…What about recruiting?
Another recruiting weekend came and went. They took in a basketball game.
Pitt football coach Paul Chryst took in the game along with 13 recruits and got a standing ovation from the crowd when he was shown on the video board.
Here’s a list of about half of the attending recruits. Ooohhhh. Some offensive linemen. Need. Depth. Need. Talent.
Coach Chryst also spoke with the announcing crew during the game. Reaching tens of people not fans of Pitt on ESPN3.com. The interview was fine, notable for managing to go entirely without a single mention of Wisconsin.
Among those attending, Clairton WR Tyler Boyd — who just happened to cancel his official visit to West Virginia on the same weekend. Several in attendance like Scott Orndoff have already committed.
On a week where Chryst ended up reaffirming (or had it reaffirmed for him — depending on your POV) his commitment as Pitt head coach, I know I was hoping it would close the deal for a couple more recruits. It didn’t happen, but everyone seems optimistic that Pitt will close strong with several more players they really want.
For those that wonder about the style of Chryst’s recruiting. A safe way to call it would be the anti-Graham.
“To me, getting guys to buy in means you’re trying to sell something, and we’re not trying to sell anything,” Chryst said. “We’re in a process of creating a culture and we’re here to help players be the best players they can be and to represent this University with the best football team it can (be) and do it the right way. But I never felt like we had to sell anything or get them to buy in.”
For Chryst, the key to affecting real change in the players is not through convincing them or persuading them; it comes from a personal choice made by the players. The players have to decide for themselves, Chryst believes, if they are truly going to commit to an ideal.
“Guys can see [that he’s not selling], and that’s where the respect comes from,” redshirt junior receiver Devin Street said. “We know his heart’s in it, and he definitely just wants to teach and coach, and he’s definitely not selling anything. He comes in and tells what we need to do and we go to work. Guys will see it if you are a salesman, and I don’t think guys see him in that way.”
Chryst’s non-sell isn’t limited to the players on the current team. He also follows that approach in recruiting. It’s not a “soft sell” or a passive approach; rather, Chryst believes a coach should provide express his interest in a recruit, provide information about the school, and let the prospect make his own decision. Only then, in Chryst’s opinion, is a recruit truly committed to a school when he makes a decision.
“I think your job as a recruiter is to identify and then inform,” Chryst told Panther-Lair.com. “They should pick the best place for them, and I’ve never thought that coaches should tell someone what’s best for them. Our job is to inform, paint an accurate picture of who we are, how do you fit in; I think there’s that. But I think it truly is, you have to inform them of who you are and what you are, and they need to know who you are and what you’re about, and I think they then pick.
“I don’t want to say that’s the purest way, but I think it’s done right when people are picking it because it’s the best fit for them. Our job is to let them know everything, who and what is Pitt.”
I don’t know. I’m cynical. I think of everything a college coach does, ultimately has a significant element of salesmanship in it. Whether you call it that or not. Whether it is a hard-sell, soft-sell or informed consent. Coach Chryst may not want to call it selling, but that is what it is. You are trying to make a case to a player why they should attend Pitt. You can call it educating them on options, but if you are leading them down the road to the conclusion that they should play at Pitt — it’s still a sales job. It just comes down to how do you want to be sold?
I think Chryst would be hideous as a hard-seller. It isn’t in his approach and delivery. Have you every seen or heard someone who isn’t geared towards hard sales try to do it. It never ends well. It may make fans anxious. May convince them that it is bad for recruiting, but Chryst is probably recruiting in the way that suits and feels most natural.
That’s what leaves an impression with the recruits. Did it feel like he was being genuine?
“He said he’s really confident in Pitt and the coaching staff, but you have to do what’s right for you,” Hytchye said. “So he said if I have to take more visits, then go ahead and do what’s right for me. But he wants me to come to Pitt.”
“He wants me to make the best decision for me,” Kemp said. “He wants me to visit the other schools so that when I pick them, I do it because I want to do it, not because they forced me.”
Whether that approach is effective with Hytchye and Kemp remains to be seen. So far, Chryst has pulled in 19 commitments for the class of 2013, including four-star quarterback Tra’von Chapman, who appreciated the Pitt head coach’s style during an unofficial visit last June.
“We talked for a long time, and he wasn’t pushing me at all,” Chapman told Panther-Lair.com after that visit. “He was saying that he wants the best decision for me. He’s not the kind of guy to say I had to commit right then; what he said was, ‘You’re the key; if you come here, other guys can join in.’ That meant a lot to me, but I didn’t feel pressure at all.”
And Chapman is coming here. Along with Orndoff and two other 2013 recruits, they will be enrolling for January classes and participating in the spring practices.
