Sundays are part of the weekend, but it never feels like it. The thought that Monday is around the corner sticks in the back of my mind all day. Ah.

A large number of football recruits visited this weekend for the hoops game against Seton Hall. The list includes verbals like Nix, Burns, and Sunseri plus some hopefuls (most notably AJ Alexander). They were able to pick up their 17th verbal from TE Justin Virbitsky.

Jim Snyder of Pantherlair.com is reporting that TE Justin Virbitsky gave the Panthers a verbal commitment today. Virbitsky is the Panthers 17th verbal commitment. Virbitsky is from Lakeland, Fla. and is being recruited as a “blocking” tight end. Virbitsky was a 3-year starter at Lakeland H.S. and was named to the 1st team Class AA as a defensive end. [PSI]

The “blocking” tight end style is more similar to John Pelusi’s game rather than Nate Byham. Byham is a great blocker but an even better pass-catcher.
Speaking of tight ends (there’s a dirty joke in there somewhere), Darrell Strong played in the Hula Bowl last night. The other Pitt player was Kennard Cox. Two other all-star games will feature former Panthers.

Two-time All-Big East defensive end Joe Clermond will play in the East-West Shrine Game on Jan. 19 in Houston, Texas. The game will be a 7 p.m. (ET) telecast on ESPN. Pitt’s defensive captain, Clermond (Tampa, Fla./Chamberlain) finished the season as the Panthers’ leader in sacks (10.5) and tackles for loss (13). His 53 total tackles tied for fourth. An outstanding pass rusher, Clermond’s .88 sacks per game ranked 11^th nationally (tied) and third in the Big East.

Pitt’s starting offensive tackles, Jeff Otah and Mike McGlynn, will play in the Jan. 26 Senior Bowl, held in Mobile, Ala. The game will kickoff at 3 p.m. (ET) and be televised by the NFL Network.

All-star games have never really excited me; now really planning to watch these unless I find myself really in need of something to do. NFL Draft Countdown has Otah going near the middle of the first round and says this about him:

Otah is still very raw and only has two years of division I experience but he has mind-boggling size (6-6, 340) and great athleticism with almost unlimited potential. In college he played left tackle and did a fantastic job but he might have to the right side at the next level and a good way to think of him would be as a poor man’s Jake Long with more longterm upside.

Teams and Detroit and Philly would be two teams drafting in the middle of the round that could use him on their o-line.

Things that I just haven’t gotten around to linking or posting.

Bruce Feldman at ESPN.com lists 10 teams he expects to take a big step forward in wins.

2: Pittsburgh

All hail the ‘stache! The Panthers emerged from a four-game losing skid to upset No. 23 Cincinnati and finished off the season by wrecking the title hopes of West Virginia in Morgantown. Pitt will return many of the leaders of the nation’s No. 7 defense as well as one of the country’s top young running backs in LeSean McCoy. They also hope to get back smooth WR Derek Kinder, an All-Big East pick in 2006, who underwent season-ending knee surgery during training camp. QB Bill Stull, another former starter, also will return from injury, and he will try and beat out Pat Bostick, the talented true freshman who finished the season as Pitt’s starter. DT Gus Mustakas, a rugged inside presence, missed the final 10 games of the season after knee surgery and also should be back, as will tackle machine Scott McKillop. I think the Panthers’ patience with Dave Wannstedt will pay off with a return to the Top 25 next season and maybe even a Big East title.

A few individual honors. The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) — which is essentially the Eastern schools from UConn, BC, Syracuse, PSU, UVa, WVU and such — named LeSean McCoy the rookie of the year (PDF). In addition to McCoy also being named to the all-star team, Jeff Otah, Greg Romeus and Scott McKillop were also named to the squad.

Romeus and McCoy were also honored by being named to the Football Writers Association of America All-Freshman team.

A couple days ago, I noticed a slew of hits from a premium WVU message board. Oddly enough, they concerned a post that had nothing to do with them and was 18 months ago. The issue was Charlie Taaffee who served as a Pitt assistant in 2006. Taaffe left to go back to being a head coach in the CFL. He had a disasterous first year back, but there was nothing to suggest he was leaving. He had even hired some new assistants.

Turns out he was big in the rumor mill to be hired as offensive coordinator at WVU. Those reports later turned out to be false and recanted.

