Let’s hope we see a scene similar to this tomorrow night with Tyler Boyd being the subject:
The Post-Gazette’s Sam Werner weighs in with an article asking if Boyd could be the only Pitt player drafted this year. Here is the depressing part:
Beyond Boyd, tight end J.P. Holtz and cornerback Lafayette Pitts figure to be the next most likely candidates to hear their names called this weekend, though it’s likely one or both will have to wait to try to catch on with a team as an undrafted free agent.
Holtz played in all 52 games over his four-year career, starting 48. He said NFL teams have approached him about possibly switching to fullback and he has no objections.
“I’m willing to do whatever I need to do to make a team,” he said after pro day.
Pitts also didn’t miss a game the past four years and started 51. According to Brandt, he clocked in at 4.44 seconds at Pitt’s pro day and should have plenty of offers from teams after this weekend if he isn’t selected.
If Boyd is the only Panthers player chosen, it would mark the second consecutive year Pitt had just one player chosen. Offensive lineman T.J. Clemmings was the only one to go a year ago. Pitt had three players chosen in 2014, which broke a three-year streak of having no draftees.
There was a surprise answer during the ACC HCs conference call the other day when NC’s Larry Fedora was asked about Tyler Boyd:
The proclamation by North Carolina coach Larry Fedora was so stunning that he was asked to repeat it.
“I know people may go crazy,” Fedora said when asked about former Pitt wide receiver Tyler Boyd, “but I’m going to compare him to Dez Bryant.” “You said Dez Bryant, right?” a reporter asked last week during an ACC coaches conference call. “Yes, that’s correct,” Fedora said without backing down.
Boyd is projected by many analysts to be selected in the second or third round of the NFL Draft, a three-day event commencing Thursday that will alter the lives of Boyd and several other area players.
Fedora, who coached Bryant at Oklahoma State before Bryant became a first-round draft choice and two-time Pro Bowler with the Dallas Cowboys, knows Boyd all too well. Boyd recorded 20 receptions for 341 yards and a touchdown against North Carolina during the past three seasons.
“He’s very smooth in everything he does, as far as his strength in his hands and in making competitive catches,” Fedora said. “I’m talking about catches when you’ve got a defender on you, not when you’re wide open.”
If anyone is interested in all the draft coverage in one local spot the Trib has this website for you.
I’ll throw in my two cents here and admittedly I am terrible about draft predictions, mainly because I really don’t pay much attention to it. I know it supposedly helps Pitt when a player gets highly drafted but I’m also not too sure that is true. Pitt has always pumped out All-Americans and high draft choices and yet we remain playing the same type of average football year after year.
But I think Tyler Boyd is a good player and will be a serious target for some NFL team to draft. How high that draft pick will be depends on who has been taken before him, which team in the decision spotlight needs what from their big board and so on… The one thing that us fans overlook is that some NFL general managers put more weight on off the field incidents than others do. So if a team has its draft turn and needs a WR but that arrest of Boyd’s scares them off then they might pass on him.
I do think that really shouldn’t matter all that much but you never know what others are thinking. Sometimes pure stats or measurables isn’t the be all end all with the NFL.
In my last try at draft prognostication I predicted Jon Baldwin would be a 2nd round draft choice and missed that by one team’s pick. So, I’ll say that Tyler Boyd goes in the middle of the 2nd round but has a shot at a 1st round if everything falls into place for him as described above. I don’t see him less than a 3rd round at all though.
Speaking of hoping for things, this season’s Pitt vs. Penn State game will be one of the most important football games Pitt has played in decades. The last time the two teams met, in 2000, we were coming into the game with a 2-0 record having beaten Kent State and Bowling Green, in a home then an away game, and were about to meet PSU in Pittsburgh.
Throw in the fact that Walt Harris hadn’t had a winning season at Pitt yet; we were coming off a 5-6 losing season (with a 2-9 season in ’89) so we weren’t really expected to do too much for the 2000 season. I think Pitt fans just wanted a winning season more than anything else really – that and to win against arch-rival PSU.
The fact was that we had been beaten by PSU in each of the previous three seasons and PSU was coming off a good 10-3 season the year before therefore I’m not sure anyone saw that game as a predicted win for Pitt.
