in Pitt Football 300 Words

Pitt’s Recruit Class of 2012 – What Happened?

An article from my draft box…

Chis Peak of rivals.com put out an excellent article re-ranking Paul Chryst’s first full recruiting class of 2012. I wish I had though of that but Chis handles it superbly.  It is found here and I don’t believe it is behind the pay wall but it could be.

If you remember that class consisted of these recruits and they are listed by their rankings as shown:

6.1 = Five-star prospect

6.0-5.8 = Four-star prospect

5.7-5.5 = Three-star prospect

5.2-5.4 = Two-star prospect

 

 

 

Then Chris re-ranks them according to their worth to Pitt over their career and other schools (Shell and Voytik were the two big “transfers”).

As we had talked about in my in-depth recruiting article of a while back a lot of recruits don’t complete their four years of eligibility at Pitt and in this case it was 10 out of the original 16 who left early for various reasons.  As you can see out of our top seven recruits only one stuck it out at Pitt full term in Bisnowaty.

 

 

This is why I never get excited about recruiting – in some ways it means almost nothing at all.  As you can see a bunch those guys didn’t stick with Pitt more than two or three years… and they would have been the backbone of the 2016 team.

That’s not saying I’d give up the starters or two-deep 2016 kids for the recruits who didn’t finish out their careers at Pitt – except maybe Voytik as he would have won that Pinstripe Bowl in relief I believe.

Please do read that article linked above -it is very informative, as is all of Peak’s work over on Rivals.com – 2nd best guy writing about Pitt football around!!  Just kidding – he’s the best by far IMO.

68 thoughts on “Pitt’s Recruit Class of 2012 – What Happened?”

  1. Unable to read since it’s behind a pay wall but no doubt it is good. Peak is very good and informative …. but still would rank him behind you … if for nothing else, value.

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  2. Peaks a good source for anyone looking for PITT football info. I don’t agree with their ranking of players though. When you put a cap on the number of 5 and 4 star players allowed into those clubs it throws every askew in my opinion.

    Parameters like that is why some 3 and 2 star players seem to overachieve when in fact they are just plain overlooked.

    Chyrst recruiting was bad and that includes his O-Lineman, which I believed was over-rated.

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    1. have to disagree with you on the OL — Officer, Jones-Smith, O’Neill are 3-stars and Dintino is a 2-star (I believe). Bookser is also his recruit as was Biz and Dorian Johnson . although Johnson was a PSU commit until the sanctions hit.

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  3. Yep, PITT and Chyrst were not getting Johnson until the sanctions for sure. Plus if we are to believe what we read on the POV, JJS and Officer are not all that great. << I don’t necessarily believe that though.

    O’Neill, can’t give you that one either, he was recruited as a TE and it was Narduzzi that moved him.

    No senior backups this year is also a problem. Although that may turn out to be a blessing considering Pat’s excellent job of bringing in good young talent. …. …. ike

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    1. I just think that the current staff does a much better job of recruiting an entire squad whether by high school recruits or transfers. There is much more balance than just a few specialty positions (mostly offense) that PC recruited. Partridge was just quoted today saying that the in 3 years, Pitt may have the best DL it ever had.

      I’m expecting (hoping) that next year at Pitt will somewhat reflect what PSU did last year .. when it all seemed to come together.

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  4. I think you guys are looking at this all wrong. Look again at the list. Is there anyone other than Biznowatay that would be a starter on this years team? NO. That has been my point all along. If the young recruits can’t beat out the incumbents, we need new young recruits, period. That is how a team gets better for the long haul.

    At a minimum, we should see 2 RSFr playing significant minutes every year on each side of the ball.

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  5. Ike…didn’t we have a couple of eligible senior OL back-ups who left the program besides Grimm who hung upthe cleats due to injuries…Maybe they did not see playing time or were asked to leave because of better talent in the pipeline…we do have a pipeline-don’t we ?

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  6. Officer is a very good lineman. It will be proven when he makes it to the next level.