Therefore, if the reports are credible, recently fired O-line Coach Paul Dunn is now a candidate for the job in Morgantown.

The kickoff time for Pitt and Syracuse’s November 3 game at Heinz Field has been set for noon. Similar to Saturday’s game against Cincinnati, it will be televised on ESPN Regional as the “Big East Game of the Week”. It can also be seen locally on WTAE.

Also, kicker Conor Lee was recognized as the Big East Special Teams Player of the Week (to be known as the BESTPOTW from now on). Lee accounted for 10 points against Cincinnati which ties his career high. He was perfect on three field goals (41, 25 and 37 yards) and one extra point. Lee, who is a candidate for the Lou Groza Award, extended his school-record PAT streak to 66.

Come on, even those homers in Happy Valley can agree with that. As PSI notes, Shady is looking like the favorite to win the Big East Freshman of the Year award.

Rushing Yards
1) Ray Rice, Rutgers: 204 carries, 999 yards, 4.9 yards/carry 142.7 per game
2) LeSean McCoy, PITT: 141 carries, 805 yards, 5.7 yardsd/carry 115.1 per game
3) Steve Slaton, WVU: 135 carries, 752 yards, 5.6 yards/carry 107.4 per game

Total Offense
1) Brian Brohm, Louisville: 372.2/game
2) Mike Teel, Rutgers: 282.1/game
3) Ben Mauk, Cincinnati: 255.1/game
9) LeSean McCoy, Pitt: 117.6/game

Touchdowns
1) Ray Rice, Rutgers: 14 TD’s
2) Steve Slaton, WVU: 11 TD’s
3) LeSean McCoy, Pitt: 9 TD’s

Very impressive stats, especially considering the team he plays on.

Coach Jamie Dixon is in Ft. Worth, Texas today, to be formally inducted into the TCU Hall of Fame.

The group will be inducted tonight during a ceremony at the Kelly Alumni Center. Dixon will be accompanied by his wife and two children, who will be visiting Fort Worth for the first time.

They’ll catch their first glimpse of the place where Dixon’s life in college basketball started.

“I was very excited when I got the phone call from Donny Ray,” Dixon said Tuesday from his office in Pittsburgh. “I was excited and honored, and it also made me think back to the days way back when.”

Dixon’s old head coach at TCU passed away this past year. Dixon will also be honored at halftime of the SMU-TCU game on Saturday. Mildly surprising that he has never taken his family to see his alma mater.

It didn’t get a lot of attention immediately after the game, but Punter Dave Brytus did a fine job. He had been disturbingly inconsistent in training camp. His kicks were erratic and often short. It started coming together near the end of camp.

Brytus kicked well in the game and earned Big East Special Teams Player of the Week honors. Brytus had five punts in the game averaging 45.6 yds/punt.

It was the first POW of any Pitt football player since Palko got Offensive POW after the Citadel game. Session got Defensive POW after the season opener against Virginia. The last time a Pitt player was named Special Teams POW was Josh Lay in November 2005.

Chas mentioned that Pitt released the 2007 football media guide for download — so I read it from electronic cover-to-cover. Things that I liked/caught my eye/were interesting/etc…

Page 6, “This Is Panther Football” —

Dave Wannstedt and Stillers’ coach Mike Tomlin posed for a picture together. There was talk that Wanny only took the Pitt job as a way to eventually get the Steelers job. Oh, the irony.

Page 6, “This Is Panther Football” —

We were in a staff meeting and I’m sitting at the far end of the table — it was the ’76 year, the year we (Pitt) won the National Championship — and I think my job that day was to make the coffee. I’m looking at Coach (John) Majors and said to myself, “Someday, I will be the head coach at the University of Pittsburgh.” -Dave Wannstedt

Page 7, “This Is Panther Football” —

I believe I can make a difference on the football field, but just as important, I believe I can make a difference at the university and in the community. I think all those things are vital and all those things are very important.

I hardly believe any college football player would say this without having it written down for him.

Page 8, “This Is Panthers Football” —

With 49 consensus All-Americans, Pitt is 7th among Division 1-A programs. And Penn State fans tell us we have no history.

Page 9, “This Is Panthers Football” —

The outfit Tony Dorsett wore to accept his Heisman Trophy was spectacular. Must have been a ’70’s thing, I guess?