“I just figured this is something I really wanted,” he said. “This is something I really dedicated myself to. Why should I sit around and wait? I should go get it.”
Chapman, who will be eligible for Pitt’s spring drills, may have to watch and learn behind quarterbacks Tom Savage, Chad Voytik and Trey Anderson, but he does make one promise about his freshman season:
“No one is going to outwork me,” he said. “I’ll be patient, but I’ll still grind hard. If I am third string or fourth string, I’m still going to work the hardest.”
This decision was already made, but it probably doesn’t hurt that he has only been at this high school for two years. Not to mention the fact that with Darrell Hazell leaving Kent State for Purdue, Chapman’s dad (KSU WR Coach Thad Jemison) could be on the move soon. So hanging around for that final semester probably doesn’t hold great appeal.
Back to the weekend. Cornerback Jaleel Hytchye enjoyed his visit. But at the same time, does not appear to be in any hurry to make a decision (Insider subs).
“They can see how good they’re going to be in about two or three years,” Hytchye said. “They can see everyone has a vision and they got a lot of younger players on the team. They said you just got to come in and grind and maybe I can take their position. I was like ‘Yeah, I will be.’ ”
Hytchye spent much of Saturday and Sunday in meetings with the coaches and academic counselors, but Saturday night the recruits made it to the Pitt basketball game. Hytchye liked the attention the Pitt fans were showing him and the other recruits.
The visit helped Pitt as Hytchye got to see what he needed to and had an opportunity to build a relationship with the staff and players. He said the Panthers remain in his top group, which also includes Arizona State, Kentucky, Northwestern with Louisville and Penn State hanging around.
He will receive an in-home visit from Northwestern on Monday, and he will officially visit the Wildcats the weekend of Jan. 11. Pitt assistants Joe Rudolph and Matt House are coming Thursday. Louisville will be in Wednesday.
The Cardinals are making a late run at Hytchye after lightly recruiting him the last several months.
“While I was on the [Pitt] visit, they gave me a call and wanted to jump in. The cornerbacks coach is looking for playmakers at the corner position, some ball-hawking people,” Hytchye said. “… And they said the defensive coordinator [Vance Bedford] coached Joe Haden and some other guys, too, and said he’d hope to get a chance meet me and come for a visit.”
Hytchye is considered a 3 or 4-star recruit from the Cinci area.
i hope chryst way of recruiting works.
but i would have felt better if we had thoes 3 commits over the week end like penn state did.
even one would have been good a ot or og we need
them.
now to the coaching carousel did you see cincinati got tommy tuberville a good hire.
and boston college steve addazio a bad hire hell
he only won 4 games last year with temple.
when you look at all the hires boston is the only one who hired a coach that had more losses then wins last year.
i think they jumped the gun on there hire.
men.
i will forever keep my mouth shut abought the way he recruits.
but if he gets only the 19 or 20 that he has now
i will bitch for ever.
but we must wait till loi day to see how it goes
i have no bitch at this time.
Pitt’s big weekend? A big fat zero so far.
Maybe a soft sale works, and maybe a hard sell turns guys off, dunno. But maybe just a little HARDER approach is the answer.
Two of the 4 Nit commits would have you riping Chryst if they committed here. One’s only two other offers were Old dominion and Gardner-Webb.
They will never see things quite the same or be as excited about your product(and yes a Pitt football scholarship is a product) as they will after that first time. All the advantages of your product that you dilently explained fades with time. It’s never quite as shiney & new as that first time.
The better closer will get em and will succeed.
I’ve recruited and trained hundreds of people and the ones who can’t close, don’t last very long. I always tell them, hey either you sell them or they will sell you. As in why they can’t do it !
PC could never make it in straight commission sales, since his job has a base salary (and quite a large bass salary at that) he will survive.
The question is will we. lol
P.S. yes I was glad he stayed if only for stabilty sake. Hopefully he has Rudolph closing.
line 5 – **diligently explained**
I have been in a Super Competitive industry, so sales techniques can vary based on what product your selling and how competitive an industry it is.
I would imagine recruiting 4-5 star quality high school athletes is super competitive. (cause there aren’t many of them)
The 1 & 2’s not so much ! (cause there’s a glut of them)
Sounds about right for this incoming class.
I was simply going by the fact that (per Scout.com) dude had three schools on his final short list, all rated equally: Pitt, PUS and Oregon. But sometimes those lists are out of date or just plain wrong.
salesperson needs to know his product….be an expert in all aspects.. Next to be successful you need to be yourself…..the client or in this case the recruit can often detect insincerity.
