I have written on here before how the Pitt POV has grown in leaps and bounds since it’s start on June 16th, 2016…exactly two years ago tomorrow… so happy birthday to all of us POVers involved with it.

That means me as the owner and writer (on most articles anyway), but more importantly a great dose of thanks and appreciation go to you regular readers and especially you commenters who make this blog the best and most popular non-profit site there is on Pitt football.  Hell, we even beat a lot of those for-profit sites also.

So anticipating this two-year birthday I have been wondering if I should do something special with the POV… and then I received an email two days ago from BigB (Bernie B.) about a conversation he had with Pitt’s Executive Associate Athletic Director, Media Relations E.J. Borghetti.  I don’t think Bernie will mind if I share this bit of his email to me with you all:

One other thought is I just made my contribution to the Pitt club… Have you ever thought about doing a fundraiser for Pitt sports through the POV… You know the volume of numbers of readers in true Pitt fans… Wonder if we could make an impact… The shakers and movers…Money talks… Just a thought that I wanted to run by you… 

So that is exactly what we are going to do on the POV to celebrate our two-year anniversary – we’ll do a fundraiser to get money to donate to perhaps the Pitt Championship Fund or possibly another Pitt-affiliated entity where our donations will make the best impact. I would like your thoughts on all of that please.

fearless-fundraising-coverWell, my friends, as you know I have stopped accepting donations to The Pitt POV itself this last year for a few personal reasons.  However, when this fundraiser gets off the ground I will ask that you send any monies that you might have donated to the POV blog and to please divert it towards the fundraiser we’ll run through this site.

I see it being a “matching” format where we get some readers with the financial ability to match donations up to a certain amount.  That way our general donations double automatically.  I’d also like to host a nice Pitt POV Dinner Event in the Pittsburgh area in conjunction with this and maybe we can auction off some nice Pitt memorabilia or some such items or services… we’ll see.

We aren’t starting this right now – I want to discuss specifics with the Associate Athletic Director for Major Gifts Pat Bostick Jr and with E.J. so we can do this in the best and most efficient way to move forward.  I am also asking any of you readers that if you are experienced in this, or any,  sort of fundraising to email me or call me – that info is on the front page of this blog so that we do this the best way possible.Image result for pitt football team photos

I think we POVers can make a real difference and maybe bring some strong attention to issues we have been discussing on here and also help Pitt football at the same time. I’ll try to target July to do this.

P/S:  If you want to be a “Matching Donor” up to an dollar amount your are comfortable with then please do let me know via email also.  I know you are out there….

HAIL TO PITT !!

Michaelangelo holds a degree in Travel Writing from the University of Pittsburgh. He was a former staff writer for InPittsburgh Newsweekly, and currently resides near Atlanta, Georgia. He has been a Pitt fan since 1997 after he witnessed Pitt upset #22 Miami on Thursday night at Pitt Stadium.

333 thoughts on “Happy Birthday & The Power of Pitt POV”

    1. When did he say he was going to commit to Pitt? Saw nothing about it on the Lair.

      Brohm is passing the ball all over the field, so not a tough sell.

      Maybe the kid is going to major in Engineering? Purdue is the school for that, so I heard.

      Like

    2. He said he wants to major in”atmospheric studies, meteorology, and Purdue has like a top-five program.”

      I don’t believe Pitt has such a major.

      Like

  3. Reed, I can help with the fundraising. Pat Bostick lives near me and I can also bring it up to my fan committee folks. We will get the word out. I even know of a restaurant or two that could be used if we go that route.

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  4. Happy Birthday POV!!!

    Kudos to Reed and to all of the regulars (and not so regulars) who have made the POV such a success.

    Wlat

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  5. Reed, you and the community have had some good ideas in the past but this is by far the best. Lets put our money where our mouths are and help improve the program we love. Count me in.

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  6. Reed, congrats on the 2 year anniversary of this great site! I check it so frequently, I think I would be embarrassed to admit it publicly.

    I LOVE the idea of a fundraiser. I don’t know really anything about how to do it. However I would be interested in contributing to the cause.

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  7. Reed:
    If the money is going to Pitt it should be tax deductible.
    I would get that worked out first.
    It will make raising dollars easier too.

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  8. Reed – when you talk to Pat Bostick, see if we can get an honorary Pitt degree for Richman! 😊

    Hail to Pitt!

    Like

  9. Happy anniversary to the POV, to all the POVerts (commenters and readers), and to Reed for getting the ball rolling, both with the POV and for a kind of “go fund me site” for Pitt football. God bless us, we need it.- Hobie

    Like

  10. Happy birthday//anniversary Reed’s POV. It is obviously a labor of love and hopefully not too often a labor of crazy.
    What you give here and we know elsewhere is truly admirable and sincerely appreciated.
    Vax

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  13. Reed, kyle bilodeau is a low 3 star recruit. If he committed to pitt u would have been complaining that pitt got another low 3 star. Come on man!

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  15. New verbal is a JuCo tight end, Travis Koontz.

    He hails from Youngstown and went to Boardman High School. Same school that produced Bernie Kosar, former Pitt QB, John Ryan, and yours truly.

    Had offers from Maryland, LSU, Louisville, San Diego State and Texas State.

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  16. Just got a CC TE Travis Koontz (NR) from Ricky Town’s old Community College.

    https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2019/travis-koontz-229310

    He originally committed to Bowling Green in May ’16, then bagged there and committed to the Toledo Rockets in Oct ’16 then went to Ventura CC for the ’17 season. and now to Pitt.

    Apparently he didn’t play at Toledo. Nor did he catch a Pass at Ventura CC last year…

    http://www.vcweplayhard.com/sports/fball/2017-18/teams/ventura?view=lineup&r=0&pos=off

    Can’t make this stuff up folks. This HC loves reclamation projects.

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    3. Heard he was the #1 Ranked JUCO TE – how does that happen without catching a single pass?

      Like

  17. Well that makes two tight ends committing with the grad transfer being the other. I’m guessing Narduzzi and Watson don’t have too much faith in the trio recruited last year to make an impact on the TE position. Possibly one will be moving to an OL position.

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  18. I also believe it will either be Pitt or Purdue on a committment from Hunter the DE from Ohio come Monday.

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  19. He is a TE with some real upside. It is also never a bad thing to have big bodied guys who can move like him. Narduzzi knows 2019 is his year to make hay with schedule and returning experience. Te form Arkansas, him and Sear will provide nice athleticism. Pitt was shaky with Clark leaving and really no experience there.

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    1. Upside? He hasn’t caught a pass in college yet and went from an FCS school to a community college.