    Give credit where credit is due. John Peterson has been an excellent OL coach for Pitt. He has played a roll in recruiting the current OL guys and developing O’Neil. The blocking was incredible last year. He is a major strength on the staff.

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  8. Yes Bernie PITT does have a bright future looking forward at the O-Line.. Aaron Reese and Carson Baker are the two that left the team with one year of eligibility left. They were crudely and shrewdly over-recruited. They were not going to play much this year.

    Notrocket and Huff. I also agree again. I think Officer is a very good O-Lineman and so do many of the experts picking players with potential honors. It’s not me that thinks AO and JJS are not going to cut the mustard.

    Warren and Drake may see some playing time. Tony Pilato from my hometown of Greensburg is said to b looking good as well.

    Agreed wwb, Narduzzi has a great recruiting staff doing a great job of all around making the team better with potential and depth! . . . ike

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  9. Reed, “this is why I never get excited about recruiting”? I’m going to let you slide on that quote even though on the face of that comment it just really, really sounds dumb. Why let you slide? Because I KNOW that’s not what you meant. Let me provide a KellyAnn explanation here for clarification.

    What you meant was that to get excited about the rankings, star system and recruiting services hype on these high school kids committing to their respective colleges is foolish because it’s a crap shoot at best and until about year three of their college careers you never know whether any kid is going to pan out or not. On that I agree with you.

    This guy Rushel Shell is a prime example from this 2012 class. I was doing frickin cartwheels when Shell committed to his hometown school, following in the footsteps at Pitt of his high school legacy idol that now has Hopewell HS’s football field named after him, Tony Dorsett.

    I was envisioning this new Coach using Shell to bring Pitt back to their glory days in a year or two. Shell was going to be a 1000 yard rusher right out of the gate. He was going to be a phenom and bring Pitt back to national prominence and maybe even win a Heisman Trophy. Well, so much for that.

    We find out the guy is a prima donna that has no guts for what was required to excel at the next level and in fact was kind of a gangster punk that did nothing but cause team dissension. Then when he had the starting RB role handed to him by default the prick bails on his team and decides to quit because Coach Chryst wasn’t going to put up with the same doggin $hit Shell could get away with in HS simply because he had so much more natural talent then anybody else that the Vikings played against. What a wasted career. BTW, remember Shell just got a chance with the Steelers out of WVU and he screwed that up too, getting cut in the first couple weeks. The guy will end up selling stolen chrome rims in some getto for rent money in the long haul.

    By comparision, then we get an under recruited kid from Erie who played DE in HS to come in and he takes full advantage of the opportunity of the RB void left when Shell bails. The James Conner story needs no further introduction, and his story is far from over yet. (that is, unless you listen to Upitt’s predictions).

    So with that being said, I offer that recruiting and grad transfers, even walk ons, see George Aston & Idowa, are the very life blood of any elite college football program. So if you ignore recruiting and can’t get into checking out the new guys that the coaching staff are going after during that process, you are just missing out on a whole lot of fun.

    It is “exciting”, and I’m not talking about getting geared up for having a half dozen 4 stars coming in just because some scouting service predicts that they’re going to be all that. Because as you demonstrated things don’t always work out for these kids. But that is one of the factors that I find intriguing with recruiting. That being, recruiting the right kind of kid for the team/system that the coaches know they need and who they want to coach.

    That is where Narduzzi is doing a good job IMO. He is building a team from the ground up. And he has utilized the Grad Transfer system as an immediate needs kind of fallback on remedy to fill key voids in the roster while he’s doing it.

    This year, Flanagan, Hodges, Browne, Clark, Hendrix all will demonstrate that strategy works. Scarpinato, and Peterman have already come and gone fullfilling that function as well. This team is beginning to come together through Narduzzi’s efforts. How can you NOT get excited about that aspect of recruiting?

    Back in 2016 it was a jackpot for defensive backs coming in. All won’t pan out. In fact Hamlin, the highest rated of the crew may just get bypassed if he’s not careful because of his lingering hernia injury/surgery concerns.

