The Scout.com and Rivals.com commit lists are always the place to go to see who they have gotten ahold of who has said they signed.

Rivals.com already has a ton listed as signing as of 9:24 am:

Chris Burns

Shayne Hale

Ronald Hobby

Jared Holley

Antwuan Reed

Cameron Saddler

Mike Shanahan

Ryan Turnley

Justin Virbitsky

Manny Williams

This in addition to Greg Cross and Rob Housers who are JUCOs that have already signed.

UPDATE (10:35): Scouts.com still has no checks under signed LOIs. Not good for the reputation.

Rivals.com has Kevin Harper and Tino Sunseri now on the signed list.

UPDATE (11:22): Looks like the two biggest ones have signed along with a couple others:

Lucas Nix

Jonathan Baldwin

Mike Cruz

Andrew Taglianetti (wonder if he will become a regular commit now that Stoudt is off to Louisville)

That just leaves Joe Trebitz from the list. That is, of course, assuming there are no late surprises. Really haven’t heard much of anything on that front, so it seems this will go down as an excellent but not particularly exciting NLI day for Pitt. Not that I’m complaining. Just relatively peaceful and almost anti-climatic.

UPDATE (11:49): And now Joe Trebitz has his name listed in signed.

No more to await from the verbal commits. Unless there are other surprises that means Pitt’s signing day is over before noon.

So, it’s a little more than a week to National Letter of Intent day. Also known as, make sure those servers are ready for the millions of hits and refreshes for Scout.com and Rivals.com.

Pitt headlined an East recruiting recap on USA Today. Stuff already covered numerous times.

Scouts, Inc./ESPN.com has Pitt #21 nationally in recruiting.

19 verbal commitments, four ESPN 150 prospects

Despite still not leading Pitt to a bowl game Dave Wannstedt remains a top recruiter, especially in Western Pennsylvania. Four ESPN 150 prospects include the big, talented wide receiver Jonathan Baldwin (Aliquippa, Pa.).

Pitt is far and away with the best recruiting class in the Big East.

Class highlights: Besides Baldwin, running back Chris Burns (New Wilmington, Pa./Wilmington Area) offers promise. The Panthers already have the exciting LeSean McCoy, but Burns could offer a wonderful second option. He combines workhorse qualities with scatback, change-of-direction skills.

The offensive line also receives a boost with the addition of the big, athletic offensive tackle Luke Nix (Jefferson Hills, Pa./Thomas Jefferson). Wannstedt has recruited well, but Nix offers his best land yet at the offensive tackle position.

Pitt also landed talented in-state quarterback Tino Sunseri, the one-time Louisville commit. A coach’s son and a gunslinger, this could prove to be a great pick-up a little down the road. Mike Cruz (Johnstown, Pa. / Bishop McCort) is a big tight end with deceptive athleticism who catches pretty much anything near him. The defense also recently got a good addition with the commitment of Shayne Hale (Monroeville, Pa./Gateway) a linebacker prospect who will likely develop into a defensive end. A pair of talented athlete prospects, A.J. Alexander (Altoona, Pa.) and Cameron Saddler (Monroeville, Pa./Gateway), have potential.

Could see the field in 2008: Wide receiver Baldwin, running back Burns, tight end Cruz, athletes Alexander and Saddler (in a variety of roles and special teams), Hale (likely as a back-up) and JUCO OC Rob Houser (Chico, Calif./Butte College).

Looks like A.J. Alexander is back with FSU. Of course, there is still a week left for him so don’t hold him to it.

There is a grayshirt addition and a preferred walk-on.

Central Catholic running back Andrew Taglianetti made a verbal commitment to Pitt on Sunday. His brother, South Fayette quarterback Jon Taglianetti, accepted an opportunity to be a preferred walk-on for the Panthers.

“My brother was one of the reasons,” Andrew said. “Pitt is one of the top educations you could probably get, the best one I was able to get. I love (Pitt defensive line coach Greg Gattuso), and all of my friends that I played with and against this year, they are going there.”

Andrew, who said he will likely play defensive back or safety, chose the Panthers over Louisville and Toledo. He made the decision after his official visit to Pitt last weekend.

Article on top questions for 2008 in college football.