      Ike has a challenger for “Mr. Optimistic” on the POV.

      Well, welcome Travis!! Lets hope we get a few CC kids in this class who have actually done something somewhere…or grad transfers also.

      This is pretty freaking ridiculous all around folks. If you don’t think Pat Narduzzi is reaching as far as you can possibly reach for players to come to Pitt then I think you have a vision problem.

      We’ll get some decent commits this week from the official visits(fingers crossed)

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  20. One problem in my mind is that some may not completely understand where some of these kids come from. FYI, they are a coming from college football farm league schools. These players don’t go there because they never had any other options. They are good, end of sentence. How they translate is another story… ike

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      1. Reed

        This is why I am a regular reader of POV.

        Laughed out loud. Not a single freaking catch for God sake!

        I’m in for fundraiser.

        Thanks for your support for Grassroots. They do good work.

        Paul.

        Like

  21. “..If he committed to pitt u would have been complaining that pitt got another low 3 star. Come on man!”

    What’s so hard to understand??? If we get a low 3 star, it’s not good. If we miss out on a low 3 star, it’s worse.

    Let me see if I can simplify it…

    Get 5 star= Awesome!
    Miss out on 5 star= Bummer, but how many of these kids can we really get?

    Get 4 star= Great!
    Miss out on 4 star= Bummer, but if we can get 3-4 of these a year we’ll be ok.

    Get 3 star= Good.I hope he works out.
    Miss out on 3 star= Darn it! We need to be landing these kids.

    Get 2 star= Really? We’re recruiting 2 stars?
    Miss out on 2 star= Uh oh..We’re in serious trouble.

    So, as ike pointed out, there is some “wiggle” in the star ratings. In the case of a low 3 star, I’d probably look more like a 2 star.

    SO….. a low 3 star would be somewhere between Get 3 star= Good.I hope he works out.
    Miss out on 3 star= Darn it! We need to be landing these kids. AND Get 2 star= Really? We’re recruiting 2 stars? Miss out on 2 star= Uh oh..We’re in serious trouble.

    Clear?????????????

    Liked by 1 person

    1. They aren’t even 2* kids Jay. They are both NR…not ranked. It is very rare for a decent HS player like Leslie Smith to have no ranking by Rivals in June. He’ll be ranked later though, probably a 3* now that he’s verballed to a P5 school.

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  22. Reed, we talked about this…………….. Watson does not know what a tight end is……………

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  24. Thanks jay…i think:)
    I was more referring to the pessimism that any news is bad news for some regarding pitt

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    1. I’m pretty sure I got where you’re coming from…and I was disagreeing with you. Reed sees all bad CURRENTLY when it come to recruiting because… IT’S ALL BAD!!!

      I am certain that if we land a highly rated kid, Reed will be very happy. Just look at last year… Reed was negative about the class all while it was being assembled because, frankly it’s not good. However, when the 4 star RB came in from DC, Reed was very positive.

      Bad news is bad news. Good news is good news. While everything is certainly effected by perception, I find that Reed says good things when we land highly-rated players or at least are in the running and says “negative” things when we get low-rated kids or whiff on kids altogether.

      Liked by 1 person

  25. Yeah but listen up because I’m speaking loudly. Reed had an article the other day on all the really great players PITT will be facing this coming season. Can someone, anyone give me what those players were rated coming out out high school? I’m tired of arguing with ourselves!

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    1. what really great player will any of our opponents be facing when they play us?
      NOBODY!!!!

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    2. I’ll answer softly.

      Miles Sanders was a 4-star on Rivals with at least 15 P5 offers including Alabama, Auburn, USC, ND, FSU and Michigan. #1 ranked RB nationally and #1 player in Pennsylvania. Sanders was a Rivals 6.0 which according the Ike Grayscale makes him a 5-star.

      Trace McSorley was a 3-star on Rivals. He had 7 other P5 offers. I am unsure what position he was slotted for on each. He was a Rivals 5.6 which makes him a possible 4-star on the IG.

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  26. The SB Nation site Hammer and Rails (comparable to Cardiac Hill) has this to say about Purdue’s recruiting,

    https://www.hammerandrails.com/2018/6/15/17468294/purdue-football-kyle-bilodeau-breakdown

    They key take away?

    “Brohm is getting who he wants in recruiting. It seems these days that we are rarely missing out on guys that Coach Brohm truly wants. His recruiting style plays into that. From what I have heard, kids respect his no BS blue collar work ethic when it comes to coaching and recruiting. He is going to tell you exactly what he thinks and kids are liking that. He also has a great social media department that helps with the Twitter end of everything, it is fun to watch the Purdue football brand grow. You can also tell Coach Brohm has specific type of player he looks for at each position.”

    Keep in mind, this is a Purdue team with a 2nd year head coach that is out recruiting our 4th year coach. Purdue has 10 commits for 2019- including TWO 4 star kids. Pitt has ONE commit– NO stars. He’s doing it at a school with significantly less tradition and historical success in the middle of the Midwest.. even further away from the vast majority of football players than Pitt is.

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    2. Yep, he just out recruited us for a low 3 star TE that wanted to major in a subject at Purdue that Pitt doesn’t offer. Shame on Narduzzi for not being able to overcome that obstacle.

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  27. Dokish posted Koontz was the No. 1 rated tight end in the JuCo ranks.

    Should that be disputed?

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    2. Dokish is a homer and doesnt know what he’s talking about. Kinda thinking he is Narduzzis lap dog. My respect for him is less each day. He’s one of many Pitt fans just happy with being mediocre, graduating players with 4.0 averages and achieving Nobel Peace Prizes.

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      2. Dokish doesn’t know what he’s talking about but you, Jay and Reed do. That makes everything clear now with your constant berating of everything about Pitt football recruiting.

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    1. That is strange but he might have gotten in trouble and left or something…but apparently he’s never caught a pass anywhere I can find…and I’m very good at research.

      https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2019/travis-koontz-229310

      He’s not listed on VCC’s 2016 roster either.

      http://www.vcweplayhard.com/sports/fball/2017-18/roster?sort=last_name

      Here are Toledo’s 2016 stats…Not there either.

      https://stats.utrockets.com/stats/football/2016/indgbg.htm#IGBG.RSH

      What a great recruiting team we have, finding kids who never seemed to play anywhere or catch anything.

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  30. Fire Narduzzi and hire Brohm… they would settle into conferences they are familiar with.. this is the Brohm from Louisville I assume…

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  31. I’m all for firing Narduzzi at this point. I jest not. A real head coach doesnt recruit no stars and only transfer players…who arent found on rosters.