    We’ve got some good DBs now. None of which made headlines coming out of HS in 2016 except for Hamlin. But out of the group of guys like Miller, Coleman, Campbell & Garner, we are going to find a couple stars to go along with Hamlin and Ford in the future and it will be fun to watch that “no fly zone” develop.

    15 days till real college Pitt football!

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    1. I agree, Doc. I can’t remember any previous Pitt coach being as aggressive in bringing in productive transfers, grad and underclass men, as the Duzz.

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    2. I’d love Connor to excel for the Steelers. Hell just make it through a practice would be a start.

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  10. Jesus Ike, we just had a record-setting offense who gave up only nine sacks and almost every single one of those OL guys was a Chryst recruit and you’re sitting here saying that he couldn’t recruit offensive lineman… you’re crazy.

    BTW, O’Neill, Bookser, Officer, JJS and Dintino are all PC’s recruits also and you sure can give him credit for O’Neill and Dintino because they wouldn’t be at Pitt otherwise.

    We’ll see next year how well PN recruits OL players, right now we have no idea.

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  11. First off, Dr Tom, that’s a great comment. If recruiting doesn’t float someone’s boat I can understand but there is more than just 12 or 13 football games in a college season. In fact, it’s the most crucial and exciting times of the entire year.

    OK Reed, you were the guy my comment was intended for. All of a sudden JJS, Officer, Bookser and of all players Dintino are something great in your opinion. It sure has sounded like the past few months?

    DJ Johnson fell into PITT’s lap as correctly pointed out, he wanted to attend psu until the sanctions.

    You have almost every-time talking PITT football that you are very wary of the PITT O-Line. You can’t have it both way’s. …and BTW… why didn’t Chryst see O’Neill as an O-lineman instead of a TE? Narduzzi is the best thing to ever happen to B O’Neill. .. .ike

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    1. I can’t remember for certain, but I sure hope it wasn’t you that argued that transfer recruit signings are as comparable a “get” as direct high school recruit signings for the coach that signs them. If that was you, your argument that Dorian Johnson doesn’t count as a Chryst recruit because of PSU sanctions is logical fallacy. Johnson was so sought after that could have reconsidered any of his earlier offers when released, yet he chose Pitt and Chryst.

      And Reed is right. Pitt’s record setting offense last season, of which you have been so proud, was predominately based upon Chryst recruits. You may call em as you see em but when was your last eye exam?

      Chryst may have recognized O’Neill’s talent as an offensive lineman too. However your predisposition for Chryst would never allow that possibility.

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  12. PITTSBURGH—The morning rain ceased just in time to allow the Pitt football team to complete its 16th practice of training camp outdoors at the UPMC Sports Performance Complex.

    Head coach Pat Narduzzi held his morning media session before the workout. After the practice, tight ends coach Tim Salem and defensive line coach Charlie Partridge also spoke with the collected media, along with offensive lineman Brian O’Neill and linebacker Saleem Brightwell.

    Coach Interview Videos: Narduzzi | Partridge | Salem

    Player Interview Videos: O’Neill | Brightwell

    Below are transcripts from all five media sessions.

    Head Coach Pat Narduzzi

    Opening statement:
    “Practice 16. Yesterday was an average day, I thought. I think that they are starting to get those camp legs, a little tired. Like we told them last night and this morning, they have to push through it mentally and physically, and let’s go. This is the time that teams become great or level off and just become an average football team. We’re looking for a great day today, and we’re going to have some wet footballs. We are practicing in some different circumstances today [rain], so it should be fun.”

    On if new leadership starts to emerge at this point in camp:
    “No doubt about it. I think after 13 practices, you think, ‘where is it going to go?’ Some of those leaders will step up. When you’re in the huddle offensively or defensively, someone is going to pick them up and keep them going. As opposed to when nobody says a word, they can all be downers together.”

    On if there are any unexpected leaders:
    “We have decent leadership right now. I can’t say that it is great, but we will find out. There is nobody surprising.”