18. What team will follow Wake Forest of 2006 and Illinois of 2007 as the “surprise” team of ’08?

Pittsburgh hasn’t posted a winning record since 2004, but that could change unless injuries take a devastating toll again. The Panthers could even challenge for the Big East championship. Why not? They beat Big East champion West Virginia in Morgantown this past season, and the Panthers return eight offensive starters and seven defensive starters. That includes tailback LeSean McCoy, who rushed for more than 1,300 yards. The defense ranked among the nation’s top 10, and leading tackler Scott McKillop returns. Also, the Panthers will play Big East rivals West Virginia, Louisville and Rutgers in Pittsburgh.

…

20. What player returning from injury will give his team the greatest boost?

Pittsburgh receiver Derek Kinder. McCoy was extremely productive as a freshman tailback, and that was without a solid passing game to ease some of the pressure. Pittsburgh averaged fewer than 180 passing yards and ranked 104th nationally in passing offense in 2007. At least part of the reason for that futility was the loss of Kinder, who suffered a knee injury in August and missed the entire season. Kinder led the team with 57 receptions for 847 yards and six touchdowns in 2006, but last year no Pittsburgh receiver had more than 37 catches. Kinder’s return will give the Panthers a legitimate receiving threat, which in turn should enhance the running game.

Last week, Smizik had a column that rehashed how much that one win over WVU turned everything on its head for Pitt and WVU. As did Gorman on the same day. I’m actually tired of these, and right after NLI day, you can bet we’ll see them again.

Then Ron Cook gave his support for Greg Gattuso to take over as DC. Now, I’m in favor of this as well. The cynical side of me, of course, has to observe that of course the local news media folk would want this promotion. They already know him, have a relationship and don’t have to try and build a new relationship to get info from a key coach.

I don’t know where else he’s going to look, and I don’t know if he simply decided the numbers weren’t favorable for getting out on the field. Still A.J. Alexander has decided to keep looking some more.

The Panthers didn’t expect their coaching staff changes to have an adverse effect on recruiting, but Alexander had second thoughts after wide receivers coach Aubrey Hill left Friday for the same job at Miami.

Hill wasn’t the primary recruiter for the 5-foot-10, 180-pound Alexander, but he was expected to be his position coach. When Alexander told Pitt coaches he was considering visiting other schools, they warned him that his scholarship offer would be withdrawn if he did.

Pitt already has three receiver recruits in Aliquippa U.S. Army All-American Jonathan Baldwin, Gateway’s Cameron Saddler and Norwin’s Mike Shanahan, and the Panthers also are recruiting Muhlenberg’s Vaughn Carraway.

Keep in mind, that the offer was withdrawn, to Mike Cruz as well. They continued to recruit him and he eventually verballed.
I take the withdrawal to mean Pitt isn’t promising to hold his offer — not that they won’t be willing to accept him unless they get other verbals before he makes up his mind.

Well Shayne Hale makes it official that he will be verballing tomorrow.

Asked at the U.S. Army awards banquet where he will attend college, Hale said, “Pitt.”

“I went on official visits, and it all just came down to what is best for me. At one time, it was Ohio State. Another time it was Pitt. Once I narrowed it down, it’s Pitt.”

Hale said part of the reason he chose Pitt over Ohio State is that the Panthers wanted him to play primarily linebacker and Ohio State was recruiting him as a defensive end/linebacker. He said he hadn’t called Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt before the banquet, but he planned to do so last night.

The other verbal comes from a former verbal.

On Friday, Johnstown Bishop McCort tight end Mike Cruz, who committed to Pitt on April 1 but reneged three weeks later, made another pledge to the Panthers. The 6-foot-4, 250-pounder picked Pitt over scholarship offers from Clemson, Florida State, Illinois and West Virginia.

“I opened my decision up to get a little more comfortable with recruiting,” Cruz said. “After I saw other schools, I knew Pitt was definitely the place for me.

Pitt never stopped recruiting and communicating with Cruz. Greg Gattuso was responsible for Cruz’s recruitment.

Apparently the story is that his mother needed convincing.

“Mike has always really wanted to go to Pitt,” said Bishop McCort head coach Ken Salem. “It took some convincing with his mother, but she did become comfortable with the idea of Mike going to school in an urban environment.”

For the record, his mom was with him in Pittsburgh when he decided to verbal to the coaches last spring.