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      1. Did you see Pitt’s BB games last year at the Pete and zero ACC wins? It ain’t stopping Capel….you can either recruit or you can’t.

        You’re in sales Dan, you should know this.

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        1. Yes. Narduzzi has the people skills of a baboon. He thinks he is the deal and is cocky without the results. People see right through that. But he is good on twitter.

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  32. As I said we’ll get some kids, we’ll even get some highly rated 3-star kids and some will be players in the future. I just think that this recruiting class is going to be much like 2018 recruiting class which was substandard in my view. Other Pitt fans may think differently. But I don’t think we’re going to do anything great on the field here unless we get some four star and possibly five star kids on board.

    What happens in recruiting is that perception is everything. Those bowl losses were not good especially to NW; the five wins is not good, one 4* in the last class doesn’t look good either.

    Blue chippers want to play with other great kids… Starting off like this does not help us down the road with the top shelf kids.

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  33. Yeah I don’t know where he is the number one TE recruit. It was on Pgh sports now and dokish probably read it there. Not sure how they came to that conclusion.

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  35. He was a three star out of high school. It is not like he wasn’t a decent recruit here.But his academics and the route taken were not exactly great. But he does offer size and is seen as a athletic TE who had offers from some pretty good programs. They scouted him and liked what they saw. I am sure Narduzzi knew him from Boardman and considered him big body guy who fills a need next year assuming we see a position switch on Carrigan and maybe Reeves.

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  36. Jay, I beg you to give an example of me arguing with anyone. Some of you simply do not like what I post and I post honestly about how I feel concerning PITT. Upitt? maybe but some of you hang on every word I say………….. It’s just me talking PITT football and how I feel about it. I serve no malice up towards anyone.

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    1. With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the POV’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle with other POVerts, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all other blogs. – Hobie with a tip of the hat to A. Lincoln

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  37. I wonder if the Duzz realizes what a huge year this is for him? If things go the way ?I fear on the field, and if recruiting doesn’t pick up, he may have an extremely interesting conversation following the season with the AD. Remember, the only thing that motivates Pitt is embarrassment, and this is slipping close to that threshold.

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    1. Money is the only thing
      Its been an embarrassment since the early 90’s
      When Pitt football begins losing money, Pitt will make changes
      I think breakeven for the program is 45k in attendance
      Thats why I think the program lost money last year with attendance at 36k

      So Pitt football might have lost $10M last year
      Basketball lost $10M plus another $10M for the buyout
      Moreover incalculable damage to the brand

      Pitt blew their ACC check and then some

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  38. Great city,
    Very good school,
    Excellent facilities,
    Practice fields next to an NFL team,

    And yet we struggle to recruit.
    And it can’t be simply the wins n losses.

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    1. 4 stars want to play with 4 stars

      no bowl wins
      a 5 win season last year
      25k yellow seats
      poor execution and pathetic closing skills
      and yes probably a prick
      and yes all these transfers coming in ruining team chemistry

      I can go on

      If another 5 win season, I’d can his arse and move on
      If stability means mediocrity, I’d rather roll the dice again

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  39. Word is around that Narduzzi is a prick as a HC and incompetent on game days. There is proof on both
    Issues! That’s death in the recruiting biz!

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    1. Kootz’s high school tape doesn’t look bad and he played in a tough conference. Pretty good size and leven ooks athletic. Eleven catches last season and maybe his new JUCo throws the ball more.

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      1. Nate, you realize we are a Power 5 school which is supposed to be pulling in good recruits don’t you? All Narduzzi seems to want to do is get kids who couldn’t get recruited into the P5 at all or who failed miserably there and putting those transfers into the two-deep.

        Aside from Peterman how has any of them done for us?

        Answer: Squat.

        Like

        1. Did you forget Lopes or was that on purpose? I’m not saying Lopes is an All American but he’s certainly not worthless as a transfer.

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    2. Where was all the prick talk after beating PSU or Clemson? Pitt beats Miami and all we hear about is some mystery party where bad things happened yet we never heard details.

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      1. Pitt beat a vastly over rated Miami team last year
        It had no impressive wins
        Pitt lost to Syracuse for Christ sake

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        2. Boy txpanther, you must be a fun guy to hang out with at parties.
          If you didn’t enjoy the Miami win, why bother at all.

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    3. A prick? In what way. Game day coach rep is bad? What games do you think are considered? The games that no one watches on tv or the Miami game or the Clemson game? Now I think his game day coaching isn’t particularly good and it concerns me but my brothers who are not Pitt alums think he is a terrific game day coach because the only Pitt games they watched are the Miami and Clemson games. Do you think recruits think PN is dumb because of the Miami game?

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  40. Arrogance is going to cost Narduzzi in the end. He could end up his coaching career in the MAC or somewhere like YSU.

    So, I read that narduzzi told this recruit that it was nice to have the number one ranked JC TE. Just curious, how many JC TE’s are currently ranked? Is it more than one? If so, how many?

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  41. Ok, so now we have a TE who committed to Bowling Green,then decommitted from them and went to Toledo where he did not play, then he went to LA Pierce CC, and now is going to go to yet another CC before he comes to Pitt in 2019.

    OK, a question then.

    If this kid is that good (#1 JUCO TE!) why not move someone off the roster to open up a scholarship, perhaps a 5th year SR, and have him play for us during the upcoming season? We need immediate help at TE or why else get Gragg who has two years with us. It isn’t like we have any TEs graduating this year.

    He doesn’t have to sit out a year coming from CC so why not?

    Sorry, I see Chris Clark .2 with this kid but without the 5*s Clark had. This kid has, in essence, already quit on three separate teams.

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    1. Yep and we called Clarke leaving and the TV Kid and were right on both. Narduzzi is essentially taking the only girl left in the bar at 1:58am home because the other good ones gave him no time of the day.

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  42. I’m sure it sounds like I’m ragging on Koontz but I don’t really care about him personally… I’m ragging on the head coach and his recruiting staff.

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  43. Ike… I was TEASING! (…hence the smiley face.) You had made a comment at 4:58 saying “I’m tired of us arguing with ourselves.”

    It was a joke.

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  44. Rag Mama rag, where do you roam? Rag Mama rag, bring your skinny little body back home.
    It’s dog eat dog and cat eat mouse, you can rag Mama rag all over my house. – Hobie with a tip of the hat to The Band

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  45. I thought that a Juco now has to graduate before being eligible – is that not the case?

    Tough reading on the POV’s Birthday Eve.

    I’m going to call a timeout.

    Go Pitt.