    On the importance of this upcoming scrimmage:
    “It’s an important scrimmage. I wish that it was at Heinz [Field], but it’s not. It would be even more important because of where you are. I still think that is a major benefit, but it will be right out back. It’s important. That depth chart keeps moving every day. We flash it up there and talk about it to the kids every day, so it is moving and will get moved again this Saturday. So any time that depth chart is continuing to move, we’re trying to get our best 11 out on all phases. That is a big day. I think that it is a bigger day for some people more than others.”

    On when Brian O’Neill will be a full participant in practice:
    “Probably next week. He’s done a lot and feels great, but it’s probably more of the coaches than really how he feels. He feels great, but he is doing a lot of individual work, some group work, some blocking and pass protection. He’s doing it all, we just are not putting him out there in the whole mess of things.”

    On if Kam Carter is competing for a starting job:
    “Some days he has, some days he hasn’t. We are trying to get him to do it all the time, but he has done some good things. He has been very, very coachable and working at it.”

    On Saleem Brightwell’s continued success:
    “Saleem has done a really good job. He was good in the spring, and he’s continued to get better. I think that he has continued to feel more confident. He’s leading the defense so much better right now than he did in the spring. He’s more confident in the calls he has to make, and he has a mouth full before that ball is snapped.”

    On Shawn Watson’s personality on the field:
    “I think that he is ‘good cop, bad cop’ some times. Coaches have to go both ways. When you’re not happy about something, you have to say it; when you are happy, then you can be a ‘good cop.’ I think that is a little bit of everything. I don’t think that you can always be the same way every time.”

    On Jimmy Morrissey’s continued improvement at center:
    “Jimmy has done a great job, and so has Connor [Dintino]. [Alex] Bookser has had some snaps in there; ‘A.O.’ [Alex Officer] has had some snaps in there. We are working around and getting a lot of different work done.”

    On if there is more cross-training on the O-line this year than his first two years:
    “I think that there has been more. Alex Bookser can play every position. We are just trying to find the best five out there … I think that we have a lot of versatile guys and you are trying to find out where they fit with all of the other pieces.”

    Tight Ends Coach Tim Salem

    On Matt Flanagan’s knowledge rubbing off on the other tight ends:
    “Matt Flanagan is aces—first class, first rate. He is a quality individual. He is a pleasant surprise. I recruited him for those reasons, but to have him here on our team, it’s a major benefit. He’s a team player. He’s played college football. He’s played in big games, and he has blocked teams in the Big Ten. Part of the recruitment process with him, he said, ‘I know what it is like to have seen leadership on a team and in a position, and that is one of the things that I want to help show the kids what it’s all about.”

    On Chris Clark’s ability catching the ball:
    “He is a big guy who is very active. He has good quicks, can get down the field, cover ground and space and he is a big guy, so he is a big target.”

    On where Chris Clark has improved on:
    “Like anything, it’s experience because, in essence, he has not really practiced that much due to his injuries in his entire college career. So just the experience part of not only practice, but also getting into a game. But, he is very talented and he is a lot better of a blocker than people think because he has very strong and explosive hands.”

    On the true freshmen tight ends:
    “I’m glad I got them because they are fun kids to coach, and they are big. They are monsters—guys who are 6-foot-7 and 6-foot-6 that are 280 pounds or 270 pounds. They can run, they can cover space, they’re smart, they can block and they can get down the field. To think that they are kids just out of high school that are here, they have some physical attributes that are nice to have.”

    On Devon Edwards’ role on the team this year:
    “Devon is a senior. He’s getting a lot of turns and playing a lot of different position groups. Last time I checked, there is no rule in the NCAA book that says you can’t play three tight ends. So why not and make use of some of your talent that you have on the offensive side of the ball?”

    Defensive Line Coach Charlie Partridge:

    On the progression of the defensive line group through three weeks of camp:
    “I’m really excited about the development. Obviously inside we have some more youth in there, so their development is critical. Keyshon Camp had a really, really good spring. Jaylen Twyman will bounce around a little bit. Jaylen Twyman is a true freshman that has shown signs of maybe being able to help us this year. We will see how it goes. Kam Carter, it’s a matter of consistency with him. There are days that he practices like a starter, and there are days that he’s not quite there yet. If we can get him consistent, then we’ll be really excited. A nice surprise that I saw it in the spring that has carried forward is Shane Roy. He’s really having a great camp, and if we were playing a game right now, he’d be one of our starters. I’m excited to see it continue to grow.”