But that’s why they play the games though, right? Penn State came into town and left with their tail between their legs having been shut out 12-0 in what turned out to be the last match the two teams would play for 15 years. The cherry on top of that win was that it sent PSU onto a 5-7 season which was then followed up with a 6-7 record the year after. Yeah us!
What that win over Penn State really did was give our 2000 Pitt team confidence and allowed them to feel they were a pretty good squad after all. We carried that momentum to a 7-5 season record and started a run of winning years that culminated in a Big East championship and a BCS bowl in 2004.
There are different circumstances surrounding this upcoming season’s PSU game that will take place on Sept 10th. We are coming of a good 8-5 season and Penn State was one game shy of that at 7-6. But what is the most important thing for us going into that PSU game is that it is at the beginning of a very tough string of games we have to play afterward.
We will follow PSU with a visit to Oklahoma State (ranked 19th last season) and then play at North Carolina (15th) the following week. After that NC game we host a tough and always underrated football program in Marshall University at home. If things go deep south with Penn State we could be looking at a disaster in the making during the first half of the season.
However, the one thing I have always believed about Pitt football was that the team and players have always run hot and cold depending on what has been happening. It seems that we either get too high or too low under different circumstances. However, this year with us having an emotional and volatile HC in Pat Narduzzi just may allow us to take the arousing momentum that a win over PSU at Heinz Field would give us and use that to play the next three games to the best of our abilities.
It may be too much to ask for a four win stretch over those tough games but taking two or three out of four would set the rest of the season up nicely. Let’s hope so anyway. Here is a little something to remind you of what can happen in a rivalry:
As we already knew Shakir Soto is making the move inside for the defense and will be going into fall camp as a defensive tackle. I’ll agree with a reader’s thoughts put up yesterday that this move might be sketchy given Soto’s mundane play in the past.
“Shakir has done a great job making the transition and changing his body to become an impact player at tackle,” Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi said in a story on the university’s athletic website. “From both a physical and mental standpoint, he has improved and embraced the opportunity and challenge. We love that Shakir is tough and that’s why he is going to be successful in his new position.”
Soto sensed a position change was in the works before the 2015 season ended.
“I kind of had a feel before the bowl game,” Soto said. “Then right after the bowl game, (the coaches) came up to me and said they felt I’d be a better fit at D-tackle. (Narduzzi) told me ‘You’re a physical player; you’re one of the more physical players on the team.’ He was right. I’ve been playing really well at that position.”
I think we’ll see some of the other defensive lineman rise to the occasion and play well there instead – especially Nose Tackle rsJR Jeremiah Taleni and SR Tyrique Jarrett (of Allderdice fame). Taleni is quick off the ball and I think that he’ll surprise us this season. Soto looks like a depth addition to me.
Of course we have two true FR coming in that people talk about in 3* DT Keyshon Camp out of Florida and more highly rated 4* DT Amir Watts from Chicago. But I have to be honest here, the interior of the defensive line is not a position where we see true freshman come in and start very often.
Take our All-Everything DT Aaron Donald for example. Here is what was written about him as a 4* recruit coming out of high school:
Described as “one of the most dominating defensive linemen in WPIAL Class AAAA in recent years” while at Penn Hills…selected first team All-State Class AAAA by the Pennsylvania Sports Writers each of his final two seasons…Pennsylvania Football News All-Class AAAA…Pittsburgh Post-Gazette WPIAL Class AAAA Player of the Year…Pittsburgh Post-Gazette “Fabulous 22″… Pittsburgh Tribune-Review “Terrific 25″…compiled 63 tackles, 15 tackles for loss and 11 sacks as a senior…
Yet this is what he did as a true freshman at Pitt:
2010: Played in all 13 games as a reserve defensive tackle…had 11 tackles, three TFLs and two sacks on the year…had a season-high three stops at Syracuse…had his first career sack vs. Louisville for an eight-yard loss…had a nine-yard sack vs. Kentucky in the BBVA Compass Bowl.
