Just a couple more days until National Signing Day. Then the drama will end for a little while. No more worries about Tyler Boyd taking one more trip somewhere. Uh, what?
Although [Clairton assistant coach, Eric] Fusco said he still believes Pitt is No. 1 with Boyd, Fusco also said there is a possibility Boyd might not sign a letter of inent with any college Wednesday, the first day high school seniors can sign with a college. Oh no. What do we have here, another Terrelle Pryor situation? Pryor waited weeks after letter-of-intent day to sign with Ohio State.
“There is no definite either way,” Fusco said. “It’s all going to boil down to the next four days. If he really feels comfortable over the next four days, then he’ll sign. … But he’s not going to make a hasty decision.”
So, yeah, this is fun.
I’m not worried too much about Boyd. This Gorman piece on Boyd’s recruitment only hints at the amount of pressure and recruiting still happening.
Something told Tonya Payne not to ask questions up front. That was the first thing every college football recruiter asked Clairton star Tyler Boyd’s mother:
So, what questions do you have?
“In the beginning, I didn’t know what questions to ask,” said Payne, a single mother of two young men. “As time went on, it was like, ‘Don’t ask anything, and let them present themselves.’ That way, you can see what type of person they are and what their pitch is.”
When Payne finally was ready, she directed a two-part question to Tony Gibson, the West Virginia secondary coach attempting to convince Boyd to renege on his commitment to Pitt: Are you a man of your word? If so, is that something you’re going to teach my son?
“His answer was, ‘Of course,’ ” Payne said. “I said, ‘Well, that’s not something you’re teaching him. You’re teaching him to go back on his word.’ He said, ‘It’s just the recruiting process.’ ”
It’s just business, even if it’s a dirty business.
I really like Boyd’s mom. Added bonus to the piece is having the anecdote take a swipe at the Hoopies. But the reality is that it is not simply unsurprising, but expected.
You don’t think Pitt isn’t still “checking in” with Robert Foster to see if he’s still absolutely sure about Alabama? How pissed would Pitt fans be if the coaches actually didn’t at least try to flip him?
Speaking of Alabama and Nick Saban, this piece is worth the read. On how top running back prospects are looking at sharing the carries as a long-term positive.
“I think of it future-wise,” said Lacy, the MVP of last season’s BCS title game against Notre Dame. “A lot of running backs want to get the ball 20 or 30 times a game, but, at the same time, it wears your body down. So you don’t really know how long you have.”
Back when we worried about whether the Y2K bug would shut down our power grids, tailback recruits worried about carries. Would they be the man once they got to college? High school backs still worry about carries, but that attitude is changing as the importance of the odometer trickles down from the NFL. Now, the term “low-mileage back” has crept into the NFL draftnik’s vocabulary. It’s not an insult. It means a back has taken fewer hits at lower levels and therefore might have a longer career in the NFL.
Lacy is a prime example. In 2010, he split carries with Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson. In 2011, he split carries with Richardson. In 2012, he split carries with Yeldon. Ingram (572 collegiate carries) was a first-round pick (No. 28) in 2011. Richardson (540 collegiate carries) was a first-round pick (No. 3) in 2012. Lacy (355 collegiate carries) projects as a late first- or early second-round pick in 2013. That’s a far cry from the SEC feature-back days of Herschel Walker, who carried 994 times in three seasons at Georgia before he entered pro football.
The last 1,000-carry back chosen in the first round of the NFL draft was Cedric Benson in 2005.
This is something that Coach Paul Chryst has appeared to embrace as well. He was looking to compliment Ray Graham this past season. Rushel Shell should look for similar this coming season.
And the Scout.com recruiting rankings show the silliness of overvaluing large recruiting classes in rankings.
Of the 27 players who have pledged to sign with Pitt on Wednesday, 24 are rated three- and two-star prospects by Rivals.com. Only seven project to play quarterback (one), running back (one) and wide receiver (five). And four-star Clairton wide receiver Tyler Boyd, who has been flirting with West Virginia and Tennessee since committing to Pitt, could decide to sign elsewhere.
Nonetheless, the class has garnered respect.
“Pitt is in the top 25, for sure,” CBS Sports Network recruiting analyst Tom Lemming said.
“Pitt has a lot of kids who are good players, who, if they develop, they will be even better,” said Brian Dohn, a Scout.com recruiting analyst. “A class that has 27 kids in it fills a lot more holes and gives you more of an opportunity to miss (an increase margin for error) than a class with 19 kids.”