Page 10, “This Is Panthers Football” —

On a page subtitled “Championship Caliber Staff” lies a picture of Paul Rhoads.

Page 13, “This Is Panthers Football” —

A collage of Pitt players in the NFL including Kevan Barlow in his Steelers practice uni. There’s some doubt as to whether he’ll even make the team.

Page 15, “This Is Panthers Football” —

Tyler Palko makes two appearances on the “Pitt Is So Great Because We’re Community Minded” page. Seriously though, Palko is known to be a great guy and his love and care for a friend with Down Syndrome are well documented.

Page 17, “This Is Panthers Football” —

The point in having a page about the Petersen Events Center is what…? I don’t seem to be able to recall the last time I saw a Pitt football game played at the Pete.

Page 20, “This Is Panthers Football” —

The player’s lounge in the Pitt locker room at the UPMC Center looks like a pretty nice place, yeah?

Page 22, “This Is Panthers Football” —

The U of Pitt was founded in a log cabin back in 1787. Our school was founded in a log cabin and I’m damn proud of it.

Page 23, “This Is Panthers Football” —

While Pittsburgh used to be called Steel Town, they need to call it Knowledge Town. -President Bush

That President of ours, always good for some comedic relief.

Page 26, “This Is Panthers Football” —

On a personal note, I almost got my own picture in the media guide (sort of). At College Basketball Gameday back in January I was in the front row, dead center…but in the picture they used, a giant flag is being waved and blocking me from view. Grrr…

Page 41, “2007 Preview” —

The title page of the section about the upcoming season features the picture above. Offensive lineman Jeff Otah blocking…his own teammate?

Page 42, “2007 Preview” —

The QB section notes that Tyler Palko took all of the meaningful snaps of the past three years and I become more and more unsure about the 2007 season.

Page 46, “Preseason Depth Chart” —

The preseason depth chart they have does not include the incoming recruiting class so it’s not really what we’re looking for.

Page 48, “Preseason Honors” —

I never knew that there were s many preseason awards and lists out there. It seems like every player on the Pitt roster is listed with some sort of award they could receive.

Page 64, “Coach Profiles” —

Fact you didn’t know: Chris LaSala, assistant AD and director of football operations, is a graduate of West Virginia.

Page 69, “Coaching Staff” —

Yet another fact you didn’t know: There is such an award called the “Big East Video Coordinator of the Year.” Our video guy, Chad Bogard, is a two time recipient of the award.

Page 73, “Player Profiles: Chris Bova” —

While scanning the profiles I came across the word matriculating. If you know what that means without looking it up then I’m impressed.

Page 92, “Player Profiles: Austin Ransom” —

I think Austin Ransom wins the award for the best hair on the team.

Looks like a certain Simpson’s character.

Page 99, “Player Profiles: Oderick Turner” —

In high school, Turner was the NJ state high jump champion. Jumping over a height of 6-4, he can clear me by 2 inches.

Page 107, “2007 Rosters” —

The pronunciation guide clears up a debate I had with someone last year about how to say Jovani Chappel’s last name. For the record, it’s “sha-PELL”.

Page 113-130, “2006 Season in Review” —

This whole section is just stats from a disappointing year and is pretty dull in general.

Page 134, “Team Records” —

All kinds of fun info in this section and especially on this page.

Longest play from scrimmage in team history: 91 yards (George McLaren in 1917 and Alex Van Pelt in 1992)

In 1914 we beat Dickinson by a score of 96-0. More recently, we pounded Rutgers 76-0, back in 1977. On the other hand, the biggest margin of defeat came in a 72-0 loss to Ohio State back in 1996.

Page 135, “The Last Time…” —

The last time we had a punt return for a TD is Revis’ against WVU. I don’t think we’ll be forgetting that one anytime soon.

Page 131-164, “Team Record Book” —

The above two items were just a small sample from what I think is the best section of the guide. If you’re going to read one section, this is the one.

Page 166, “Pro Football” —

The guide lists 23 Panthers on NFL teams, however it was done before Curtis Martin retired so the actual number is 22. The most former Panthers on one team is three: Larry Fitzgerald, Greg Lee, and Gerald Hayes of the Arizona Cardinals. The Jets (Darrelle Revis, Hank Poteat) and the Saints (Tyler Palko, Rob Petitti) are the only other teams with more than one former Pitt player.