So you can see that even for someone as great a high school player as Donald was he still couldn’t break into the starting lineup as a freshman… he played well but not as a starter. The point here is that while we fans bandy around Camp and Watts’ names for the DL in 2016 it will most surely be in a reserve status if they play at all.
To switch gears to that other sport no one but Chas really likes anyway here is an article about Jamie Dixon thinking he was going to be at Pitt for his full career as a Head Coach. It references this website as the source of the article’s info.
It is an interesting read:
While I couldn’t be more excited to return to Fort Worth, it’s incredibly difficult to say goodbye to Pitt, a place that’s been such an important part of my family’s life.
I coached there for 17 years, and in that time we adjusted and adapted constantly to stay competitive. We saw change happen around us, but we always kept the same mentality with our program in order to stay successful. It’s the same mentality of the entire state, really: Hard work, integrity, results.
What will I miss most? The players. No question.
Good Luck to young Mr. Boyd on the first step into his professional career and let’s hope he has a long, healthy and happy stay in the NFL. Best of luck tomorrow night….
Here is a late addition to the article that should generate some interesting comments…
20 2007 1 14 NYJ Darrelle Revis DB
21 2007 4 136 IND Clint Session LB
22 2007 6 179 WAS H.B. Blades LB
23 2006 3 65 HOU C. Spencer G
24 2006 6 174 NOR Josh Lay DB
25 2005 6 209 DAL Rob Petitti T
In 2011 we had five players drafted and went 6-7.
5 2011 1 26 KAN Jon Baldwin WR
6 2011 2 37 CLE Jabaal Sheard DE
7 2011 5 149 PHI Dion Lewis RB
8 2011 5 150 CLE Jason Pinkston T
9 2011 7 226 NOR Greg Romeus DL
In 2014 we had three players drafted and went 6-7.
2 2014 1 13 STL Aaron Donald DT College Stats
3 2014 4 135 HOU Tom Savage QB College Stats
4 2014 5 146 DAL Devin Street WR College Stats
So I’m not sure there is a firm correlation there really. I think coaching and team chemistry play more into it than anything else.
Here is the Pitt Players Drafted listing:
106 1981 1 7 TAM Hugh Green LB
107 1981 1 12 BAL Randy McMillan RB
108 1981 1 20 WAS Mark May G
109 1981 2 51 NOR Rickey Jackson LB
110 1981 3 63 RAM Greg Meisner NT
111 1981 3 65 SFO Carlton Williamson DB
112 1981 3 69 WAS Russ Grimm G
113 1981 5 115 NYG Bill Neill NT
114 1981 5 120 CIN Benjie Pryor TE
115 1981 5 121 SFO Lynn Thomas DB
116 1981 5 128 NOR Jerry Boyarsky NT
117 1981 11 292 PIT Rick Trocano QB
Then Dan Marino and his fellow draftees’ year of 1983:
94 1983 1 6 CHI Jimbo Covert T
95 1983 1 11 GNB Tim Lewis DB
96 1983 1 27 MIA Dan Marino QB
97 1983 5 132 GNB Bryan Thomas RB
98 1983 6 149 CLE Dave Puzzuoli NT
99 1983 6 160 GNB Ron Sams C
100 1983 8 201 PHI Rich Kraynak LB
101 1983 9 230 CHI Rob Fada G
102 1983 12 320 BUF Julius Dawkins WR
Something to remember about the 1980’s though is that the draft went a whole 12 rounds as opposed to the present seven rounds.
–Am still puzzled by moving Dintino to the OL – I think he will be good there, but I thought he could have an impact at DT because he was quick off the snap. I guess that quickness would work well at center too.
–Did you guys see that former Pitt QB Kevin Smith was called up by the White Sox and was going to make his MLB debut behind the plate — but then injured his back in pre-game warm-ups. Now he’s on the DL. Yikes.
–If Coach Duzz can bring in more classes like this last class, Pitt will have plenty of players drafted starting in a couple of years.
Go Pitt.
HTP
“tourner autour” means.
Thanks to Reed posting the Highlight reel up top… we are all reminded of just how GREAT of a Player Tyler Boyd really is.
Sans the blip that was Chaney’s Offense.