Cruz attended Pitt’s Blue Chip Day Saturday. His parents, James and Martha Bernard, came to Pitt yesterday and were given a personal tour of the campus and athletic facilities.

“My mom’s the world to me,” Cruz said. “Having her there while I committed was the greatest thing. I just wanted her to be here for it.

“It was her first time to Pittsburgh. It was an amazing experience.”

Cruz of course made a very foot-in-mouth decommit from Pitt last spring. This after his loving commit earlier that month. Amazing what a difference nearly a year makes. When he verbaled it was all about how deep Pitt was at TE and that it was easy to see him moving to defense. Now, TE is looking mighty thin.

There haven’t been a lot of puff pieces this season. I suppose that makes some sense. The last couple of years, there have been older, name players the beat writers knew and felt comfortable gushing over. Not so much this season, but now that the season is almost 2/3 complete we can probably expect a few.

Aaron Berry gets a story for coming round in the last couple of games after injuries and sloppy play had many questioning him.

“It taught me a lot of things. There’s no (referees) out there at practice to tell what you can do and can’t do,” Berry said. “You’ve got to have a confidence level to attack the ball and not be there too early.”

Ball and Rhoads, a former secondary coach, instructed Berry to trust in his technique and become the playmaker they anticipated he could be.

“He’s learned that he doesn’t have to reach and grab. He can cover people with his feet and use his technique,” Ball said. “For insecure corners, the security blanket is reaching and grabbing. He doesn’t necessarily have to do that now.”

Of course, with Berry improving, that mens Kennard Cox is getting abused more.

Meanwhile QB Pat Bostick gets the love from his hometown paper, and we learn he is referred to on the team as “quirky.” Whether that’s a nickname or just what they say about him isn’t entirely clear.

“You get a curve ball sometimes, and I have to make this feel like it’s playing in the backyard,” said Bostick. “You’re playing football; it’s a kid’s game, and you’re lucky enough to be playing in a venue as nice as Heinz Field. It’s great, but at the same time you can’t lose sight that it’s a game.

“I think this is a program on the rise. We are building the foundation for years to come, but at the same time, I’d rather not talk about that, because the future’s now, and the important thing is to win games now.”

Considering Lancaster County is pretty much Penn State country, Bostick was asked if he hoped to change the roar to a different tune.

“I’ve told countless people, I love where I’m from and I’m glad people there can get a chance to see me play. I get to represent where I’m from, and that is real real big to me,” he said with a huge smile. “So I’d love to do that.

“We’re recruiting more and more from that area, and I’m happy about that, because I think Pitt has a lot to offer, and people are starting to realize that although our record doesn’t really reflect that, we have a character program here.”

On the recruiting side, there was a scholarship offer “pulled” and a new commit.

A WPIAL player, no less, had it pulled.

Greensburg Central Catholic defensive back Chris Hayden-Martin, who had verbally committed in June, told Pitt coaches Monday that he planned to visit other schools. The Panthers have since pulled his scholarship offer.

…

The Panthers expected the same of Hayden-Martin, especially after he suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his knee last Thursday against Jeannette. Pitt was prepared to honor its scholarship, but GCC coach Muzzy Colosimo said Hayden-Martin got “cold feet” once Boston College, Michigan State and South Carolina came calling.

“He never visited anyone other than Pitt, but he told me there were a lot of other schools interested,” Colosimo said. “I’m not in favor of this kind of stuff, but I didn’t believe he should have committed early because he didn’t visit anyone else.”

I have to say, I agree with his HS coach. You have to be smart enough to look around just a little before making a commitment. As for the scholarship being pulled. Fine. But I’m not entirely convinced it truly is.

The Mike Cruz case is the template. The scholarship was pulled when he backed out and even dissed Pitt a bit. The reports, though, said that Pitt was still recruiting him. The difference, I believe is that there is no scholarship being held for him. And that Pitt will recruit the position the recruit plays as if it was open. I wouldn’t be surprised if Pitt took that approach with Hayden-Martin.

The new recruit is something that Pitt needs. A kicker, since Conor Lee is a senior.

Harper has verbally committed to continue his football career at Pitt. The 5-foot-10 senior had official offers from Kent State and Marshall on the table, and he was drawing interest from Michigan, Michigan State and Penn State. In the end, it was the Panthers’ interest and loyalty prior to the long field goals this season that swayed Harper.

