We’ve got 16 commitments as of now, so that leaves us only 2 more available spots, assuming there’s no other movement? Yikes.

any word on that Ohio State transfer who plays FB, is he going to be eligible this year ??

Thx.

The staff knows better then to leave just two more spots for next year. I think it is covered and the allotment will not be changed. Typically, I go with fact versus I think, so this scares me!

Jamie Dixon is finally pushing players to leave if he doesn’t feel they will contribute after 2 years. He never did that before or in his first few years.

I can list a few players that I doubt will be back next year… but will hold off and watch from the sidelines.

JoeD:
I get the feeling that PC is a pretty loyal guy and will not pull scholarships or offers just to make room for future recruits. I’m sure there will be other guys that leave/transfer, but I don’t see those numbers growing very much because we kick some guys to the curb.

Also, unless then staff feels there are a few soft commits, I don’t see him over offering and then screwing over 5 or 6 weaker commits. I just don’t think he rolls that way. And I, for one, and ok with that.

Our current “junior” class is even smaller than the current “senior” class, so that will mean even less available for 2014.

Not a whole lot of room for error.

I don’t want to list names of players I think will be out the door next year… whether voluntary or involuntary.

There’s four extra slots right there.

Look, it is not offensive to pull a schollie from a border line player. The player is happy to have a free ride for a year and if he competes to a level where he gets playing time, than he keeps the schollie. Who wouldn’t be happy for a one year fully paid package when you were paying the full freight prior to? It’s a short term play with long term results.

Just sayin….Chryst would look great to these kids! Hey kid, I know you have been a walk-on and I am going to reward your hard work this year by giving you a free ride! Kid says, thank you coach, I will run through walls for you and hopefully if I work hard enough and improve you will see that I can earn another one next year. That is not heartless by our coach and it gains favor with the kids, their high school coaches, parents and alumni. Does not gain favor with the financial aid folks. LOL @ me.

If anything I think the opposite you say would be more viable. Recruits are completely untested in college football, un acclimated to college life, no one knows how well they would handle academics, be a team player, etc… It is all a crap shoot for PITT to offer those kids.

However, as you say, the staff knows all those things after watching a walk-on for a year or two. If anything those would be the scholarships that have already been earned.

PITT’s informal football scholarship policy has always been ‘we make a deal together for four years so that you have a chance to earn a degree from PITT in exchange for the hard work you put into the football program’ (to paraphrase). Anyone under scholarship is afforded this opportunity, not just HS recruits.

There have been times when the HC has sat down with a player and said “There is no playing time in your future so let’s work to get you transferred to a school where that can happen’ – and that has worked out well for both parties. That may be what Joe D. is referring to above and Dave Wannstedt was very good with this.

That’s why we seem PITT transfers end up in the NFL sometimes, because DW used his contacts to get these players into places they would thrive. This is why we see a lot of PITT transfers come back and hang around visiting the program after they had left, because they were treated fairly by PITT.

But I’ve asked around about this issue and don’t know of any players in the past ten years where PITT has “pulled” their scholarship only because the player wasn’t talented enough. Player’s with off the field problems – yes, but not just because they are sitting on the bench.

That said, 5th year players are told all the time that their services are no longer required. But that is after they had that four year chance. We have 17 prospective 2013 rsSRs on the roster right now and I can see at least four right off the bat who might be told this depending how the underclassman develop this season.

Whether PITT fans like this or not because they think it hurts the program is one thing. However, it is also an example of how PITT is first and foremost an institute of higher learning rather than a football factory and how PITT wants all their students to get a shot at a degree.

We have a winner in Wuestner!!!!