“people talk about in 3* DT Keyshon Camp out of Florida and more highly rated 4* DT Amir Watts from Chicago”.
From what I can see, Camp had many more offers from big time programs, including Alabama, Michigan, USC, Ohio Fake, Florida, and UCLA. Watts best were Missouri and Minnesota. He may have had more stars by some recruiting site, but the offer lists speak differently on who was rated higher.
Coaching and chemistry are important but not nearly as much as talent.
Oh, how SWEET it would be to have had a NEW Pitt Stadium erected in place of the Old.
5 2011 1 26 KAN Jon Baldwin WR
6 2011 2 37 CLE Jabaal Sheard DE
7 2011 5 149 PHI Dion Lewis RB
8 2011 5 150 CLE Jason Pinkston T
9 2011 7 226 NOR Greg Romeus DL
We may not see that star type of talent in our starting 22 for a long time.
That was Todd Graham’s year and that record was the result of his coaching – and I’ll also say this also. Had he stuck with a pro-style offense Sunseri would have had a much better year and we’d have won more games… that was all on Graham’s head.
I guess it is the old “Xs and Os vs the Jimmies and Joes” argument. There is no cut and dried answer because of all the different factors that are involved.
Fool o’ Pitt – the only ‘rating’ system for all the sites is numerical which translates into stars awarded. I always use Rivals.com when discussing recruit rating for the sake of consistency. I get your point about the offers and Camp was rated 4*s on other sites so you may be correct. Still I’ll be pretty surprised if either kid gets a starting position except for injury during the season.
Stacked up against our only QB to be a 1st round pick (guess who?) Sunseri had only 7 yards less passing than Dan Marino, had a 7% better completion rate, 46 less INTs, 43 more completions, 10 points better QB rating, etc… all the while playing one full season less than that #27 draft pick did.
I say all this with the full knowledge that stats sometimes tell huge lies 🙂
Boyd – late 2nd round
I also remember that Romeus was hurt most of the season.
Thanks for the above ESPN link on T Boyd. Very, no………..
. EXTREMELY impressive!!!!
Whichever Blather writer updates the yellow info column on the right side of the blog, it still lists Jamie Dixon’s Twitter under the Pitt Basketball heading.
Pitt the LAUGHINGSTOCK due to Fraud Graham.
All of a sudden, Paul Chryst takes a chance on Pitt and comes in with little to show but his success as an O-Coordinator.
No WPIAL Stars interested in Pitt including Robert Foster.
Tyler Boyd… legitimate 4 or 5 Star says “NO” to a multitude of Programs and says “YES” to Pitt.
Here’s hoping Tyler gets more than he and his family expects tomorrow.
They certainly deserve it.
So as a FR with Savage at QB and Rudolph as the OC and then as a SO with Voytic at QB and Rudolph the OC, T.Boyd was able to generate almost 4 minutes of impressive highlights.
But with NP at QB and Chaney as the OC, T.Boyd could only show a few seconds of a highlight. Interesting.
PoD – I agree with you on that I too hope Tyler and his family have there expectations exceeded today.
Tyler Boyd – thanks for being a Pitt great and don’t ever forget where you came from. Visit your hometown teams often.
HTP!
From the reader’s responses it looked like you missed a good article we posted here on Voytik’s Pitt career -since you said you wouldn’t read anything I wrote about him.
My thought is that it is a draw for recruiting, as is the Southside facilities, by it holds no actual home field advantage.
However, I think that is more due to fans and their decisions than the physical venue itself.
Reed, Fitz made a lot of circus catches as well, usually considered a good thing. His lack of highlights from last year are due to the way he was used. Deep balls were rarely thrown his way.
Regarding the Heinz Field Advantage video, I did not know what to make of that to even comment. Pitt does have to find a way to make Heinz an advantage and it seems like HCPN is playing that card with “spin”.
One last comment before I dive back into work – Reed you do a fantastic job along with Chas and Justin writing the Pitt Blather. I enjoy all your articles and try to separate them from your comments. To me, it’s good entertainment and banter.
HTP!