As a matter of fact, Scout.com ranks Pitt’s overall class 16th in the nation — ahead of every school in its new conference, the ACC.
“Some of it is quantity,” Dohn said of the Scout ranking. “But there are some quality kids.”
Look, I like this class. I like the potential. I like the chances with this coaching staff to develop the kids. I can see my way to calling it a top-25 class. But if we are going based on the recruiting rankings of the players — flawed though they may be — there is no way this is the number 16 class.
Who really cares? Not me, all I want is for Chryst and Co. to recruit the right guys for the obvious positions of need that we have RIGHT NOW. IMO, he’s accomplished that with bringing in Tra’von Chapman and transfer Savage at QB, and loading up on quanity and quality on the OL.
BTW, I just was looking at the video highlights of our OL recruits in the Redshirt Diaries analysis of our recruiting class and my oh my, does Dorian Johnson look impressive. Defensive players are seen on multiple occasions literally being propelled backwards to land in a heap when Johnson lines them up for some steamrolling blocking. The kid is going to be a beast.
I can easily predict in a couple season when we have that critical 3rd down and 2 play and we absolutely must have the 1st down, same play call as usual, Shell running up behind Johnson waiting for him to produce a hole large enough to drive a truck through. The defense will know it’s coming and won’t be able to do a thing about it. Result? Go Pitt, Go Pitt,,,,, First Down!!!!
SOON.
it has been 50 days with out one.
if you have them any wr or rb will look good .
the qb will look good.
it is all abought the line men you go no were with out them .
I am the new DC.
Now that this is clear, let’s give 17 year old kids a break. Imagine you had to pick from a handful of smoking hot girls who promised you .,,well, you know what I mean.
You gonna tell them “no” immediately or are you going to weigh your options?
It must be an immense amount of pressure to go thru this, especially since “No” is not taken lightly as an answer.
Everyone tells you how great you are and they don’t have you meet with the guys kicked off the team etc…
Now add into the mix your general attitude toward parents when you were 17. Defiant is a polite term I would use to describe myself; and I was a decent young man, but far from perfect.
I wish young Mr. Boyd well. I want him for the right reasons: education, developing his life and athletic skills. Not because someone else wants him.
I don’t care how this recruiting is rated, I like the composition of it. I think they are getting the types of players that they like.
line men is what we need but for depth i would have liked a RB or 2 we only have 3 now and if conner is switched to rb that makes 4 the outher rb
we got this year is to play safty.
if we have rb get hurt next year we could be in trouble.
but line is were it is at need them more than any thing.
were is the new DC come on chryst hire one.
I think as many people want Boyd to be a Panther for the perception provided by having a top rated player choose Pitt as for what he may contribute on the field.
I feel that Pitt is headed in the right direction, and if Boyd wants to get on for the ride now is the time. He could be a star, and who knows, maybe the next Fitzgerald? First, he has to sign on the dotted line, will see, soon enough.
I do believe that we need Boyd just to keep the local talent here but more importantly for other young WPIAL players to realize that picking Pitt is a good thing. If he chooses to he elsewhere the young guys notice!!
I’m not saying that Pitt should tell Boyd to take a hike. I’m saying that all of the consternation about his recruitment is unnecessary. Wide receivers and running backs aren’t hard to find. Great linemen, defensive backs, and QBs are more important. It’s easy to take a wide receiver or running back out of a game. Game plannig against great QBs, defensive backs, and linemen is much harder.
we are just saying that there will be some wr who steps up.
and that good line are more of a need and we wont fall on are face if he goes some were else.
it would be great to have him but i would rather have 9 good line men on the OL and D line then him
that is what dave did he got a really good WR
and a really good rb and some good DE BUT NOT OL MEN OR QB
we need good line more then any thing chryst is doeing it right
now hire the DC dam it.
Keep an eye on Jester Weah BTW … kid has got some athleticism. If he can get more explosive I think he’s going to surprise some people.
“Pitt has a lot of kids who are good players, who, if they develop, they will be even better,” said Brian Dohn, a Scout.com recruiting analyst.
Maybe that explains why Scout has Pitt at #16.
I mentioned way back when, at the time that Foster decided to verbally commit to Alabama, that all of the attention that that decision was getting should make Zach Callingsworth kind of feel like chopped liver, which he ain’t, BTW.
So yes, I agree with you and others that have mentioned that we have found other talented wide receiver recruits in this class, and Zach isn’t the only good WR snatched up in this class either.