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  46. I’m beginning to love James Franklin and hate me some Pat Narduzzi. Let’s move on Heather….NEXT please…

    Arrogant gorilla-armed know nothing reruiting a$$ sonofa beotch

    I’m kidding Pat, you got a couple more years by me with the PSU and Clemson wins, even though they were Chryst’s wins….you win stealin’ SOB,,,,oops.

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  48. Hobie’s got his groove on tonight…

    Someone made the comment “ the South shall Rise again.” We need a southern HC who knows the lay of the land and can recruit and get folks excited like Johnny did the 1st go round.

    Make PITT FB Great Again… look South for the answer Heather

    Like

    2. Is that not racist? A part of me watched that with both joy and sadness.
      A compelling video of a great moment in America, and yet a reminder that people want to eliminate that culture from the USA.

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  51. I fear Pitt football will not rise again, but I’m confident that basketball will

    Football plays in arguably the weakest division in the ACC. I just dont see a division title happening under Narduzzi.

    I also worry that Penn State will kick our arse this year.

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  52. Back on topic, I lurk more than I comment, but I’ll be happy to kick in a few bucks if you guys get this fundraiser thing going.

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  53. Ask any of the 15 coaches who left and couldn’t work w Duzz! Ask the players who’ve transferred out. Watch his sideline game behavior openly berating player…ask any of the reporters covering Pitt..Zeise who is aPitt dad and a writer has told me quie a few story’s.

    Recruiting is allabout word on the street. The word is “prick”. Personally I like coaches who are arrogant pricks..but they have to win!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Berating players like he did when he gave Blewitt the kiss on the cheek. I watch every snap that’s on tv and I have never seen him berate a player. I can’t respond to what you have heard privately but if you heard it privately that doesn’t mean that recruits heard the same thing. I have not even read one word (and I read as much as I can on Pitt) where players say anything even suggesting that he’s a prick other than players who are disgruntled about not getting their playing time. What I glean is that the players and coaches love the guy. Actually that’s the vibe I sense from the team. And isn’t it extraordinary how effective the “cone of silence” that surrounds the players has been. Do you think that comes from fear or the players buying into “we are a team”?

      Like

      1. Then you weren’t paying attention when the media pointed out, very clearly and with videos, how he flat out lied to Ben Dinucci last season…then did it again right before Dinucci transferred.

        He’s a human being and that is how we Pitt fans should view him…not as some sort of savior for the program as most Pitt fans did when he was hired.

        Like

        1. Flat out loud? My recollection is that DiNucci and PN has competing claims about what was said. And then there is the third possibility which is that PN said something that DiNucci interpreted what was said to what he reported what was said. You using the rhetoric “flat out lied” doesn’t make what occurred PN lying any more than if I said the Nooch “twisted” what PN said. And then there is the possibility that PN said what DiNucci claims but something occurred that caused PN to alter course.

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  55. I have a SOLID second hand story about Narduzzi… he isn’t as well liked or respected as some if you think he is..

    I heard this story 2 years ago and kept it to myself (always wary of a parent’s story) because I really liked Narduzzi and didn’t want to believe it. But, since I’m hearing more, I’m starting to believe it.

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  56. FYI it’s extremely hard IMO for anyone to make catches at a community college that you were’t enrolled in. Koontz just enrolled in Ventura CC for the 2018 season and as such was unable to make any catches for Ventura last year. But let’s not get that fact get in the way of any point you would like to make on this Koontz recruit to Pitt.

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    1. That was addressed above…

      But let’s post without reading other’s thoughts.

      But how do you feel about a recruit who has quit three school’s before coming to Pitt?

      You may be fine with this but I’m concerned.

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      1. Quit? He didn’t have the grades to get into D-1, so he went the JuCo route. Maybe his first JuCo didn’t have the right offense for him so he is leaving to try and better himself.

        No way did this kid “quit” at three schools because it was tough.

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  57. Let’s hope the young man can make the passing grades at Ventura. “ Cutting the Mustard” academically at PITT will be more challenging.

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    1. I believe that is why he is spending one more year at the CC. There is a former Pitt FB coach at that CC – this young man has struggled with grades – struggles can be overcome. That’s how we grow as people. Thomas Edison had numerous failures in his lifetime to overcome.

      H2P!

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      1. He will be 28 years old by the time he plays at Pitt. Narduzzi is done. 4-7 coming soon. Heather is tougher than that wannabe DC who cant coach D anyway. Takes him 5 years to be decent.

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  58. Happy ??? Birthday to the POV. Strange choice of words, but I’ll keep with the article theme…

    Reading some of the comments from last night and low-n-behold Pitt snags a southern recruiting director from Mississippi State.

    “Source tells FootballScoop Mississippi State assistant director of football operations Reed Case has accepted the director of recruiting position at Pitt. Case has served in various recruiting and operations positions at Oklahoma, Texas, East Carolina, Oklahoma State and more.”

    I’m with MajorMajors, a good long “time out” is in order so I can enjoy golf for the summer. I’ll come back when Pitt beats Albany and preps for the cat fight at Heinz Field in front of a Pittsburgh city record crowd. (Let that sink in).

    TX – the only arse getting kicked the day of the psu vs Pitt game will be a guy named Franky with his new OC, RB, WR’s, TE and rebuilt D. Set em up and knock em down.

    Enjoy Father’s Day! Wait, this group might have a hard time with that word – let’s try Honor Father’s Day! Yea, that’s the ticket…

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  59. Erie, I’m sticking with “Happy”…haha. If I could post the song I would. Anyway, chillax everyone. Enjoy Fathers Day and the 2 year anniversary of the birth of the POV. Enjoy your golf Erie, I know how much you love it.

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    1. Because he’s doing things that other coaches do. He’s not beaking laws or showing external bad behavior. So she wants continuity.

      Look, these ”stories” about Pat narduzzi are not unusual for head coaches of P5 conferences. They are arrogant people and they are people who desire to get the most out of every person they come in contact with… and they also have flaws in doing so sometimes like any other human being does.

      I’ve always said that if he’s going to be fired it will be because he’s going to be fired on the strength of his win or loss record unless something untoward happens off the field.

      The fact that he is not a good recruiter is because of different reasons and one of them is because of the too-heavy handed way he approaches recruiting and approaches the recruits and their families.

      That might work for some people and for some coaches it doesn’t work and it’s not working for Pat Narduzzi.

      As I said he’s a human being and as such we should look at him as a human being and if he has flaws there’s nothing wrong with talking about those.