“Pitt showed a lot of interest before all the glamour came with the 58- and 61-yard field goals, and that mattered a lot to me,” Harper said. “I wasn’t ranked by Rivals.com until I hit those field goals, and now I think I am ranked seventh in the nation. That’s when most of the teams started showing interest, but Pitt was there before that.”

Harper is 10 of 16 on field goals and 42 of 45 on extra points this season for Mentor.

Beyond the long field goals, Harper also had 10 touchbacks in a game this season against Maple Heights, a contest Pitt recruiters were at. Harper said there is a kicker coming back next season, but he still might just handle kickoffs for the Panthers as a true freshman. Otherwise, he might redshirt, and then handle kickoffs and field goals for the next four years.

Harper had two field goals this season of 58 and 61 yards. His mom had been cautioning him going into the season about not expecting a D-1 scholarship.

Last week there was word that Nic DiLillo out of Madison, Ohio had backed off of his verbal to Clemson, and was looking to Pitt. According to Scout.com, he has given Pitt a verbal. DiLillo is a 3- to 4-star TE prospect and considered the 12th best in the country according to Scout.com. Rivals.com lists him as the 20th best player in Ohio.

Keep in mind that Ohio State has not offered him at this time. He is an Ohio kid, so if they do offer later in the year it would be no shock to see an Ohio kid jump at it. Still, this is very good as Pitt will gets a better TE prospect than Mike Cruz.

Pitt and Clemson have agreed to cancel the home-and-home for 2010 and 2011. I think this was a mutual thing. While, it may have been a mutual thing, I think Pitt really wanted out for a couple reasons. The 2010 schedule already had Miami and ND making it a bear of a non-con even assuming they added patsies from 1-A and 1-AA to round out the schedule. It also means they might be able to do a home-and-home with a team starting in 2009 where they already have 7 home games set (UCF, Navy, ND, Cinci, UConn, USF, ‘Cuse) where Pitt can start on the road.

Unrelated, but with amusing timing, an early Clemson verbal now appears ready to switch to Pitt.

Madison (Ohio) tight end Nic DiLillo, ranked No. 12 nationally by Scout.com, has reneged on his commitment to Clemson and favors Pitt.

…

The 6-5, 225-pound DiLillo took an unofficial visit to Pitt on Friday, then called Clemson coaches last night and informed them that it was too far away from home, according to the fan site, CUTigers.com. Thanks to the recruitment by newly promoted Panthers tight ends coach Brian Angelichio, Pitt appears to be the frontrunner for DiLillo.

Scout.com has DiLillo as a 4-star recruit and Rivals.com puts him at 3-stars and the 19th best TE prospect. Michigan and Syracuse are also interested. Not sure what that does for Pitt’s recruitment of Hubie Graham and possibly still going after Mike Cruz. Kevin Gorman seems to think Pitt may also land Graham as well. Graham is ranked higher than DiLillo and holds offers from Michigan and Oklahoma as well.

Everyone knows that Mike Cruz backed off his verbal and there are plenty of factors that you can sit back and say, “Okay, I can sort of see where he’s coming from.” Maybe it was that we were pretty set at the tight end position, or that we’d switch him to another position, or that his mom doesn’t want him at a city school. This was not what I was expecting to hear from him though.

“It was kind of an 80-20 thing,” Cruz said, “80 percent wanting to keep my options open and 20 percent seeing that they really don’t have a great fan base.”

What kind of idiot says that kind of thing? Having it in your mind is one thing, maybe saying that to your parents in a closed meeting is in there too, but to publicly say that? Even if he ends up recommitting here, I’ll always remember that comment.

Also, saying we “don’t have a great fan base” based on the fact that not a ton of people showed up for a scrimmage doesn’t sound very intelligent to me. That same afternoon there happened to be a Penguins playoff game that I’m sure people would have rather stayed home (out of the rain/cold) to watch. LeSean McCoy seemed to think we had a good enough fan base to commit after seeing fans at the Pete for College Gameday, but obviously Cruz wasn’t pleased enough with what he saw.

Mike Cruz seemed like he was more than excited to play for Pitt when he verbally committed at the beginning of April.

