITT street cred if we want our protests to be recognized so Chas will paint his face Old Gold and Blue, but  in a camouflage pattern so he can sneak in and listen to the crowd of old PITT lettermen attendees talking with SP about Todd Graham’s family.

It is also a chance to meet and greet some principals on the coaching staff and the athletic administration and to hear their thought on why this new staff is so much better than the old new staff.

So, I’m going to be there this year and hope to see some other of us Blatherers there also.  If you aren’t a Panther Club member or a season ticket holder maybe we can figure something out.

Here’s another view of Chas so that you’ll recognize him there.

 

 





I as at one of these back in 06. The AD introduces the HC and who gives a speech ho excited he is about the incoming class, and then he introuces each position coach who talks about each recruit in his area, showing highlights of each.

Of course, with the new staff coming in, it will be a bit different in that both staff and the recruits will be new … thus attendees will also get insight on the staff.

I enjoyed it but never went out of my way to attaned another one … but if I worked downtown or on the north shore, I would have probably been there every year.

Comment by wbb 01.21.12 @ 9:22 am

I forgot to say that I heard that the MBA girls may make a surprise appearance this year.

Comment by wbb 01.21.12 @ 9:25 am

For some reason my sidebar doesn’t have the MBA girl on it anymore.

Comment by Reed 01.21.12 @ 9:30 am

Any word on PC recruits?? I know over the last week pk and FRANKCAN were dealing out some good info from a variety of sources. I am really interested in how this recruiting class is going to end up. Curious to see if PC brings in some guys who were not on our radar for the OL and DL. Dying to have a respectable top 25 program again. Was hoping that with the implosion of PSU and OS that Pitt could rise from the ashes. But with U. Meyer showing up at OS I’m much less optimistic.

Edit Note: You have to be kidding with that screen name right?

Comment by IH8PITT 01.21.12 @ 10:25 am

Ih8pitt, 3 star safety commit jevonte pitts is academically ineligible…. Again. He was last year and attended a prep scholl but i have no idea what hell do now.

Comment by Pk 01.21.12 @ 10:46 am

the one I’m most interested in is the OL Denman ho is visiting isconsin this weekend. If he doesn’t commit to them in the next few days, I think we may have a fighting chance for him.

Another OL and previous Pitt commit Pankey seems to have a great interest in WVU but hasn’t made a commitment yet .. so he is not out of the picture yet.

Most of the news haven’t changed … almost all of the commits seem to be staying except for Conell and possibly Pankey and Corey Jones .. but we won’t know for sure until 2/1.

Comment by wbb 01.21.12 @ 10:47 am

Wbb, he is currently committed to wisconsin, but was open about his displeasure with the coaches leaving there. He said that he really enjoyed his visit to pitt and his hs coach said hed make a decision after this weekend

Comment by Pk 01.21.12 @ 10:52 am

Just read that Graham article link, what an asshole he is. He took over a program “with the most criminalities in the country” referring to Pitt, what a piece of shit he is. Haven’t really paid attention to him since he left but that quote rubbed me the wrong way.

Comment by Howard 01.21.12 @ 11:00 am

Pitt should be an easy sell for high school all american recruits. I graduated from pitt & have been to univ. Of md.,wvu,rutgers,pepperdine & ucla. These were some of the best if not the best years of my life ! If pitt is good enough fordorsett,marino,green,fralic,martin,revis etc. it is certainly good enough for them. No school produces more nfl stars than pitt along with unforgettable college life/experin

Comment by Rocky20 01.21.12 @ 11:03 am

ESPN Game Day reporting that Tray Woodall WILL play tonight.

Comment by SilverPanther in NYC 01.21.12 @ 11:04 am

Hey, My morning flight got canceled due to the snow and ice last night, so I got to watch ESPN College Gameday at the Pete and it was a lot of fun. The student “Oakland Zoo” section came out in force and they had a nice interview with Jamie Dixon. Dixon said he fealt that they should have won at Marquette and was happy with the effort and play at Syracuse where they out rebounded the Orange by 10. He said that the freshmen guards are starting to play better and they are getting Travon Woodall back who was averaging 8 assists before he go hurt.