    On if it will be Shane Roy and Keyshon Camp starting week one:
    “It depends on the day. We’re looking at Keyshon obviously. We have Amir Watts in the mix. The fun thing is, we’re building depth. I feel like we can win ball games with some combination of Watts, maybe Kam Carter, definitely Roy and Keyshon, for sure. We have a good number of four, maybe five guys, and we’re going to use them all. I’m not going to leave a guy out there for seven or eight plays. It’s going to be a team effort, for sure.”

    On the youth of the defensive line:
    “I love it. You take what you get and control the controllables. The good thing is that they really approach things in a very mature fashion. They know that we have to get better every single day, and I’ve seen improvement from a majority of the guys all across the board. That gives us a chance to be ready when we take the field against Youngstown State.”

    On the defensive ends as a group:
    “I’m excited about both groups. You can feel some maturity with that group. Dewayne Hendrix really hasn’t played a lot because of injury, but you can feel his maturity, and he’s a gifted young man. If we can keep him healthy and keep him progressing, he has a chance to be a real force for us. We’re excited about him. Allen Edwards has had a great summer camp. He’s really added to his game, both pass rush and the run game. Patrick Jones [II] has come on. Rashad Wheeler has really come along. [James] Folston [Jr.], don’t know if I’ve mentioned him. But all those guys are showing that they can make contributions. Then we have Jimmy Medure, who we moved from linebacker to D-end, who’s shown that he can be a force on third down at times. We’ve got to find a role for him because he’s proving that he can be an impact guy.”

    On who has stepped up as a leader:
    “Allen Edwards—a lot by example just in how hard he works. Some of those younger guys are just trying to figure out how to do it. Dewayne Hendrix—everyone respects the way he approaches the game. Those are some of the guys who jump out.”

    Offensive Lineman Brian O’Neill

    On what the biggest difference is with Adam Bisnowaty and Dorian Johnson gone:
    “It seems like more of a collective feel in terms of leadership and how guys feel that they’re important. I think everybody is taking a lot more accountability from top to bottom, rather than just the top five or six guys. Not that we saw any of that last year, but there’s a more focused group effort from the younger guys and guys who have been here for one, two or maybe three years.”

    On the offensive line’s versatility and the uniqueness of the group:
    “I think that the fact that we’re able to move around a lot speaks a lot to Coach [Shawn] Watson and how he teaches us the offense as a whole. You don’t really just memorize your job, you understand the big picture. It’s easier for a guy like me or a guy like Jaryd [Jones-Smith] or whoever to step down at guard if we need to. A guy like [Alex] Bookser can move over to center if we need him. It’s about product of all the good teaching we’ve had from the offensive coordinator, Coach Pete [John Peterson] and Coach Pat [Narduzzi]. They’ve done a good job.”

    On Alex Bookser’s versatility:
    “I’ve known him for four years now and he can play all five positions on the line. I don’t think there’s many offensive linemen in the country that can sit here and say with 100 percent certainty that he can do that. He can go in and give an ACC effort at any position of the five. That speaks to his learning and time in the film room. I’m happy with where he’s at and looking forward to seeing what he can do for us.”

    On his excitement to see all the pieces come together when the season starts:
    “Yeah, I think so. I think there always comes a time when things settle down a little bit and you find your niche and see where things are going to be. Kind of just taking it one day at a time right now and just plugging away.”

    Linebacker Saleem Brightwell

    On mastering the complex defensive play calls:
    “Obviously when playing the Mike, you have to know everything. You have to make all of the calls, so it’s more so about getting into the books. It’s complicated when you first start doing it, but then you start to get a feel for it. I feel like I am getting there, but I am still learning. You are never going to be perfect. You always have to work.”