      Like

      1. Reed,
        Happy Birthday to you and your creation The Pitt POV!!!
        Personally, for me, it’s refreshing to have a Pitt blog that is willing to talk about the obvious problems with the Pitt football program and not just sugar coat everything like an 8th cheerleader. When I was younger I was a blind “rah rah wait til next year” Pitt fan. I’m older now, I look at the facts – we are mediocre and nothing more. The blinders are off – lets acknowledge the problems, face them, and correct them.
        #HAIL2PITT

        Like

  62. EE.. enjoy your summer break… see you when they are back in pads…BTW, beautiful finishing you “swing”

    Like

  63. If defensive end, Dontay Hunter, picks Purdue over Pitt come Monday this place will lose it.

    He also has a Georgia offer and a 3.45 GPA, which in that case Gallagher should be begging him to come to Pitt to uphold the mission statement.

    Like

  64. Please do not start sharing stories and rumors about coaches or anyone on the POV. There are two sides to every story and people never see both sides. Plus, they can take up a life of their own on social media.

    You aren’t raising funds with that kind of crap posted on here.

    Just my opinion. Not my blog.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Rumors are unfounded. If I write something on here it is because 1) I believe it and 2) I talked with people who know more than I do about the subject.

      A question for you. If this blog bothers you as much as it apparently does then why read it?

      What I see with this blog is major growth over two years and that is because what is written on here has been proven to be the case much more than not. Fans don’t want pablum shoved down their throats and being told all is fantastic when sometimes it clearly isn’t. They want to discuss the 360 degrees of Pitt Football.

      And what may or may not happen on here in the future is really no concern of yours…it is mine alone.

      Like

      2. Your comment was not addressed to me but it could be, Reed so I want to respond to your comment. I read and participate in the blog for many reasons including that your leadership, writing and insight provides me with information about my beloved Pitt that I cannot get anywhere else. I am hugely greatful for what you have given me. But I don’t agree with plenty that I read on the site. And some of what I read offends me. And somethings you (Reed) write I don’t agree with. I thought it was OK for me to respectfully express my disagreement. I tend not to express agreement because, well, definitionally my thinking on the subject has already been expressed. But for the record, there is little doubt in my mind that our leader knows more about Pitt, more about Pitt football and writes the best about these things.

        Like

  66. I’m with TX Panther. PSU destroys us this year in prime time. I’m not there yet but there have been times, such as with Stallings last year where I root for a coach to lose to get his ass outta here. I’m getting close to that with Duzz. I’ve pretty much lost all faith in him…

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    1. But Gallaghers leadership team will not be embarrassed by the blow out. Two members on this team hold Penn State degrees. And nobody on it holds a degree from Pitt.

      The only way Narduzzi gets fired is if players dont graduate, too many players dont make the grades, too many players get in trouble, or if fans dont show.

      So it comes down to attendance

      Narduzzi could very well lose the team this year much like Wanny did during the second half of the season in Wanny’s last year.

      If fans dont spend money and show to games, Heather will have a tough decision to make.

      Like

      1. Wanny didn’t lose the team, his players let him down in the UConn game: not sacrificing their bodies to prevent the kickoff return then Graham fumbling the kickoff. The Panthers had like five turnovers versus WVU, but beat Cincy in a game where in Pitt’s history the team always plays down to the competition and loses.

        That was just a bad year, period. Mason’s knee injury, Romeus’ knee, back and his mother passing away, the four kids getting trouble (not counting Shepard since he was just defending himself and the family paid to replace the door while he also apologized twice to the store owner, likely more than any of us have done when in trouble in our past).

        If there was ever a time to close the book and move onto the next season it was that year, but Smiley decided to add some credible turbulence to the program. Oh, and Pitt still won eight games on a crummy recruiting budget and a cheap staff that the chancellor wanted. A decent recruiting class was forming and Dion, Hyno and Graham were going to be a strong backfield.

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        1. And the fact that “brain dead gamesay Wanny” allowed our kicker to kick off to the best returner in the nation had nothing to do with it…. right!

          Like

      2. Gallagher will probably shake the hands of the two PSU BoT members and say “Congrats” while those two cannot help but laugh deep down inside.

        Then Gallagher will ask how much money was made and think how great it is to have that kind of crowd every once in a blue moon.

        Pathetic.

        Like

  67. Happy Birthday POV

    Jeff R should be posting a lot more on the POV

    What’s the actual number of coaches that have left PITT football on their own?

    I won’t get away with being a matching donor but I will kick in a few bucks

    I swear the PITT football team is already 0-7 this coming season.

    We know almost zero about the two new recruits but so many think they have all they need to know. That’s not fair. When you criticize Narduzzi recruitment of the kids you’re criticizing them by proxy.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Ike, those two recruits are what is called “reaches” in recruiting terminology. You take those two kids, especially the Juco kid,at the end of the recruiting period in late December or January but not when you’re first starting out trying to get the best kids you can possibly get to fill the scholarships available you have.

      That is all that is… we’re getting these kids early when we should be putting off taking their commitment until way later in the process and until we know that we don’t have any other prime players to give scholarships to.

      Much like Ben Dinucci back in 2015. Narduzzi would never have taken Ben Dinucci as a first few commitment s the next year if he was available and if he did he’d stupid.

      As it happened PN did exactly the right thing in offering Dinucci at the last possible moment almost before the LOI Day that year.

      There are kids you just don’t offer and/or accept commitments from this early unless you think your recruiting class is going to be lacking overall.

      Like

    2. If a legit program signed these two the fans would riot. If we are okay with these kids then great but lets go aac or mac.

      Liked by 1 person

  68. I agree Ike. I love the site but the constant negativity by some of the same posters is a bit too much sometimes.

    Like

  69. It would be a boring place to be if we all agreed all the time so to each their own. I try my best to follow Reed’s rules but at the end of the day I have to follow my heart and own rules. I posted this the other day and I do my absolute best to stick with this.. Respect should be given freely but trust should always be earned.

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  70. And the negativity was justified last year for both football and basketball. Don’t read comments, besides ike’s, If you want rainbows, unicorns and fluffy kittens. By keeping it real, you’re gonna get twisters, wart hogs and feral cats.

    Tex

    Like

    1. I’m not a rainbows and unicorn guy. I sat through the entirety of the Ok St game last year. Now, that was a time for negativity.

      I am not all that happy about the recruiting either. BUT this is a big weekend. A little positive energy/ thoughts would be a nice change of pace. What’s the worst that can happen, the team is mediocre again…and their is ANOTHER coaching change in 2years?

      Like

      1. you’re right. the worst is another 5 win season. another coaching change. Another year of Pitt football losing money. But when will enough be enough. Our brand is crap right now.

        Pitt has tried halfheartedly for the past 40 years to be to be semi relevant. It hasnt worked.