My only point is, IMO, that if a highly rated recruit, has doubts about his previous verbal commitment to Pitt, as LOI signing day approaches, sharing opinions, in a public format, that implies that his worth to this recruiting class is less than valued, serves no useful purpose. If you are truly a vested Pitt fan, that is hoping the best for your team, why would you want to imply negative vibes towards one of only two of our four star recruits in this class?
I personally will be greatly disappointed if Tyler Boyd decommits, as I was when Foster showed Pitt no love. But dissing on him during this critcal time when he is determining his final decision, is not the way to show him that we appreciated his initial commitment to the Panthers.
The last thing, as a Panther Fan, that I would want to do is negatively impact Pitt’s football program. Comments like yours, if they were read by Tyler Boyd on the eve of signing day could be the kind of vibe that turns his final decision towards another program. Just ask yourself how you would feel about that, if it happened. Thats my only point.
BTW, neither you nor I know whether he is the next Larry Fitzgerald, but if he turns out to be a player of that elite ability down the road, I sure as hell want him to be wearing a Panther uniform when he proves his worth to the college football world.
said he wasent great becuse he is great.
all were saying is if he goes some were else it isent the end of the world.
and if he thinks the whole pitt team will sink or swim becuse of him. he needs to grow up.
there is no I in team.
the panthers have to get down to 85 scholaships bye the time the class enrolls in the fall.
so we are at 27 now om commits which means we will be at 89 scholarships so we need to lose 4 bye the fall eather players become walk ons or some have to transfer. this is per the post sam waner
I don’t feel like my comment was disrespectful to Tyler Boyd. He should do whatever he thinks is best. I simply don’t care. It’s a waste of time to interview teenagers about these decisions.
I accept the position, honorary or otherwise, of Drinking Coordinator. It is a position for which I am uniquely qualified and for which I have trained a lifetime.
Was thinking about that Buffalo game the other day: there is cold, then there is Buffalo cold.
Somewhere, the camera guy whose equipment we saved is hopefully having an adult beverage in our honor.
And since we’re finding middle ground on which to agree, how do you feel about wasting your time sharing opinons on subjects of which you don’t care about?
At home, I believe the guys should be pumped up and ready to play some ball!!!
Pitt vs Seton Hall tonight 9PM ESPNU
No letdown against the Pirates
Using that logic = if the recruits don’t develop, they will be even worse.
I stopped paying attention to recruiting rankings a long time ago. Too many 4 and 5 stars are duds and too many 2 and 3 stars develop into really good players. Just look at how excited everyone was about Bostick in FB and Sleepy in hoops. Give me a bunch of smash mouth overachieving blue collar kids any day. With this large FB recruiting class, many goods ones will rise to the top over their 4-5 years at PItt, and it may not likely be the 4 and 5 stars.
I believe in PC as a talent evaluator, and it will be great to see him continue to beef up the OL. Imagine what the OL looks like in a couple years – all 6’4″ to 6’7″ and over 330 lbs. Even I could get 3 yards with that in front of me. The fact that we have a class of 25+ kids is awesome! Should be an exciting season next year. Now go beat up on the HALL in hoops!
If Boyd de-committs, do we still get stuck with his 2 Clairton pals ?? Or was it was package deal.
Same kind of setup.
Let’s hope.
SOME SLEEP.
GOD SAVE the QUEEN OR SOME SUCH THING .
I totally recognize the spirit of levity that your comment was made, but be cognizant that a recruit’s own perceptions are his personal reality.
If we are to aspire to become champions, then we must begin to conduct ourselves appropriately.
Evaluating a 17 year old recruit, it is difficult to distinguish the also ran from the future throughbred.
So I may suggest, that we all congratulate every recruit that makes his commitment final to Pitt, and always wish the best to those who seek another path other than the Univeversity of Pittsburgh. Veritas et Virtus, how’s that FRANKCAN??
Dr. Borsay was my prof.
vincere et totum To win is everything.
Tonight we win and HCPC will win on LOI day.
this DOMINUS TRULLAM MUST GO TO BED.
HAIL TO PITT
VERITAS ET VIRTUS
I care about Pitt. That is why I commented on the thread.
“Clairton senior Tyler Boyd plans to sign a national letter of intent at 10 a.m. Wednesday in the school’s library, alongside teammates Terrish Webb and Titus Howard, he posted on Twitter Tuesday evening.”