Lastly it is important to ask for the order. Hope his approach
works . As someone mention we are dealing with
young kiddos here.
Also, PC can’t be an aggressive closer because the position of the football team is not one of strength. It is getting stronger, but isn’t there yet. The brand has taken a serious hit over the last 2 1/2 years and you just can’t strong arm a result. I think the majority has lost sight of that because we are so excited about the future. This is the perfect strategy and I applaud it. I am content with this class as it is right now and to get Foster and Boyd would be a bonus.
PC needs to be out building relationships with younger talent and their respective coaches. Another lost point is that recruiting begins when these kids were freshmen in high school. Coach Chryst did not have years of relationships built with many of the current high school senior class or junior class. He is getting into the dance late and for that reason too, he should be commended. I can guarantee you that Boyd and Foster didn’t hear from PC whilst at Wisconsin. And I can further guarantee you that PC wasn’t calling all WPIAL schools and developing relationships with local hs coaches. We have been burned soo much that we are trying to “will” success to happen instead of letting it come naturally. I think PC gets it and with some patience, will bear fruit. Extend him while you can. Not as a result of the Wisky issue, but because you believe in his work. Before all you come back at me and say how can you feel so strongly for a coach that went 6-6, it’s precisely that. He went 6-6 with talent that just wasn’t that great. He played guys that deserved it, earned it, regardless of class which is awesome! He is a coach first. That will pay off! Saban is a football coach first and a closer because of the brand! Pitt doesn’t have the brand yet, and if you are all honest with yourself and the state of the program as of two years ago and 10 before that, you should agree.
We call this, by the way, in my office Jedi Mind Trick selling.
Chryst is essentially building a relationship with players. Very comfortable in his own skin. The French have an expression for it that will have to wait. Women find it sexy.
The best example I have is when Chryst was asked by the Yinzer (i.e. ill prepared) press corps about his knowledge of Notre Dame. My brother went there he explained…the Yinzers stunned because 2 minutes of homework would have revealed that.
He continued to say that he had spent some weekends there with his brother and the Yinzer corps, being Yinzers, waited fir him to spell it aht. He just smiled and said “you know”. But they didn’t. He was telling them he partied at ND and those were some damn fine parties.
He is looking for the player that does not need to be explained that which is obvious. He isn’t looking to sell ice to an Eskimo: he is looking for students of the game with the requisite physical skills.
He IS telling the truth to you. He isn’t selling. He is establishing a brand. The two are not synonymous!
Go figure.
Yeah, It’s the hoopies, but it’s a shame anyone has to cower to the limp wristed panty-waists of our time. I hope no actual disciplinary action is pursued: Black bears aren’t an easy score – my brother in law has been hunting his whole life and only has a couple at this point – and those were with centerfire rifles. A musket – that’s more skill than you’d think.
If the headline read ” Mountaineer Mascot Sexually Assaults Black Bear” then maybe I can get behind the “outrage”.
Let’s keep politics and, in your case, bigotry, out of this discussion.
Now, if you want to be creative in the technique, then get the recruit to “sell” himself on the idea, by asking him the question of what he thinks he can contribute to make the future of the team successful. If Coach BELIEVES sincerely in the recruit’s potential, then you sell him on himself, simply sell him on his own potential. When done correctly, that’s actually “coaching” at its most basic level possible.
Now if we can just land those O-Linemen…
bear we cant have this kind of thing going on
we must put a stop to this what will the WVU sheep think of such a thing.
some one call penn state they will know how to handle this outrage.
drunken red neck rapes black bear has wvu tie in
penn state will investigate
the sheep in wvu are extermely angry.
1. Academics – Schools like Stanford, UNC, Duke and Vandy are tops here
2. Program Tradition – A measure of overall past success. Alabama and Notre Dame are good examples of top schools.
3. Program Prestige – A measure of recent success. Alabama again is a good example here. Oregon might be a good example of a school that is high in prestige but lower in tradition.
4. Coach Prestige – Nick Saban, Urban Meyer, etc
5. Championship Contender – A measure of present and PERCEIVED future success – This ties in with program prestige to some degree
6. Facilities
7. Playing Time
8. Campus Lifestyle
9. Conference Prestige – SEC, PAC10, Big10 = A, Big12 / ACC = B+, the rest fall somewhere below.
10. Program Stability
11. Fan Base / Gameday Atmosphere
12. TV Exposure
Now for the sake of Argument, lets rate Pitt, UNC and Tennessee in these 12 areas