Comment by Justinian 01.21.12 @ 11:05 am

Note to the Editor. Screen name was created in fit of anger/frustration watching Pitt implode this year under Graham and Tino. Had to vent on those issues. I’m very tired of what seems like a million promises over the last 20 years stating that the program is turning the corner. I heard Pitt is on the rise, will be a national power again under Hackett, Harris, Wanny, Graham. You get the idea. We need results, not car salesmen platitudes.

Comment by IH8PITT 01.21.12 @ 11:15 am

Great ending to this with a photo of Chas. What a great photo!!

Comment by QuipScript 01.21.12 @ 11:17 am

Chad is a special kid from a special family, Pitt has landed a gem. I’m in East TN frequently and there’s been buzz on him since middle school. He’s smart, tough, solid, accurate arm, lots of upside, takes coaching well. HS OL had its best guys on left side so he got comfortable going left on roll outs and deep routes. Kid took criticism because SEC except Vandy wasn’t pushing. Chad is also a serious student whose dad is an orth surgeon educated in Philly. Don’t think family would have been happy at any SEC environ except maybe Vandy. Been a long time since we had a dynamic QB.

Changing gears, let’s beat Louisville and get this team turned around. Could happen today, got a feeling.

Comment by Old School Panther 01.21.12 @ 12:08 pm

Info i posted this on the last post of the post of the 19th as well as the posts yesterday
it looks like are DL coach is AL HOLCOMB
he is with NY giants at this time went to WVU in 1990 to 1993.

Comment by FRANKCAN 01.21.12 @ 12:14 pm

Chad Voytik showed his character when he and Rushel Shell kept the class together after Graham and Company left. That’s something when you see more character and commitment from the recruits than the coaches. Hail to Pitt!

Comment by Justinian 01.21.12 @ 12:22 pm

I have to say, I’ve seen IH8PITT on here many a time, with many good comments and questions, and I picked up on it immediately that his screen name was born out of frustration.

Comment by Dan 01.21.12 @ 12:24 pm

DAN come on give me some love for finding out who the DL coach is.

Comment by FRANKCAN 01.21.12 @ 12:26 pm

No one should be surprised that even though Pitt has a great new head coach, highly qualified assistants, our rivals will try to use the events of the past 13 months to sway recruits away from Pitt.

Comment by markp 01.21.12 @ 12:27 pm

Steven adams in his third game had 18 points 10 rebounds 6 blocks. Apparently hes had a slow start but only by his standards. I calculated some stats from his first three game in only his third week in america: 15 points, 9 rebounds, 4 blocks per game. Apparently hes quite a character. His coach said that every time they go to a new city adams asks “is this the ghetto?” haha

Comment by Pk 01.21.12 @ 12:35 pm

pk did you read the posts above you ask me something days ago the answer is on this page.

Comment by FRANKCAN 01.21.12 @ 12:43 pm

Frank, about Al holcomb? Good detective work. Is he the dl cosch at the g men or what does he currently do?

Comment by Pk 01.21.12 @ 12:53 pm

Hes just listed as a defensive assistant and he was their defendive quality control coac for two years. Thatd be a good pickup imo along with bobby engram

Comment by Pk 01.21.12 @ 12:58 pm

PK you ask and i do what i can to find out.
he was a DL coach at a small school as well as a DC there also.

Comment by FRANKCAN 01.21.12 @ 1:08 pm

Thanks frank i appreciate it. If nothing else this staff sure can offer the pro ecperience to recruits.

Comment by Pk 01.21.12 @ 1:15 pm

FRANKCAN,

Great work digging that up about Holcomb. Just read up on him off the Giants’ website and if he’s indeed the guy (official announcement pending, of course), sounds like they could’ve done a heck of a lot worse. If he’s had a hand over the last few years in the performance of that Giants’ defensive line, I certainly won’t complain about this.

Comment by Stoosh 01.21.12 @ 1:22 pm

Agreed stoosh

Comment by Pk 01.21.12 @ 1:23 pm

Good digging Frank. Agree that NFL guys + Pro Style offense and 4-3 defense will be good selling points.