    On his improved understanding of the calls since the spring:
    “Like I said, I need to keep working on certain things. Since I have been doing it for the whole summer, I’m starting to get a feel for it and getting used to it. It is a lot different than when I first started playing Mike compared to where I am now.”

    On Elias Reynolds learning the ‘Money’ position:
    “He is doing very well. We all give each other tips, all of the linebackers. Coach [Rob] Harley wants us to know all of it. I feel like every linebacker knows all of the other positions. We all give each other tips. I give him tips; he gives me tips. It is a back-and-forth thing around the linebacker room.”

    On the defense’s biggest strength this year:
    “Our biggest strength, putting aside all of the technical stuff, is just playing hard. We are a hungry bunch. We are ready to go out this season and just ‘ball.’ Our main strength is going to be flying to the ball and playing fast.”

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  13. Ike, you are getting to be like a lot of other fans in thinking a player has to be either good or bad.

    Sometimes they can be OK or average also. Which is what I think Jared Jones Smith and Dintino will be especially.
    Johnson had tons of big school offers and yet still came to Pitt and was recruited by PC.

    But at this point it is ludicrous to compare PC’s OL recruiting and PN’s as there literally is no comparison as all we have seen are PC’s linemen play.

    God, if there is anything we have done well over the last two years it is OL play. Try to take off those anti-Chryst glasses for a minute.

    As I said we will see how well Pat Narduzzi’ recruiting has been in this season and next season and if we tank the season and don’t play as well as you think we should have don’t blame it all on injuries because there’s a lot of Pat Narduzzi recruits on the roster and are supposed to be able to play next man up.

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  14. Sounds like Carter may not be the savior at DT that some here might have envisioned. Let’s just hope he plays his A game for the PSU game.

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  15. C’mon Reed. Your biggest question mark other than the defense has constantly been the O-Line. Now you defend Chyrst and his outstanding and imo over-rated recruiting.

    Actually you have been somewhat suspect in many aspects of this upcoming season and the PITT team. . . . ike

    I call em like I see em.

    H2P!

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    2. “Hamlin Island” you ask?

      The cruise ship just pulled in. We’re hoping to stop by “Paris” on our way to “Hamlin Island” – both would be a pleasure, but if we get lost along the way it will still be a “Duzz” of a cruise.

      Tickets are going fast, Lyke I hope they are? – the revenue is needed to keep the “Duzz” Cruise in Pittsburgh.

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  17. Tough to judge a patchwork recruiting class. Top programs who hire great coaches will bring in a good one, but schools like Pitt don’t and with how Chryst slowly operated this was as good as it gets. Wannstedt’s 2005 class wasn’t bad, but he had some cache.

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    1. ATP as was said PN is recruiting for needs to fill slots, some which are in bad need of upgrades. When he came to Pitt it was not like the cupboards were stocked with players who could fill many of the holes and do it admirably. As Reed an others have been saying we will truly know if the Narduzzi experiment is heading down the road to success and sustainability within the next two seasons.

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  18. Hamlin is doing well enough. He is just one of HCPN’s secret weapons being stored locked and loaded. (he’s resting and taking it slow so as not to hurt himself again) Best he’s felt in years!!

    Chyrst was far from being as good as it gets. Very far!

    We have to remember the word relative. Lumpy doesn’t have to worry about that word in Wisconsin. Paul did a good enough job and did stabilize the PITT football program but he was NOT moving it forward.

    PITT football does not equal Wisconsin football in any way shape or form. But we we will kick their asses when we play them. This is PITT and Pittsburgh. We rise above the expected!! … .ike

    Get On The Train Or Get Off
    Make Room For The Believers
    If the Players Believe Then I Do As Well
    H2P!

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    1. while i don’t believe we would kick their butts, i really don’t think they are that much better. The B10 West has not been the biggest challenge lately. I know comparative scores are not the best test but two years ago, we lost at Iowa on a last play 57 yd FG while the Hawkeyes won at Wisconsin. Last year, we beat PSU who beat Wisc. I really don’t think they are that much better

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      1. Agree that Pitt beats Wisky in a head to head game. We have the better coach and QB.