Page 183, “Postseason Games” —

They have picture of Palko from last year’s Senior Bowl…but not one of the ones with him in a script Pitt helmet.

Inside back cover —

Forget the words, I just really like the actual photo they used.

So there it is, (most) of the good stuff to see in this year’s football media guide. The season is just around the corner.

Just not the men’s team. The Maggie Dixon Classic, for those of you who didn’t catch the AP stories, will be a women’s tournament that is played annually at Madison Square Garden.

“The Garden approached us last year, but we felt that the first one should be at West Point,” Pitt men’s basketball coach Jamie Dixon said. “The next one should be at Madison Square Garden since that’s where all of basketball starts.”

The second annual Maggie Dixon Classic will be played Dec. 8 at the Garden with a women’s basketball doubleheader featuring Rutgers, Duke, Pitt and Army. It is the first women’s doubleheader there since 1981, when Rutgers, Louisiana Tech, Old Dominion and Cheyney State took part.

Glad to see the women’s team is at least participating.

Congrats to Coach Jamie Dixon.

University of Pittsburgh men’s basketball coach Jamie Dixon has been named one of five 2007 inductees into the TCU Athletic Hall of Fame. Dixon will be formally honored on Thursday, Sept. 20 prior to TCU’s Homecoming football game against SMU. A four-year basketball letterman at TCU from 1984-87, Dixon is best remembered for his half-court shot at the buzzer to defeat Texas, 55-54, in a February 1986 game. In addition, he helped the Horned Frogs post back-to-back league championships (1986, 1987) and reach the second round of the 1987 NCAA Tournament. As a senior, Dixon led the Southwest Conference in assists per game (5.4 apg.) and earned both All-SWC and academic all-conference honors. He was drafted by the Washington Bullets and played professionally in the Continental Basketball Association.

Coach Dixon was previously awarded a Frog O’Fame Award from TCU back in 2005.

Nice story about a kid who will be a walk-on at Pitt.

[Craig] Sedunov, a four-year starter who played linebacker and various offensive positions at Yough, plans to walk on and attempt to play defensive back for the Panthers. He turned down offers from Clarion and Glenville (W.Va.) State.

“I don’t like the people at Penn State, and I’m just not a West Virginia fan,” Sedunov said. “I grew up liking Pitt. That’s why I want to play for them.”

The 5-foot-8, 185-pound Sedunov plans to begin attending classes June 25, because he wants to get with the team as soon as possible.

Sedunov will be playing in the Foothills Football Classic this weekend.

This weekend will also be the Pennsylvania Scholastic Football Coaches Association East West All-Star Football Game in Altoona. As usual, there will be plenty of players not participating because they were in the Big 33 game or simply because they have already enrolled at their college.

Maurice Williams out of Erie who will be a freshman at Pitt will be participating, but plenty of others are declining.

Donte Harden, who played with Williams at Strong Vincent High School, has already enrolled at Miami of Ohio. Meanwhile, Myles Carragein, Greg Gaskins and Dan Matha, all of whom will be incoming freshmen with Williams at Pitt this fall, also have pulled out of the game for various reasons.

Just, please, don’t get hurt.

It’s the 50th Anniversary of the Big 33 game, and I think it’s safe to say that most college football fans just hope that the kids coming to their school don’t get hurt. The offline world kept me from doing this yesterday, but judging by the comments at the end of this thread, the general view to knowing Pitt commits are playing is fear of injury.

Now, the story on Linebacker Travis Wolff from Shaler is nice. I like very much that he wants to come play for Pitt. That said, I don’t know if or when that would happen.

After that, he will head to Milford Academy, a prep school in New Berlin, N.Y., where he intends to play in the fall.

Wolff hopes Milford is just a stop on his way to bigger things. A lifelong Pitt fan, his dream is one day to play collegiately with the Panthers, but he must get his academic resume in order first.

“I’m trying to look at this as a three-step process,” Wolff said. “The Big 33 is the first step and Milford is the second step. Hopefully, Pitt will be the third step.”

See, the NCAA has put new rules into effect with prep schools. Effectively funneling most kids who don’t have their academics in order to junior colleges.

But the NCAA changed the rules this year after thorough reporting by the Washington Post and New York Times exposed so-called diploma mill prep schools. So starting in 2008, to be eligible, a student will need 16 core classes and only one can come from a postgraduate year.