        If this is the effort Pitt puts in by the administration, Pitt should drop down and play in CMU’s stadium.

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  72. Again, I’m not losing my mind over recruits at this time. While I have serious concerns over the first two kids, I’m not going crazy. Nor should those who will say all is well after we get 3 kids on Monday. All can agree we have been pretty slow to get guys this year, and we really don’t have any superstars lined up so far. Hopefully that will change.

    As far as the Duzz being a jerk,recruiter, there are lots of really accurate stories, but because we all love Pitt they haven’t been gone into for the most part on this site, and that’s good. Let’s just say if the trend continues and the on field product continues to decline, the Duzz may be in for a rude awakening. As for his extension, we are desperate for continuity, but we all know extensions can quickly be followed by the dreaded vote of confidence.

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  74. For the record I think the FL LB may a player down the road.

    I’m criticizing the recruiting stance not the player.

    Look folks, this is a big recruiting weekend
    as we have 15 pretty decent kids taking official visits here and we’re going to get some of those for commitments anyway and that’ll break some of the ice we have now.

    we probably will get a good player or three and if we can get 4* Carter the running back then I’ll be ecstatic.

    So what we are seeing with these first two kids hopefully will not be the tenor of recruiting for the next few months.

    So we’re going to get some players and I think we’re going to get two or three commitments out of this weekend and maybe more…

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  75. At first glance Reed I wouldn’t argue but when I looked at Smith’s tape against big time high school competition I came away very impressed. For instance, when I watched Holler’s (from Latrobe) he looked good but was blocking a slew of little white guys, not to be racist.

    Another thing is that this juco TE is supposed to be the # 1 available JC TE in the country. That’s not good enough for you? If you don’t want to go with that then we all need to stop worrying about what and how the recruiting services determine all recruits star ratings. Either you believe them or you don’t.

    Like

    2. He was the only rated tight end. Making him number one by default. Caught only 11 passes for a little more than 100 yards and one TD. Being number 1 is relative.

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      1. That’s a great point and it goes back to my feelings for statistics. They are known to tell fibs.

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  77. Happy Birthday POV! I Think the group Panther Athletic contribution in the name of the POV is a great idea. Count me in!

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  78. I think that most POV bloggers are worried about this recruiting class. I have serious questions about PN’s recruiting ability, but am willing to wait on this week’s announcements before commenting further on recruiting.

    Like

  79. Here is part of why I am skeptical of PN’s recruiting:

    2015 – Narduzzi recruited 3* Brightwell and 3* McKee at LB.

    2016 he had 3* Pine, 2* Reynold and 4* Pugh.

    So the ’15 kids have had three full years to get on the field and the ’16 have had two full years.

    Remember how excited Pitt fans were about these recruits?

    In 2018 our starting LBs will be Wirginis, Brightwell and Idowu…two Chryst kids (one a walk on) and one Narduzzi recruit.

    LBs play early if they are good enough, not like linemen who take a few years.

    At this point in time his LB recruiting is below par… especially on defenses that were either terrible or just below average the past two years and really needed help.

    So there are valid reasons for concern with his recruiting, especially since defense was supposed to be his strength.

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  80. Happy birthday POV!

    Any word on Taysir Mack’s eligibility for 2018 (the WR transfer from Indiana)?

    Like

  81. I’ve been thinking about this athletic contribution on the part of the POV. How much would we have to collect to make a serious donation – a donation that makes a difference? Or do we just turn over as much as we can collect and leave it at that. Also, is this embarrassing to the athletic program / or admin. that a bunch of POVerts are taking up a collection to help the football program because Pitt doesn’t adequately support it? Or does anyone really give a damn at Pitt. Sorry, my tortured soul is showing itself again. The questions are real, however. – Hobie PS. I’m taking my young’in to Karate, so if these questions start a chain reaction. I won’t see it for awhile.

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  82. VOR..

    Waiting til the end of the week to comment on recruiting isn’t long enough..

    I believe the accepted POV time-table for assessing recruits is one week after thier oldest child graduates from high school– any earlier would be “unfair to the kid.”

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  83. Mr Jay91, I wanted to thank you for your very generous gift, I just talked to Reed and he explained the great picture you forwarded. I missed meeting you, Upitt, JoeK, and others and seeing all my old friends of just a few years. Thank you kind sir. Plans are to be at all the PITT home games and at least one roadie, possibly two or three. Hope to meet you and thank you in person if God is willing. ike

    Like

  84. Honor… when donating as a group through the POV couple thoughts came to mind…

    How many POVerts are there… Reed has mentioned many many more than those who post.. is it hundreds or a thousand?? Make up some numbers and do the math. # donors x’s ave donation.
    How do we make our numbers of readers grow? I know constant negativity doesn’t help. POV has grown and matured IMO.. if we can go a whole year without the Cmdr pulling the plug then we have arrived. That was the reasoning behind creating the POV tailgate flag.(WUP flag used as an alternate if …. kidding Reed. The flag signals our gathering spot at games and hopefully brings more readers and possible donor$ into the circle. Let’s be honest, Reed and everyone on board has created something so unique and dynamic . The POV breathes..its has a pulse and
    Lives with the heartbeats of many.
    After reading all the bios I began to feel differently, I was getting to know you more personally through your story. There is real love for our PITT football team and we want the university to strive for excellence. Most onhere know what commitment to excellence means….

    We can list the problems and our opinions on fixes.. we need to be fixers. As my Dad told me growing up Don’t be a spectator… PARTCIPATE !!!

    With that in mind we can participate by giving and giving an amount to turn heads, open eyes and maybe influence the mentality that runs Pitt FB.. To be the devils advocate and looking at the (lack of )donation situation from the BoTs perspective, maybe is one of the reasons they don’t jump in to the deep end of the water and keep pussy footing in the shallows.

    I have only recently started giving to PITT FB -coincided with the return of the Script ( which was stolen from us. Today, I upped my donation a little but still don’t give much.. “God loves a cheerful giver” and I love giving and there are many worthwhile causes that can make a huge difference in a person or family’s life. I would give more to my beloved university but I keep waiting for a sign… a sign that the University of Pittsburgh is fully committed excellence on both sides of the proverbial ball- athletics and academics.

    Liked by 4 people

    1. Great comment! Completely agree. I want to be part of the solution and not keep griping about the same old problems

      Like

  86. That’s a great comment Bernie and it fits you to a T. The BigB has a good good soul… all the way around

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  87. If the POV can raise a few bucks it could or will go a long way in that very statement and not necessarily the figure. imo another feather in the POV cap and through thoughts, expressions and action may send an important message moving forward. We care! ike

    Like

  88. I think I would like to have any donated funds go to help the overall football student/athlete experience.

    Because let’s face it, we’ll never raise enough $$ to buy a decent OL like some schools do.