        Let’s see if we can stop Barkley – if we do, Pitt wins.

        HTP!

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  20. The dope smoked by some of you guys is amazing.

    The whole line was because of mustard Stain Chryst. Narduzzi can’t make a pimple on Chryst’s a$$ in Olineman recruiting.

    Chryst didn’t recruit great at skilled positions or defense but other than transfers grads what has narduzzi done?

    Doc – Tell Connor to make it through a practive before you crown him a NFL caliber RB.

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  23. Recruiting is a crap shoot. So many factors such as star rating ?, growing up, dedication, smarts, learning, COACHING, class load, physical growth, injury, girlfriends, homesickness, etc etc.

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  24. Its inexcusable that Chryst left a team that had to score 40 points a game to win for Nard Dog. Its inexcusable that Nard Dog couldnt do something about it. But last year sure was entertaining.

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  27. Pitt is at a disadvantage when it comes to athletics for several reasons.

    One of them is that they try to not recruit players who might be trouble. Another is they don’t cheat for their students to pass exams in class nor drug tests.

    I for one am thankful that Pitt doesn’t cheat to win.

    Most of the football cult schools do and have been for quite some time.

    Leaves us at an honest disadvantage.

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  29. Huff: Not speaking for Reed but he doesn’t do that. Not for anyone and especially for a great poster like you. I have to laugh at myself. There has been many times I forget to hit “SEND COMMENT” then wonder where the heck it is.

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  30. That class was mostly Grahams recruiting and HCPC honored their offers. HCPC did bring in a couple but mostly leftover grahams guys. The next year HCPC did recruit very well and that was hands down his best class. But his lame defensive recruiting simply left Narduzzi little to work with.

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    1. Fans wanted him gone last year after the Michigan game.

      Then the weak B1G Joke conference games kicked in and psu rolled until the USC Rose Bowl loss.

      Remember, tOSU lost 31-0 to clemscum in the playoff. That team, tOSU was psu’s signature win.

      Pitt’s signature win was clemscum. Yeah, think about that for a minute – re-read the above again.

      And of course, Pitt beat psu in the non-rivalry game.

      42-39

      Liked by 1 person

  33. Huff – No, I Iooked into it, nothing from you lately. I don’t block comments unless they are over the top in crudity or political – so I think Ike is correct (hey! How about that!) in that you must have logged off the site without hitting the ‘post’ button.

    I do that sometimes myself – that is why when I have a long comment I copy it to Word every so often.

    FrankMD – you are so correct and when we see players get in trouble or lag behind it is almost always off the field issues that hinder them. Homesickness is a huge deal and many transfers go back to their home area to play.

    IKE – I just don’t see how you can look at PC’s OL recruiting and not be impressed by it – especially last year’s starting five players. That was perhaps the best OL we have ever had and was the mainstay of a record setting offense.

    Nine sacks given up is unheard of at Pitt – and was a team record.

    Peterman’s 163.4 QB rating was the highest of any starting QB in Pitt’s History… 27 TDs to 7 INTs and 2855 yards is fantastic especially given our horrid defense.

    here is an interesting thing = Peterman’s QB rating was this compared to other QBs last season.

    RK QB int yds tds rating
    8 Nate Peterman, Pittsburgh (Atlantic Coast) 7 2,855 27 163.4
    9 Sam Darnold, Southern California (Pac-12) 9 3,086 31 161.1
    10 Mason Rudolph, Oklahoma St. (Big 12) 4 4,091 28 158.9
    11 Mitch Trubisky, North Carolina (Atlantic Coast) 6 3,748 30 157.9

    That is all OL play there.

    Again – I don’t think JJS and Dintino are going to be bad players – I think they will be weak spots in front of a QB who doesn’t play as well as our QB did last season thus relying on the OL more for protection. So, yes I think of all the Offensive units the OL is most suspect.

    Of course that “suspect” label can be applied to all the defensive units also.