The article on Wolff doesn’t say what he needs to do academically at Milford. It seems though, that he needs more than one core class. If he’s serious, he may find himself in summer school instead trying to get as many core classes improved as he can.

The various college football awards watchlists are starting to trickle out. I have to admit to not expecting to see a lot of Pitt players listed on the watch lists this year.

DE Joe Clermond, though, name made it onto the Bronko Nagurski Award Watchlist for the best defensive player.

Last year he paced the conference and ranked 15^th nationally with an average of 1.38 tackles for loss per game (16.5 total). Clermond had at least one TFL in seven consecutive games to close the year and in 10 of 12 games overall.

The second-team All-Big East selection finished the 2006 season with 48 tackles and a Pitt-high 5.5 quarterback sacks.

Five other Big East players are on the list:

Rutgers — Eric Foster, DT

Rutgers — Courtney Greene, S
Louisville — Adrian Grady, DT
Syrause — Jameel McClain, DE
USF –  Ben Moffit, LB

Senior defensive end Joe Clermond was one of 49 players named to the Watch List for the 2007 Bronko Nagurski Trophy, annually presented to the top defensive player in college football. The Football Writers Association of America makes the list and eventually decides the winner from their 11-player All-America defensive team.

Clermond (Tampa, Fla./Chamberlain) returns for his final collegiate season as one of the Big East Conference’s elite defensive ends. Last year he paced the conference and ranked 15^th nationally with an average of 1.38 tackles for loss per game (16.5 total). Clermond had at least one TFL in seven consecutive games to close the year and in 10 of 12 games overall.

Clermond is going to be the best player on a defense that will likely end up being a giant train wreck. Mostly because of coaching, we were able to have stars like Revis and Blades and still have a poor defense. It’s a good honor for Clermond to have his name on this list and it should help him get his name out to more people and possibly get noticed by more and more NFL scouts.

Congrats to the three current Pitt baseball players who were selected in this week’s MLB Draft.

Three current Pitt baseball players were selected on day two of the Major League Baseball draft on Friday, including Kyle Landis, Paul Nardozzi and Jordan Herr. Also drafted was Pitt signee David Kaye, a right-handed pitcher from Oakmont, Pa.

Landis was picked by the Cleveland Indians in the 18th round. He led the Panthers in earned run average and earned All-Big East Third Team honors in 2007. Nardozzi is the only Pitt senior who was selected, taken by the Detroit Tigers in the 31st round. He’s a RHP who became Pitt’s all-time leader in strikeouts earlier in the season and completed his four years with the Panthers with 260 strikeouts. Herr is an outfielder picked in the 41st round by the Chicago Cubs. He played in 49 games on the year and batted .263 on the year with a .983 fielding percentage.

Also picked was a Pitt signee, David Kaye, from Riverview High School. Kaye was selected in the 30th round by the Toronto Blue Jays. He led the WPIAL in strikeouts this season with 95.

The road to making the Major Leagues is a long and tough one with a ton of work being put in through the minor league systems. Realistically, we’ll probably never hear of these guys again as MLB players unless they excel on the farm clubs they’ll be playing for. Either way, good luck to these guys with their baseball careers.

About a year and a-half ago, Scout.com was bought by Fox Interactive Media. Now it looks like Rivals.com might be absorbed by Yahoo!. Can’t say I’m shocked by this — well maybe a little by the potential buyer. Rivals.com was doing okay with the subscriptions and as a content supplier to various sports media groups, but they needed someone with deeper pockets behind them with Scout.com, CBS/CSTV/MaxPreps.com and ESPN/Scouts, Inc all in very solid financial positions.

I’m not particularly wild about Dick Groat doing color analysis for Pitt basketball, as he seems at least half-a-step behind on things. Still, congrats on getting into the college basketball hall of fame and I did find his Q&A interesting.

Q: How do you think Pitt senior center Aaron Gray will fare at the next level?

A: Knowing the kind of person he is, I think he will fare well. For no other reason than what he doesn’t do well, he will work and improve and make himself better.

Q: What are your thoughts about Bob Huggins coming to West Virginia?

A: He’s notorious. He gets away with it. The guy is a good coach, and he’s had great success. But he will bring anybody in and do any way to bring a recruit in. I just think there’s a better way to do things. It puts pressure on everybody in the Big East.

Heh.