    Buy hey, if 23 of us can raise over $500in donations in an afternoon golf outing I’m quite sure an extended fundraiser can do pretty well for a great cause.

    I’ll pick Pat Bostick’s brain about this but whatever we do will have to meet donors’ approval as a majority.

    I think that no matter how much we will raise it will send a message that regular Pitt fans care just as much as bigger donors do.

    I’ll need help with this especially since I don’t live in the Pittsburgh area.

    BTW I might be in PGH for a Junior Achievement Sports Fundraiser, invited as one of “Pittsburgh’s most popular sportswriters” (in a form letter of course).

    Perhaps drinks somewhere with other POVers?

    Like

  89. LOL Hobie and good thoughts and questions. I’ve been a little busy with a couple youngster’s running around here to comment much. You know me, I’ll stick my two cents in here somewhere. Thanks ike

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    1. I like the idea of POVerts making a contribution to Pitt football in the name of the POV, Ike. I just don’t know how meaningful the contribution will be without it being a decent amount, and I don’t know how much makes a decent amount. Or, is any amount better than nothing? – Hobie

      Like

      1. Yes Hobie, the amount of money isn’t the message here it’s more about the voice of real true PITT fans. Truthfully I suspect a bit of a turn around but the POV in any way, small or large show that we PITT fans care. I’m all in…

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        1. Ike – Money talks and you know what walks. Seems to me, if the POV wants to send a message it needs to be an amount that will be noticed. That said, I’m also wondering if this donation is a one-timer or a yearly effort. And if it becomes a yearly effort, does that change the nature of the POV from a blog to something else, some sort of auxiliary fund raising appendage to Pitt football. I already think of the POV as a sort of fraternity, not just a blog, but that idea is for another day. – Hobie – PS. I know there’s an Annie out there, so this fraternity has female members too.

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  91. Money should go towards electing BoT members that value athletics. There’s a nominating committee for the board. Those are the people you need to bribe. The POV could be like FIFA.

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  92. Bump Leslie Smith up to a 3 stars on rivals and btw more coming….. Narduzzi must have went on vacation?

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  93. Hobie, I won’t speak for Reed but my feeling is it should be a one time effort unless the POV goes a specific direction. Something that has a more defined goal in mine. Otherwise the monies offered may be held back for one year knowing more is expected next. I’m not a wealthy man by any description but I will jump in. If the POV can get 4 or 5 hundred members involved it will make a statement. It’s the type of thing I would love doing.

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      1. I’m in, but I think we need a goal. And that goal should be doable, but an amount noticed and appreciated. Not sure of the size of that amount. – Hobie

        Like

  94. Happy birthday Reed and the POV. I agree with anonymous above, that we need to get members on the BOT that are invested in Pitt AND athletics. Get rid of the Nitters. No one should be on there that doesn’t have some affiliation with Pitt- alums, business sponsors, major supporters, etc. No matter what you say, there is no way anyone who went to PSU has Pitt’s best interest at heart.
    .

    Liked by 1 person

  96. Been quite some time since I visited POV. I kind of got caught up in the euphoria of the Capel hire and didn’t want to be laid low by all the negativity I find here so often. After reading through this thread, I see nothing much changes – lol…..

    So why did I come. I was hoping someone might have an explanation for the strange anomaly that I see with official visits. By Panther Lair count, there is something like 18 or 19 official visits this weekend. I checked the Rivals site for several other schools and don’t see anything quite like this. Many power house schools have just a handful of recruits stopping by.

    Makes me wonder what is going on. The quality of the visitors is pretty strong – some 5.8s, many 5.7s, lots of 5.6s and a few tag-alongs…. And, if the site is to be believed, these are official visits which I think are limited for each athlete – so they wouldn’t do it just for sightseeing.

    Does anyone have an explanation for this?? I looked at the last few years of Pitt recruiting and there was nothing like this in the recent past.

    And why would Pitt do it? So many recruits means it is hard to customize or individualize the approach for any one athlete. Just seems so strange on so many levels. The PGH Sports Now site seems to believe that a high percentage (like almost 50%) will commit to Pitt this month. I just find that amazingly hard to believe – but official visits do seem to matter and there sure are a bunch this weekend.

    Hoping for insight…

    Like

    1. Pitt arranged this way in advance and really rolled out the red carpet. Yes, 5 official visits are allowed so doing this is more important than an unofficial visit.

      I believe there is a group of FL kids and parents travelling together to share expenses so they will be visiting other schools also.14 of the recruits are from FL, most from around Orlando and Ft Lauderdale. All but three recruits are from south of the Mason / Dixon line.

      We need to come out of this big effort with 4 or more verbals IMO, because these kids can’t visit again unless it is on their own dime and usually that doesn’t happen.

      Like

  98. Kid is quick off the ball. WPA talent is so down in 2019 that it is great the staff is hitting Florida hard. Lucky that there is a recruiting budget to do so.

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  99. Forgot to mention PITT beat out Georgia Tech and Louisville who wanted this young man. South Carolina isn’t chump change either.

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  101. I’m thinking this Kancey kid is going to mention Aaron Donal is a favorite of his. C’mon AD coach this kid up.

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  106. This is interesting Rivals.com only list Travis Koontz and Leslie Smith as our two recruits so far.

    24/7 site has only Leslie Smith as a hard commit:

    https://247sports.com/college/pittsburgh/Season/2019-Football/Commits/

    These sites get updated in a minute after a commit so I’m very wary about what’s going on now.

    This wouldn’t be the first time a kid has tweeted something and the reality is that either he didn’t commit or Pitt didn’t accept his commitment.

    Like

  108. I would assume that wittht he large number of grouped official visits Pitt is hoping for some bonding between the recruits and selling the opportunity to play together (and quickly) at Pitt. Hope the strategy pays off!

    Like

  110. So there was a PAt signal two hours ago and 19 hours ago. Is that a repeat?

    I think it is funny that the commenters complain that when a 0ne star commits to Dairy College or other big program, they immediately become 4 stars, but when our zero star commits to Pitt and becomes a 3 star, it’s bunk. Can’t have it both ways.

    I do like the DT commit. His film (which is the best snippets of his career), show a very quick DL that likes to hit. What a concept! Regardless, it is a solid pickup. Defer to Upitt on whether a miami offer would cause a flip. His announcement was pretty strong towards Pitt, but those can be iffy at times.