Interesting that NP ran for a net of 232 vs CV’s 466. When you look at the passing yardage for NP, 2287 vs 2233 for CV, not much of an improvement. There were two more wins, but I would say Whitehead and a slightly better defense were mostly accountable for that.
While I wasn’t opposed to the move, the difference in results were marginal.
I do think that NP has more upside, but he still has to prove it on the field this year.
I was wondering yesterday if the Foster family ever has second thoughts about their decision to get Robert committed to Alabama. The final chapters in Robert Foster’s Bama career remain to be written, but the first three years have definitely been a boring read so far. The “what ifs” of Foster coming to Pitt along with Boyd will never be able to be answered accurately, but the fact that this week Tyler Boyd ends up getting drafted by an NFL team while Rober Foster continues his struggle to nail down a starting role for the Tide at WR. What could have been ? Who knows.
No doubt about it though that early playing time is a real attraction for talented HS recruits here at Pitt. The other thing that seems kind of unique at Pitt is even though the Panthers haven’t produced many NFL products over the last decade, the ones we have seen go pro sure have made major impacts in the NFL. Revis, Fitzgerald, McCoy and now Aaron Donald proving that he is Pro Bowl material too, lots of high end players that have all earned the rep of the NFL’s supreme players.
I’m sure that this fact is not lost on Narduzzi & Co. Who is the next highly recruited HS star that is smart enough to realize that coming to Pitt with the opportunity of grabbing early playing time and making an immediate impact spells future fame and fortune at Pitt if they are truly NFL material.
Speaking of NFL material. Read this Larry Fitzgerald open letter shared for all those NFL draftees out there. Pertinent information that offered by a wise man on how to make the most of this impending NFL opportunity. Another Pitt guy for us Panther fans to be proud of.
Re Boyd – He seems to have excellent hands and regularly makes amazing catches, but he has had his share of easy drops as well… Then again, he has great athleticism (not great speed) and I could see him being a very successful possession receiver in the NFL. I do hope he adds plenty of muscle for his own protection. Best wishes to Tyler & Hail to Pitt!
WEB LINK: Scarpinato Hampshire Honor Society
April 27, 2016
PITT’S MARK SCARPINATO NAMED TO HAMPSHIRE HONOR SOCIETY
PITTSBURGH—Former Pitt defensive lineman Mark Scarpinato has been named to the prestigious Hampshire Honor Society by the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame.
The Hampshire Honor Society is comprised of college football players from all divisions of play who maintained a cumulative 3.2 grade-point average or better throughout their college career.
Scarpinato (Milwaukee, Wis./Marquette University H.S.) joined Pitt as a graduate transfer for the 2015 season. A former defensive lineman at Michigan State, he earned his bachelor’s degree in three years and then pursued his aspirations in medicine by enrolling at the Medical College of Wisconsin.
Following a one-year hiatus from football, Scarpinato enrolled at Pitt and became a key contributor to the Panthers’ defensive front. He played in the season’s first eight games at defensive tackle and end before missing the balance of the year due to injury.
Scarpinato is studying health and policy management in Pitt’s Graduate School of Public Health. Following his completion of that program, he plans to attend medical school and become a doctor.
For the latest Pitt football news, follow the Panthers on Twitter and Instagram at @GoPittFootball.
No one catches everything, including the greats.
Concerning total passing yards between CV and NP isn’t CVs numbers on a full season slate while NPs are on 2 + games less (because he wasn’t the starter until game 3 during his first year?)
Those stats make perfect sense………..I guess that’s why Dan Marino is in the NFL Hall of Fame and considered by many one of the top 3 QBs of all time, while Tino sits in Saskachewan, Canada as a nobody.
Barvo, I also have some beach front property in Oklahoma I can sell to you for a good price (according to the statistics)!
Enjoy your day in Barvo World buddy
The WVU game, a couple minutes left, trying to do a game winning drive, 2 or 3 sacks in a row, fumbling and kicking at the ball. Taking the sack on 4th down?????? Throw the ball, we’re not getting it back, the games over.
I rehash only in fun and jest, I’ve been willing to let him go for a long time now, but when you see his name brought up, what the hell, right??
That is a misdirection so the PSU fans buy tickets for the wrong day. Thanks for the correction – RHK