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  34. Pickett will be the QB soon since that line wont be able to block and the QB will need to scramble

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  36. Reed, you’re the one that’s been saying how much you are concerned about the O-Line this coming season. They are all HCPC recruits. Like I posted. DJ Johnson didn’t want to come to PITT but did when the psu sanctions were applied. Biz was local recruit and O’Neill is a TE recruit. Yes the O-Line was great last year but it was almost by accident imo.

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  37. I love what Duzz did with TE ONeil… they have 2 or 3 young TEs with potential to be OLineman….Athleticism of TEs morphed into huge tackles who can be receivers, passers and run the tackle( end) around… now wasn’t that fun to watch… I say load up on those 6’6″ TEs and stock the food pantry with peanut butter and jelly.

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  38. I love the the doom and gloom for the future of the O-line. No one knows squat about these younger guys,

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    1. I know that Justin Morgan casts a huge shadow and was considered the best OL recruit in the state of New York in 2015. Will that translate into success for him at Pitt. We’ll find out this season if a OL starter goes down with injury.

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  39. The O-line will be very good if it stays healthy. Hodges is the icing on the cake.

    They may not be as sharp as last year which was the best since the days of Grimm, May and Fralic, But have loads of experience and talent, size and strength.

    Plus two very solid tight ends.

    Hopefully they jell quickly, needed for the tough start.

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  40. It is the D-line that is the big question. Youth and transfers.

    None that have played much ball.

    Will make plenty of mistakes and may just get run over by Barkley.

    Will there be any pass rush?

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  41. I’m thinking there is a lot of optimism about the future of the O-Line. Drake and Warren are studs then you have I young man that I think everyone is going to love in Own Drexel. The coaches rave about Hargrove, Morgan, Ford and Morrissey. There is also Houy and the giat out of Aliqquippa Kenny Rainey III. Freshmen TE’s Carrigan who is already 6’7″ 275lbs and Tyler Sear who I think I remember being the player expected to be moved.

    Now everyone loves Charles Reeves but he is also a big big boy. Someone will have to stay at TE but Reeves reminds me a lot of O’Neill. Big and athletic.

    I really haven’t heard or read any doom and gloom about the future of the O-Line….. ike

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  42. I just hope they come out of the gate strong, and make a statement before the PSU game (but don’t give away too many secrets).

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  43. @Pitt28 – with regard to cheating, let’s not take the high road and say it doesn’t happen at Pitt. As much as I say it might, but can’t necessarily prove it, we cannot also say it doesn’t. The academic area in collegiate sports is a slippery slope, especially with on-line course. Also, student data is protected and even if the kids get busted for cheating, it’s not reported that way. Except for large scandals that we see with NC and Syracuse.

    @Reed and Ike – I guess it was operator error. I won’t re-post it as it was only a solution for world peace.

    Reeves reminds me of the Steelers Eric Green. Google him and look at Reeves. Physically the same.You only move him to the OL if he has knee injuries that slow him down. Watched him play multiple games last year. He will be great if he stays healthy.

    @Erie – My sign on when I lived in Charleston WV was Pitt13WVU9. I used that for a longtime and often called the IT hoopie department and had them take over my system. I always told them the password and just mocked them mercilessly once I said it……I didn’t have IT problems when I called them and just wanted to rub it in a bit more. It was funny until my documents started disappearing from my desktop, so be careful!!

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  44. gc… these kids have been balling since they were at least 10 yrs old … all have trained their whole life with goals of being in the monopolistic NFL… we had 1 guy weigh over 200 lbs in class A football (AA) was the biggest classification back then .. Class B is now politically incorrect… these BigB g schools have big 300 pounders manning the lines- unbelievable.. they focus on one sort where our generation played everything to have fun and keep busy. We are young, hopefully they have football smarts and we are riding on their dreams and goals…We sail together… we are brothers … we are one… we are PITT…. Let’s Go PITT!!!!

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  46. Upittbaseball, don’t take th bait. Straight As are straight As, no matter whether the courses were in the basics of efficient pizza delivery or some course of study that is was more robust.

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