Comment by Atlanta Panther 01.21.12 @ 1:39 pm

AL HOLCOMB was the DL coach at lafayette for 3
years and was the DC of kuztown as well as DB coach there.

Comment by FRANKCAN 01.21.12 @ 1:39 pm

thank you i am here to help thank you brothers.

Comment by FRANKCAN 01.21.12 @ 1:41 pm

Frank, can you get me tonights winning numbers???

Comment by Dan 01.21.12 @ 1:44 pm

Dan i wish i could i will tell you something
and you can belive it or not if i hit big i mean
20 million or more there are 10 brothers on here who i would find and give each one at least
twenty thousand dollars
for being nice to me and you are one hell if had that mutch i would not miss it.

Comment by FRANKCAN 01.21.12 @ 1:59 pm

Dokish reporting that david durham, a redshirt freshman fullback at ohio state is visiting pitt today. Hes 6’1″ 245 and if he transfers he will be forced to sit a year

Comment by Pk 01.21.12 @ 2:11 pm

pk thanks for info love transfers
and if you care ohio state just took a commit
from penn state i think he is LB camren williams.

Comment by FRANKCAN 01.21.12 @ 2:51 pm

Nice scoop PK. Sounds like a legit fullback prospect and probably a 2 year starter after he becomes eligible. Anybody have any ideas who might start at fullback next year?

Comment by Atlanta Panther 01.21.12 @ 2:53 pm

Frank i saw that. I think that psu is truly going to be skrewed on the recruiting front

Comment by Pk 01.21.12 @ 3:04 pm

i think we should petition the post gazette to replace Zeise with FRANKCAN. Much more timely info, Zeiss must really work for the government, he has more days off than on.

Comment by Howard 01.21.12 @ 3:05 pm

Howard i like the part abought Zeise being MIA
i think he went to AZ to vist TG.

Comment by FRANKCAN 01.21.12 @ 3:15 pm

I cast my vote for Frank!

Comment by Justinian 01.21.12 @ 3:32 pm

Here’s Durham’s rivals page.
link to rivals.yahoo.com

6’3 228 4.7 if this kid is indeed gonna potentially play fullback for us i hope we throw him the ball a little…

Comment by Gordo 01.21.12 @ 3:32 pm

FRANKCAN – you have been asking for a new recruit. This kid is coming in for a visit this weekend. No rating on Scout. His only offers are from Wisconsin and Pitt.

Gabe Roberts
Ht: 6-4 Wt: 275
Position: OG, DT
Year: Class of 2012
High School: New London HS
(New London, WI)

Comment by winedogs 01.21.12 @ 3:59 pm

Comment by marcus of schaumburg 01.21.12 @ 4:32 pm

Winedogs you are the man love the info

Comment by FRANKCAN 01.21.12 @ 4:39 pm

Some thing to think abought and talk abought
i would say most of us think we need OL men
our a qb or WR .
BUT except jj denman have you noticed that the unsigned vists are all DL men or DB or LB there have been what 5 DB 2 DT i LB we have 8 to give now we are down to 17 commits i would say the coachs think we need DEFENCE HELP what say you.

Comment by FRANKCAN 01.21.12 @ 4:48 pm

You can never have enough defensive backs in this spread offense world.

Comment by Atlanta Panther 01.21.12 @ 5:13 pm

winedogs that is just what i was talking abought gabe roberts was being recruitrd bye bob bostad when he was at wisconsin that is what i wanted to see thanks for the info i just looked him up he weighs 290 now a big boy.

Comment by FRANKCAN 01.21.12 @ 5:18 pm

ALLANTA PANTHER when you play agenst the spred that is true as i looked at it though it was a shock i thought we needed mostley OFFENCE help
but the coachs know best.
when i saw we were bringing in mostley Defence
i just had a light bulb go on and said i guess i was wrong

Comment by FRANKCAN 01.21.12 @ 5:25 pm

Frank, ive said it before that you can never have too many defensive backs snd defensive lineman. It all starts in the trenches. You need to start there and build your way outward. Pitts got some very talented linebackers, even though theyre young. I would like to see at least one more offensive lineman but if the rest of the commits are on defense id love it.