“Pitt’s been my dream school,” Cruz said. “It’s always been my favorite school.”

Don’t be too quick to picture him in a Panthers jersey though, since he’s backed out of his verbal.

Johnstown Bishop McCort junior tight end Mike Cruz has reneged on his verbal commitment to Pitt and will reopen his college recruitment.

“Unfortunately, I did,” Cruz said. “I think I rushed my decision.”

The 6-foot-4, 260-pound Cruz was the second player from the Class of 2008 to pick the Panthers. Verbal commitments are non-binding until prospects sign a binding national letter of intent in February.

For more on Cruz, here are other posts about him on Pitt Blather.

A profile on a DE prospect out of Ft. Lauderdale, Jeremy Longo. He’s got a bunch of offers already including Pitt, Iowa, Wisconsin, UConn and South Carolina.

Although he hasn’t visited either Iowa or Pittsburgh, he says he has family in both places. “I’ve got some family in Des Moines,” he said. “I really like the Big Ten and they have great facilities from what I hear. Also, their coaches have been there for a while and really know what they are doing.

“I also have some family in Pittsburgh and I’ve already talked with Dave Wannstedt and told him I’ll visit them this summer for sure.”

So, that’s another one to keep an eye on. Longo apparently wants to narrow the choices down this summer and make a choice before his senior season begins. Not sure how realistic it is though. The read comes off like he’d really like to stay in the South.

Close to home, Shayne Hale from Monroeville is one of the most sought after linebackers and a part of Scout.com’s National 100. The Ole Miss Scout.com site interviewed him since that school was one of the latest to offer.

What about his home state college, Pitt?

“I just got back from Pitt the other day. I went for a photo shoot. I talk to the Pitt coaches a lot. We have connected. They are cool coaches.”

He’s only been to Pitt and Maryland for campus visits but does plan on going to UNC for a look. This one reads like he is no where near even considering a decision.

Finally, ESPN.com Insider/Scouts, Inc. has a profile on Mike Cruz (a good indicator of his national talent level if they already have an evaluation done). He has great hands, really can grab the ball, runs good routes and they like his build. On the downside they criticize his blocking (too raw), that he gets tackled too easily, and worry that he has already matured physically (at age 17-18?). What’s interesting is that he’s a TE they can see changing position.

His in-line blocking ability has yet to be seen consistently which makes it difficult to rate him as a complete tight end. However, when you see his raw ability at defensive end you can tell that that the tools are there to become a successful blocker. Do not be surprised if those tools make him attractive on the defensive side of the ball to colleges.

Given Pitt’s depth at TE, and the crying need for defensive linemen…

Pitt’s recent history of landing top-flight TE prospects is apparently continuing with a verbal of Mike Cruz out of Johnstown (hat tip to Pittsburgh Sports Insiders). Cruz is a top TE with offers from Nebraska, Clemson, WVU and UVA at a very early stage of the recruiting season.

It’s kind of impressive considering how loaded Pitt is at TE that another kid who has some good offers still chooses Pitt.

It also continues the Johnstown area line of recruits as the other early Pitt verbal, Antwuan Reed is also from Johnstown.

2pm CBS.

I’m on DVR delay. Ironically enough for “Blue and Gold Day.” No, not a Pitt thing. Cub Scouts. I’m looking forward to it. Really. Why would anyone think otherwise? Just because I’ve spent the better part of the last week begging trying to talk my wife into going without me? Nah. Just wanted her to spend some quality time with the boy without me getting in the way. Totally altruistic.

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While discussing PITT’s prospective passing game (hold the applause) on a message board this morning I came across some information that opened my eyes about how Chryst as an OC approached using his personnel to move the ball through the air.

Looking back over Wisconsin’s last five seasons it is apparent that Chryst loves to use his TEs in the passing game. His TEs were super productive and one was always in the team’s top three in receptions each season:

2011 – Pedersen, 30/356 yards; 8 TDs; 3^rd in receptions

2010 – Kendricks, 43/663 yards; 5 TDs; 1^st

2009 – Graham, 51/624 yards; 7 TDs; 2^nd

2008 – Graham, 40/540 yards; 5 TDs; 1^st & Beckum, 23/264 0 TDs; 4^th

2007 – Beckum, 75/982 yards; 6 TDs; 1^st

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So, spring practice is over; we have seen three scrimmages including the Spring Game and have discussed the team and the program in-depth.  Now is the time for reflection and looking ahead to the more important summer training camp and the arrival of the 2011 recruits.

