Summer camps. The reasonable thing is to find a decent day camp relatively nearby. As long as they don’t get hurt or abused it is all fine.. Dump the kids and run. But not these days. No. My wife has to find camps that enrich them. That offer chances for them to do activities they actually want to do. Obviously it means more money. It also means hauling them even further out of the way. So, somehow with summer vacation we are actually leaving the house earlier and I am still getting to work later. I know. I know. First world problems.
I’m sure everyone read the wonderful Father’s Day piece on Paul Chryst and the impact of his dad George. The part that just struck me as pure Paul Chryst came when it got to the stuff about getting Bo Ryan — the present Wisconsin basketball coach — to come and be the head coach at Wisconsin-Platteville.
Ryan, who took Wisconsin to the Final Four this year, hasn’t forgotten. When asked to comment for this story, he said: “Anything for George Chryst and Paul Chryst.”
Paul said Ryan and his father were different on many levels but the same in their core values of hard work and loyalty.
Ryan had “that East Coast flash, confidence, swagger,” Paul said. “My dad was more of what you would picture as a Midwest offensive line coach. It was a pretty neat relationship.”
Only Paul Chryst. Only he could consider Bo Ryan to be flash and swaggy.
This being the offseason, the coaches have to hit the alumni circuit. Paul Chryst was up in Erie recently. You can guess who the locals wanted to ask him to discuss.
Chryst, in an interview before the Erie Pitt Club’s annual banquet at Ambassador Center on Monday, laughed when reminded he had manufactured a hotbed for interest in Conner, a McDowell graduate.
“I love it,” Chryst said. “You’re happy for him. We couldn’t be more appreciative for what James does and means to our program. Any recognition is good. I don’t worry about that getting to his head. He’s a worker. He knows it’s just the beginning, but I think he’s earned the recognition and now he’s got to back it up. I know he’s excited about backing it up with what he does on the field.”
Conner led Pitt in rushing with 799 yards and eight touchdowns as a true freshman. But he achieved something approaching folk status when Pitt used him as a situational pass rusher during the Panthers’ 30-27 win over Bowling Green in the Little Caesars Bowl on Dec 26.
Conner broke Tony Dorsett’s Pitt bowl game record with 229 rushing yards and helped seal the win at the end with several quality defensive snaps. Chryst has been noncommittal on how he plans to deploy Conner this season, but he insisted there was never serious concern among the coaching staff about playing him both ways.
“You’re concerned about all your players’ safety,” Chryst said. “You’d never come close to doing something that would jeopardize them. But the number of snaps in the bowl game — you know, James got eight or nine snaps on third down. It wasn’t like he was gassed. He’d been resting for a few plays, went out there and (after) first down, second down, he’s coming in on third down. I don’t worry about that.”
A Q&A from ESPN.com’s ACC blog with Anthony Gonzalez.
Being entrenched at linebacker, how much more comfortable are you there right now, finally having consecutive seasons at one spot?
AG: I think it’s great. The game is slowing down for me. I’ve got pretty good speed for a linebacker. And just the knowledge of the game that I’ve learned throughout my years has really helped me, and it’s helped me get better in my game, which is really good.
What are the expectations for this defense this season? When people are talking about teams that could possibly win the Coastal Division, Pitt’s name has come up.
AG: I think we can be a really good defense. We don’t really pay attention to the expectations. We take it a day at a time and every day just get better. Just knowing the defense more will allow us to be a great defense. So we don’t really pay attention to expectations, but in-house we really expect big things this year.
Dom DeCicco has managed to carve out a niche career in the NFL. I’m not mocking. It’s cutthroat and a testament to his ability, will and willingness to do what is needed.
Football players making a little extra money and having fun working the football camps. The most important thing in the story is the note at the bottom.
[Adam] Bisnowaty, who missed most of spring practice with a back injury, said he is fully healed and lifting weights with the rest of the team. He expects to be 100 percent by the time Pitt starts training camp in early August.
If they try this it better be on an extremely limited basis.
Do I remember more verbals during and right after the camps last year. Hope the logjam breaks soon.
If memory serves, Pitt got commits last year up until 1st few days of July.
I looked last year and saw a rash of commits around 6/20-2. E Zeise committed on 7/3 … and then not until early fall.
I’d love to see some late commit magic AKA, Adonis Jennings types that opt for the Panthers late in the recruiting process. Therefore, I’m not too nervous about having just 7 out of 16 slots filled at this point in time. If Pitt ends up surprising the doubters this season and posts a 8 or 9 win season, this recruiting class may still end up looking like a successful campaign if a couple blue chippers are impressed enough with the Panthers season results to believe Chryst is getting it right and want to catch the wave as it continues to develop.
This season is a critical one for Chryst for that and for other reasons as well. Most analysts agree that year three in a coaching tenure is the tipping point that determines the future success or failure of that regime. Hope HCPC gets some breaks and is lucky enough to produce the 8 win season that seems to be the consensus of a successful 2014 season. Success breeds success, and hope springs eternal so I hope that we’re successful “this” season. Therefore I feel this year’s results will have major implications on where this team goes in the years to come.
6/17/2014 – 2016 PF Omari Spellman (6-8, 230, 3.3*) | Overall Rank: 30 | Position Rank: 8 has received an offer from Pittsburgh.
Considered by some the best player in Ohio for 2016 class.
Rivals has him a 4*
Scout has him a 4*
ESPN has him a 5*
Picking him up would make 2016’s class stellar !
“Spellman to the hoop with a one handed tomahawk!!!”
3 stars on 247, ESPN, and Rivals.
Other offers include… Illinois, Iowa State, Northwestern, Minnesota, and some MAC schools.
Spellman is the type of player Pitt really needs to start recruiting. He’s big and gonna get bigger and watching his Youtube, he likes to block shots.
Plus he’s got a good name. Like Maverick Rowan
Howe was also offered by Big Joke champion Mich.St. and is 6’3″ and 265 lbs.
And we beat out fellow ACC Boston College for him as well and Notre Dame was looking at him.
Good Get !
H2P
VeV
6’3″ 265, wait till he puts on his man muscles.
wbb, only a 3.8, no ivy league offers, we must be slipping.
We played in Alabama…. was it 2 or 3 forgettable times.
Tiny’s legacy.