Comment by Pk 01.21.12 @ 5:30 pm

I agree that you can never have enough good defensive players, however, it is no secret that another wide receiver and a QB would be nice to see on signing day. Who knows? Surprises are always good to keep the blood flowing.

Let’s kick Pitino in the ass tonight!!

Comment by isnore 01.21.12 @ 5:36 pm

isnore a qb would be nice and a wr but they know best .

Comment by FRANKCAN 01.21.12 @ 5:58 pm

pk i get it i just thought it would be the offensive trenches. but like i say they know best
but would still like to see one more QB.

but you know what if there is only the one QB
you know what that means it means they think more of the QBs we have than we do

Comment by FRANKCAN 01.21.12 @ 6:06 pm

if they get another QB, it will be a JUCO

Comment by wbb 01.21.12 @ 6:17 pm

Wbb are there any good ones not signed .

Comment by FRANKCAN 01.21.12 @ 6:26 pm

Wbb there is just one a 3 star QB
ryan mossakowski 6 foot 3 230 pounds he was at
kentucky 2 years ago he has offers from murry st
and jackson st he is a pro style that is the only one even a little bit good.
the rest are not good or signed all ready

Comment by FRANKCAN 01.21.12 @ 6:52 pm

Thanks Frank!! Hey, I’d do the same. You have to have some family and friends with you to go on trips and have fun and stuff.

Anything on Myers. Is he excited, is he working hard?? With the new offense coming in, I’d like to think he’d be fired up!!

Comment by Dan 01.21.12 @ 10:08 pm

Awesome scoop FRANKCAN. This is just the sort of info I was hoping for when I posted. Thanks. With PZ going AWOL on Pitt FB I strongly support Howard’s idea to petition the Post Gazette. Also tip my hat to winedogs on the Roberts prospect. No way of knowing what he future holds, but I like what I’m hearing about this class and staff PC is assembling. Given all the mistakes over the last 2yrs I’m still afraid to cross my fingers but thinking about it.

Comment by IH8PITT 01.22.12 @ 7:18 am

Pitt is not allowed to talk about any recruits until signing day. Zeise is a Pitt beat writer and must be careful not to disclose any inside info he gets by people at Pitt. He will occasionally drop names he hears from Chris Peak or someone outside of the Pitt family but we all have access to the sites … we all know who is visiitng, but probably won’t know anything for sure untl 2/1 … only 10 days away.

Comment by wbb 01.22.12 @ 8:38 am

wbb – for some PITT fans that is going to be a nerve wracking 10 days.

I look at it more positively than some others do.

Considering that 12 months ago the national press was calling our football program “a train wreck” after Haywood’s incident and firing, then a month ago Graham lifted his skirts and ran away, we are in relatively good shape with this class. The reality is that we could be in way worse shape than we are right now.

I do expect this staff to get some more players to come onboard and think we’ll be satisfied with the overall class. But personally, if we maintain the status quo for these 10 days, I think we’ll be fine.

IMO results on the field and the recruit’s progress over their first two years in the system is a much better indicator of a HC’s recruiting then the star system is anyway. I think we saw that with Graham’s 2011 class as well, the recruits pretty much contributed above their rankings out on the field.

Comment by Reed 01.22.12 @ 8:56 am

San fran plays the G men to day so we should
know for sure one of new coachs names bye tues
the WR coach or the DL coach.

Comment by FRANKCAN 01.22.12 @ 11:11 am

I think Pitts class will be fine. in terms of rankings Pitts class will probably finish in the 25-30 range which is acceptable. while its true that coaching and on field production is most important, I think that they’re going to have to step it up in the next few years. there are plenty of great players in the wpial next year who look likely to attend Pitt, ie Patrick kugler, Robert foster, Tyler Boyd etc among many others so I think it’s critical that Chryst land most of them. I would venture to say that Robert foster and Patrick kugler are must-gets

Comment by pk 01.22.12 @ 11:22 am

I didn’t see an email or anything come over regarding the LOI @ Heinz, but it is noted on the athletic department website.

is there a link anywhere or is this just another well planned and funded Smiling Steve event?

Comment by ClarkLotTgate 01.23.12 @ 1:51 pm

Powered by WordPress © PittBlather.com

Site Meter