What have we learned so far and how do we feel about it… let’s see.  This was a big article so I’m splitting it up into two parts:

How well has Graham taken control of the program both on and off the field?

As far as off the field goes we have seen a few players decide to leave early.  In almost every case that was the natural course of things based on Lewis and Baldwin’s plans, it was pretty evident they weren’t going to stick around even with Wannstedt.  Hynoski’s decision was another matter and understandable given this new offense.  We had two other players expelled from the team in Diaz and Cruz after disciplinary issues (we think, no one really knows what happened in Cruz’s case except that he’s gone).

The Head Coach and his staff seem to have successfully coerced the players into accepting his philosophies.  The kids seem engaged and ready to play High Octane Offense, Nitro Defense and Alaskan Crude Oil Special Teams.  There was a lot of energy in that Spring Game and it was very impressive how all the kids battled to the end of the fast paced 135 minute scrimmage.

It’s hard to tell at this point whether that will translate into a big winning season but signs look good that we’ll continue to progress with the new systems..

Do we have the talent to successfully run Graham’s Offensive system?

We do.  It may not be the exact talent Graham envisions when he has his offense and defense exactly the way he wants them to be; he’ll recruit for that, but he has the playmakers on offense to execute the High Octane offense he’s been selling.  For a good review of why Graham has (apparently) picked Sunseri as the starting QB, please re-read this article by Pat Bostick.

In it he details the differences between Wannstedt’s I-Formation and what we’ll be seeing in 2011.  One salient point to know is that a staple of this new offense is the “read-option” play where the QB makes a split second decision to hand the ball off to the RB; keep it himself and run or keep it himself and pass… the QB keeping and running the ball is a main component of that, as is the pass option.  Sunseri fits that role the best out of our three QBs.

At our skill positions we have Ray Graham who just may have a monster year in this offense; not only will he get a lot of carries we’ll see 5-10 passes a game to him out in space where he can do real damage.  We are thin behind him but Des Brown is fast and quick and has impressed… but we need some freshman to give us depth there. I’d like to see Graham develop a short yardage back from one of the new kids, perhaps Isaac Bennett can fill that bill.

WR seems set with three pretty well proven kids in Shanahan, Street and Saddler with some talent behind them – we’ll be fine there.  TE is a wildcard because we have no real inkling of how they will be incorporated yet, but Hubie Graham has done well in the spring as has DeCicco.  I was really impressed with Brendan Carozzoni the times I watched him play and am hoping he gets a valid shot at playing time.  He’s tough and fast.  IMO this kid is too good not to make sure he stays in the program.

OL is a work in progress but Jacobson has begun to settle in at center and may turn out to be a good one there.  Nix and Gibbs are returning starters and the other two positions are in flux.

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“Change management is a systematic approach to dealing with change, both from the perspective of an organization and on the individual level.”

That wraps up what the PITT administration has been dealing with since Pearl Harbor Day of 2010.  It is hard to look back over the course of recent PITT football history after WWII, and find another time when this type of purposeful change has happened. Perhaps 1973 with the hiring of Johnny Majors is up there with our 2011 shift.

We didn’t just see a change of Head Coaches and their staffs back over December and January, although that would have been a big enough task to deal with.  We also saw the PITT administration mandate the new Head Coach institute cultural changes in the football program to deal with what PITT recognized were real and continuing problems.

Some of these changes were enacted on the players right away by Todd Graham – clothing and jewelry standards, language usage and workout times to name a few.  Some of the changes were physical.  As Pat Bostick writes:

“Even the indoor field looked different – the old surface was replaced with a lush new turf, which changes shades of green every five yards. There’s also a Pitt logo in the one end zone, which I must say, looks pretty cool.  It doesn’t stop there. After 10 minutes of watching the guys in the white jerseys, wondering why there wasn’t anyone throwing or catching a football,  I realized that the defense was now wearing white and the offense had switched to blue”.

Note: That fact that it took an ex-PITT starting QB ten minutes to realize he wasn’t watching the offense is a whole different story line and rather disconcerting, wouldn’t you say?

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