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June 28, 2012

Full post coming, but it just got reported that Tra’Von Chapman has pulled the trigger a couple days earlier than expected and given Pitt a verbal.

Okay, I’m not saying Tra’Von Chapman gave his verbal to Pitt a couple days earlier to bring Pitt fans back from the deep end over recruiting. But… I’m not saying he didn’t.

Chris Peak at PantherLair.com has been teasing news all morning.

And gets credit for breaking it first.

Everyone knew he was going to verbal to Pitt, it was just a matter of when.

Chapman is ranked as a 4-star recruit on Rivals.com and Scout.com. On 247 and ESPN.com (Insider subs.) they put him at 3-stars.

Here’s some of the ESPN.com scouting report which is dated 10/24/11.

Chapman is a highly productive dual-threat quarterback that takes pride in clearly being a passer first, runner second. He is athletic and very consistent in his overall methods. We are not convinced he is quite as tall as his listed height, but he is well built and looks like a wide receiver. He is a shotgun, spread player that is extremely good on the move and a consistently productive deep ball passer. Possesses good arm strength and flashes the ability to put some heat on his throws if he needs to. Has extremely quick feet, stays active and does a nice job of creating passing windows with his mobility. He has adequate pocket presence, consistently buys second chances and appears comfortable throwing on the run.

His size is listed at 6-1 or 6-2 and 195 to 200 pounds.

That makes consecutive years that Pitt has reeled in 3/4-star QB recruits.

Obviously the comparisons will be made to Russell Wilson and what Chryst was able to do last year with Wilson at Wisconsin. Especially since Wilson was about the same height. It also points to Chryst’s position that you adapt to the players’ strength and not force them into a particular scheme. You can have a base, but adapt to what the player can do.





Comment by wbb 06.28.12 @ 11:55 am

..and a collective sigh of relief from pitt fans everywhere

Comment by rhyno527 06.28.12 @ 11:56 am

I am happy. And people, it is not even close to National Signing Day so you never know if we can lure back Johnson. With that said, it can always go the other way too.

Comment by Timmeh 06.28.12 @ 12:00 pm

Breaking it first=harassing a kid with 50 phone calls until he tells you

Comment by Mike 06.28.12 @ 12:08 pm

Now let’s go get Foster!

Comment by Pittastic 06.28.12 @ 1:13 pm

not a bad verbal for a staff that “can’t recruit…”

HTP

Comment by Pitt it IS 06.28.12 @ 2:04 pm

Hopefully Foster sees that Pitt is recruiting stud QB’s to throw him the damn ball.

Comment by TX Panther 06.28.12 @ 2:07 pm

Also got Carson Baker, an offensive lineman that only had MAC offers today.

Comment by Mike 06.28.12 @ 2:29 pm

Apparently we just landed another OL. Had offers from MAC Schools, but hey, it’s a body.

Comment by Atlanta Panther 06.28.12 @ 2:33 pm

Is it too early to start chanting “It’s Tra’Von Time”?

Comment by Dr. Tom 06.28.12 @ 2:36 pm

Well done by Coach Chryst and staff. Big time receivers like having big time quarterbacks throwing to them. Now it appears our favorite university has two in Chad and Tra’von. I suspect that young Mr Foster and Mr. Boyd will take note of that. Better days ahead fellow PITT fans!

Comment by longsufferingpittfan 06.28.12 @ 2:46 pm

Just checked out Chapman’s highlight videos over on Pitt Script. Throws a nice deep ball.

Comment by Atlanta Panther 06.28.12 @ 2:51 pm

Wait we actually recruited a QB that can throw the ball more than 20 yards….I’m truly amazed!

Comment by Marco 06.28.12 @ 3:40 pm

Is everyone forgetting Voytik already? With the transfer and this kid. Chances that Myers transfers before/after season starts or is released?

Comment by tedsptman 06.28.12 @ 4:28 pm

Kudos to coaches. Keep it up.

Comment by steve1 06.28.12 @ 4:28 pm

Marco, two in a row, in fact!

Hail to Pitt!

Comment by Digdug 06.28.12 @ 4:30 pm

tedsptman, I think Myers is content, he’ll stay, go through the motions, graduate, and move on. I just get a feeling he genuinely likes the University.