1. Academics – Pitt = B+, UNC = A, Tenn = B or maybe C+.
2. Program Tradition – Pitt = B, UNC = C+, Tenn = A (on the strength of Peyton Manning and their success in the 90’s)
3. Program Prestige – Pitt = C (at best), UNC = B (despite the scandals they are winning), Tenn = B+ (even though they aren’t winning their more recent successes than Pitt and the fact they are in the SEC adds weight)
4. Coach Prestige – Pitt = C, UNC = C, Tenn = B
5. Championship Contender Pitt = C, UNC = C, Tenn = C
6. Facilities – I honestly don’t know, assume it’s a draw
7. Playing Time – Pitt = A, UNC = ?, Tenn = ?
8. Campus Lifestyle (I’ve been to all 3) Pitt = A, UNC = A, Tenn = B
9. Conference Prestige – Pitt (ACC) = B+, UNC = B+, Tenn = A
10. Program Stability – Pitt = B (On the merit of Paul Chryst showing his chops), UNC = B, Tenn = C
11. Fan Base / Gameday Atmosphere – Pitt = D-, UNC = B, Tenn = A
12. TV Exposure – Pitt = B, UNC = B-?, Tenn = B?
Conclusion – I started out thinking that Pitt was at a disadvantage to Tennessee and UNC. But unless recruits place significantly more weight on prestige and gameday atmosphere (which truly does SUCK at pitt – except for the student section – And WE are partly to blame. It’s not just the people who don’t go to the games that are the problem. The people that do go make NO NOISE. They just sit there and watch like they are at home on the sofa. You know that during the kickoff you’re supposed to stand up and go “ooooooh” until the ball is kicked – NO MATTER HOW FREAKING OLD YOU ARE. THIS IS COLLEGE FOOTBALL PEOPLE. Did anyone go to the BBVA compass bowl last year? SMU had the same amount of fans as us and made twice the noise. Okay, I’m done.), we should be able to hold our own.
That being said, I do think Chryst is playing to our strengths – Academics, Playing Time and Campus Lifestyle. The recruits he’s bringing in are smarter kids who want to work to play. But whatever, the argument will rage on. Even with all of this pseudo-science.
Why can’t it be? And if it can’t be, then why should we care about it?
I wouldn’t just show a recruit Pitt’s campus and facilities. I would sell them on one of the world’s most liveable cities. Get a world class education in a vibrant urban environment, have fun playing football against good teams in front of national TV audiences, and then when you graduate, find a job in the area and start a family. 95% of Chryst’s recruits will never sniff the pros. Sell them on life’s BIG picture.
It seems to me that PC’s approach, if combined with aggressive recruiting at the asst. coach level could be a great winning combination. My experience in the business world is that after the customer has been “sold” on the concept (by aggressive salesmen/recruiters), an honest, straight-shooting, deal closer who confirms that the the entire staff will be focused making the relationship a win-win, can be incredibly successful.
Besides, PC is what he is and nothing is going to change his personality and trying to be something he is not is doomed to failure. To me the key is having asst coaches who compliment PC’s natural style to make the combination of recruiting efforts most effective.
It is hard to get us old guys to drive many miles to the games. If I lived in Pittsburgh I would go to many many games as do my relatives there. When we were young we would load ten guys in a van and go.
Granted my sample size is one game – this year I went to Louisville – but that was freakin’ Homecoming, and we were in the game at least until the 3rd quarter and on most 3rd downs in the first half I could hear a pin drop. ON HOMECOMING. Geez…
@Navy Panther, it can’t be because college football is no longer about students or universities. It’s about being a billion dollar business where winning matters the most. But you are right to ask should we care. The more it becomes a mini-NFL the less I find myself caring.
@Taxing Matters – you are right that you can be passive at the top if the guys below you are aggressive and really good at recruiting. But, if remember correctly weren’t people like Dokish worried about the lack of good recruiters on the staff? Which is why I think Chryst’s ability might matter more.
if we end up with the 19 that we have and one more 2 star to go to 20 then we can bitch but until loi day we should sit back and be at peace
with things.
we need to wait and see.
Well-said, as usual.
Never understood why he and the Mrs left the nursing home in the first place to come to an actual game, WHERE YOU ARE SUPPOSSED TO STAND UP, CHEER, FIST PUMP AND IN GENERAL HAVE A ROWDY GOOD TIME, last time I checked.
On the other hand, these are KIDS. By definition, they are not capable of seasoned, mature, well-balanced, informed judgement. Not to put too fine a point on it, most kids at that age have to be guided to a point where they can be TOLD what to do. You can do that without it being perceived as pressure.
It’s all good to be the anti-Graham, but to simply try to remove the salesman aspect to this altogether is unrealistic.
Especially with Pitt, which has several strikes against it (lack of recent success, lack of classic college game-day atmosphere, etc)
IMHO