Comment by Digdug 06.28.12 @ 4:31 pm

Myself I am intrigued by Savage despite having only 1 year. I knew nothing about him or his transfer. Even though he will have sat out a year he has the size, a big time arm, and the heart of a qb (something Myer’s has not shown).

We may have two quality young QB’s and other’s on the way. For 2013 Savage could be perhaps be for Pitt what Wilson was for Wisconsin.

Comment by drw 06.28.12 @ 4:40 pm

Stillers just cut Brandon Lindsey. Why are they such haters of Pitt players? I really thought Brandon had at least a decent shot of making the practice squad.

Comment by TX Panther 06.28.12 @ 5:00 pm

Good news. I haven’t been on the blog for a while and it was really nice to hear of Tra’Von Chapman signing. There are good players in the area and Pitt needs to bring in as many as they can get. Not bad get, for a coach with a “laid back” recruiting style.

Comment by Justinian 06.28.12 @ 5:21 pm

Good news on Chapman…I also think it’s funny that everyone has seemed to glance over Savage and Voytik already, but it should at least make for some interesting competitions in the coming years.

I am sad to hear about Brandon Lindsey but he is just too small to play the DE spot and just to slow to play the OLB spot at the NFL level. That awkard tweener size that is okay in the Big East but not in the AFC North.

Comment by BCPITT 06.28.12 @ 6:18 pm

BTW that Baker kid is RIGHT up Chryst’s alley. 6-5 315 on Rivals. He only has offers from Buffalo and Toledo, but he is huge! Look at Wiscy OL commits from the past 4 years and the classes are riddled with 2-3 star OL that at 6-5 or taller 300+….Would you trade Wiscy’s 2012 OL for Pitt’s 2012 OL??? I think you just might…

Comment by BCPITT 06.28.12 @ 6:29 pm

This video is really, um, real:

link to espn.go.com

Comment by steve1 06.28.12 @ 6:45 pm

Every single team passed on Brandon Lindsey and every other Pitt player. How does that make the Steelers Pitt haters?

Comment by Tony C 06.28.12 @ 6:49 pm

I jest with you yinzers. But you would think that more Pitt players would have gotten drafted by the Stillers over the years or at least signed on as free agents.

Comment by TX Panther 06.28.12 @ 7:27 pm

I love how Pitt beats out Cincinnati and Northwestern for a QB and now people are saying “see Chryst is out there recruiting hard”. They are still ranked in the 40s in recruiting and most of the prospects don’t have major offers. Those are facts!!!

Comment by Mike 06.28.12 @ 8:16 pm

I just watched Mr. Chapman’s video and was impressed with the little bit he was asked to do. The lad has quick feet, moves quite well and throws a good spiral. Can’t go wrong when skills such as rhese will be seen in Heinz Field. Good job, Chryst and co. and welcome to Tra. Rev. George in Columbus.

Comment by Rev. George Mehaffey 06.28.12 @ 8:35 pm

I love how Mike can’t read. People aren’t sayin that Chryst is out there recruiting hard. If you want to be accurate. People are typing. The problem is that your reading skills rival that of a fourth grader.

Rankings in June do not matter. Nor do they matter in February. It’s all about wins and losses, unless you are from Penn State where sins trump wins for the last 25 years.

Comment by dhuffdaddy 06.28.12 @ 8:41 pm

why are all the fans freaking out about recruiting; seems to me like coach chryst is doing a fine job already without even showing what he will put on the field as a head coach role. i think once he does that, he is even going to be able to land bigger recruits. pitt fan base just needs to chill the f out and let things play out. it took a while but i think we got our man. so a little patience is needed in the meantime; heck we tolerated last year and the fiasco with the hiring, this is nothing now. we got a guy who wants to be here, wants to stay, and called it a destination job. im happy and content. and as a bonus, this is titos last year.

Comment by pittisit37 06.28.12 @ 8:43 pm

Great get by PC & staff. Imagine Chapman gets red shirted next year. Since we’ll have Savage & Voytik, Anderson & Myers.
I do believe the big boys up front can be coached up by good coaches, which we have. Two examples immediately come to mind. WVU under Dickrod never had high recruits on the O-Line and Wisconsin under our on PC, never had highly rated recruits either. And the Badgers have had several O-linemen drafted in the 1rst round, several years in a row.

While it would have been nice to land the kid from Belle Vernon, it’s far from the end of the world.
haha Oakland & Pittsburgh probably intimidated the small town kid.

Comment by Emel 06.28.12 @ 9:09 pm

Anyone else notice how that OL recruit just keeps driving his man well beyond the point of attack?

Comment by pittstadiumshuffle 06.28.12 @ 9:12 pm

H

Comment by BCPITT 06.28.12 @ 9:22 pm

Hey Mike…I like how you focus on Cinci and Northwestern and discard the fact that Chapman also had offers from Boston College, Arizona, Illinois, and Wisconsin. I guess ACC, Pac 12, and Big Ten teams aren’t major offers anymore?? Whether you want to believe it or not Pitt isn’t going to recruit with the OSU, PSU, Bama, or ND’s of the world. Pitt as it stands now is a team that will be composed of mostly middle of the road recruits with the occasional top flight recruit. Given the circus that has gone on at Pitt and the difficulties with student transfer rules, I don’t blame kids from being apprehensive. Given the circumstances and despite the reports of certain slip-ups I think Chryst is doing decent job. At this point last year Pitt had two commits in 2011 there was one, 2010 there were 10…Chryst has 10 as well including 2 4-stars.

Comment by BCPITT 06.28.12 @ 9:33 pm

As long as these stars shine on the field and help produce team wins, I am fine. Stars on paper mean nothing right now.

Comment by TX Panther 06.28.12 @ 11:40 pm

If Pitt is ranked 40th in recruiting (didn’t I read where they all start at 0 in camp?), then we are doing well in recruiting.

Look around Yinz guys n at! OSU just to the west, WVU just to the south, PSU to the east…

You criticize recruiting like we have been good or something. We haven’t! Our bowl have been bottom of the barrel, we had 4 head coaches in 13 months, we draw fans based on loyalty and not good football and certainly not winning and we haven’t been to a major bowl since the Fiesta and we were the national joke then!!

It is incumbent on you then to go out today and overpay for everything. Because that is what you ask of Chryst!

Yeah Chas…Chryst does have to coach up! Every Pitt fan out there, read this. It isn’t 1973! The world is filled with both overachievers and underachievers…more of the latter. Pitt has been the poster school for underachieving in football for 25 years.

Time to overachieve or “coach up” until we develop an attitude of winning.

It worked for VTech and WVU.

Comment by SFPitt 06.29.12 @ 7:00 am

If you just consider stars and rankings Pitt now has on it’s roster in 2013 4 QB’s with 4 stars. Two Pro style QB’s, Myers and Savage, and two dual QB’s Volychk and Chapman.

If one were to consider only high school ratings Pitt is overloaded at QB with high rated QB’s.

Myers has little experience because of his limited high school experience but has the size and arm strength and time to salvage his career. Savage has shown he can more than compete at this level. He has the size and arm strength if he can stay in shape and stay focused on his dream to play at the next level.

Chapman and possibly volychik can be the QB’s of the future. I see Chapman as having greater possiblities.

Next year may bring a another or higher rated QB. At least we are in the 4’s, Tino 3, Stull 3, Gonzalez 3.

Comment by drw 06.29.12 @ 11:07 am

Looking ahead, this 2013 class will be seniors when we host Penn State in 2016.

Comment by gdodson 06.29.12 @ 11:14 am

If Sir Tino was a 3…then that absolutely proves, beyond any doubt at all. That these rating services and stars mean nothing at all.

That and Dion was a 2. So was Romeus.
Hale was a 4/5.

Give me a 2 star with a chip on his shoulder anytime.

Comment by Emel 06.29.12 @ 3:02 pm

Last comment on Savage he was offered scholarships at FSU, Georgia, Penn State, Miami, Florida, and Michigan. If we are in the ACC so he is eligible 2013 could be a big step up at QB. If Schell is as good as advertised 2013 could be a big year.
Way to early to tell but Kincade in 2014 has the size for a D1 QB, and already is committed to Pitt.
Perhaps Pitt could start a complete reversal regarding the QB position.

Comment by drw 06.29.12 @ 11:35 pm

As sure as night follows day, I knew that posters on this blog would minimize a success. You guys need to either “support/demoralize” another team or STFU.

Comment by FTM 06.30.12 @ 8:53 pm

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