    Happy Fathers day to all you Fathers! Anyone can be a Dad, but Father’s are special. Thanks for representing us well. You all are at least 4 star dads!! I was a no star, but when I got the verbal offer from my lady, I became an immediate high 3 star. A western pa dad 3 star equates to a south florida 4 star in her book.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Halpy Father’s Day Huff. He stated it in an interview like 3 weeks ago. If a Miami kid can stay home they always do. If Miami doesnt offer that means they are recruiting even better kids as par the course.

      Like

  114. I looked up on rivals 4 PITT recruits all 3*’s. Narduzzi must have went on vacation all the while singing this song.

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  116. If you didn’t come away impressed with Kancey’s highlight reel then I don’t know what to tell you….

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  117. Ike..

    Yep. I’m BLOWN AWAY… 4 recruits. We’re up to 62 in the rankings.

    How about we wait to start puffing out our chests until we get into the 40’s?

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    1. 3 stars are embarrassing at this point. It is year 4 and he was extended and given more koney. Pay the man to much money to deliver barely 3 stars.

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  118. Johnny Majors drank bourbon for breakfast. Jackie S was a real prick. Coaches are not priests. Narduzzi is building things and will win or be gone. But if Pickett is the real deal, that is big in turning the program around. I think Pitt can win after a tough opening stretch and have momentum into 2019 which is the real pressure year for Narduzzi. Pitt will recruit some nice talent and keep in mind that recruiting stability is important aspect to developing a winning program.

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  119. Watch Kancey and like Reed asked yesterday, who does he remind you of? I also like this Beville kid. These are the types PITT is going to get. I accept that and maybe PITT will be in the forties by the end of the day.

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  120. Forgot to add, Beville committed. He is a really good QB get that will add to the recruiting momentum as well. To much gloom and doom somewhat understandable, but ACC money and pressure is both real and necessary. Heather and the chancellor didn’t just stumble into Capel. Fogler and the ACC had a lot to do with that hire.

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  123. Yesterday I asked about the unprecedented number of official visits this weekend at Pitt and what’s up with that. I noted no explanations. Now we see several commits rolling in this morning (sort of like what PGH Sports Now predicted). I can’t help but be a little sarcastic now – reading through this thread we have friends of friends who know all the problems with HCPN and his prickly personality. Or know of a top recruit who was snubbed. Or…. But no one seemed to have a clue about how or why so many pretty good recruits were at Pitt…

    I don’t want to be the defender of HCPN because I have seen his media presentations can be prickly and I have commented before about his lack of quick-witted decision making on game day – but maybe he is playing a better recruiting game than he is given credit here for. I keep reading here that last year was “bad” yet it generated the most 5.7 or above recruits since Dave W’s top years. I read in this thread that the fan base should be embarrassed or worse about the dismal recruiting. Yet something like 19 high quality recruits showed up for an official visit. Show me one other school that has had 19 official visits for the entire recruiting period – let alone one weekend.

    Maybe the sky in not falling in…..

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Reporting that the word on the street is that PN is a “prick” is not the same as saying he’s prickly – which I wouldn’t argue with but a “prick” – never heard that before and I don’t believe it.

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  124. The difference is the staff now in place are very experienced and have real knowledge of judging talent and fit. Narduzzi has basically fired two coaches and lost 4 to other opportunities. In both cases the replacements were far superior. Two OC’s left for SEC programs, DC for a head coaching position and Hill to the NFl is not exactly large turnover in college football. Stepped up with more money for Partridge and is paying off big time in Florida.

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  126. We still have a long way to go. Our bar should be raised higher. Compare our 4 three star recruits to Penn States 9 recruits. Seven of them are 4+ stars. They have 1 five star. Penn State will probably finish with around 14 4 stars.

    The goal for Pitt should be 4-6 four star players
    Wake me up when Pitt gets their first 4 star

    Happy Father’s Day to all

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    1. You will sleep long then Tex. He couldn’t get a four star if the kids last name was narduzzi.

      Like

  127. Pay VERY close attention to which players succesful P5 coaches offer. They know bettter than anyone.

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  128. Hope no recruits read this blog or they will never come to Pitt. We all have concerns after last year but lets not go the depression route untill we need medicated. My biggest fear now that we have a new DC is the recruiting. It is the lifeblood. Jackie Sherrill was a good coach regardless of his personality and that did not stop him from winning over not only Tony Dorsett — but his mother with constant attention and even a Mississippi pecan pie baked by Sherrills mom when he found out it was TDs mom’s favorite. BOT and committee do need ” adjusted” and not by a chiropractor. Loosen up guys.

    Liked by 2 people

  129. Predicting PITT’s final 2018 record may be difficult but predicting the POVer’s reaction to new PITT recruits is as simple as 1 2 3 PITT fans are as broken as the football team itself. Can we blame them? Ask yourself… ike

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  130. I keep hearing if this trend continues. I have to look in the mirror to see if I still have a head on my shoulders when I read that. A trend? I ask, what trend? One year does not make a trend.

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    1. He won with Chryst’s Players. His recruiting sucks. What is hard to see?? 4-7 and he can look back at recruiting and bad coaching.

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    1. Chet – Getting 3 stars and unranked kids is to be applauded? God the bar is so low here no wonder we have been inept for 30 years.

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  132. Tons of official visits which means these are kids that the coaches wanted regardless of the star ratings. Two more just committed, is that 7 or 8 I’ve lost count? I am sure by Feb some of these kids may not still be commited but concerns have been raised about closing kids on campus and there is no question the staff did a great job this weekend doing that. Congrats to the kids and coaches.

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    1. where are the 4 stars?
      Dont tell me these kids are 5.7 grades because most are not
      they are solid 3’s (5.5) which means they are not projected to make a high impact
      and please dont tell me this coaching staff will coach them up and we’ll be fine because Pitt is using the Wisconsin and Michigan St approach
      Pitt needs 4 stars
      an avg star of 3.0 in this 10 person class so far means more 6-6 seasons on the way

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  135. and not just by the way here….. Wishing all you special stand up men a very Happy Fathers day. Remember, taking care of our kids are what we are supposed to do!! << Chris Rock

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  136. Tx, you know I think you’re great too. PITT is very unlikely to pick a 4* anytime soon. Picking up an out of state highly recruited player comes at the very end of the process. I say this because there just isn’t a highly rated local recruit this year.

    Liked by 1 person

  137. I would think that even the Narduzzi naysayers can agree that he does a great job closing on kids that are on official visits. I can can concede that he doesn’t get enough of them to make official visits. But he does well when they do.

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  140. gc, most of these players are not diamonds in the rough. Before someone comes on and says they are not 4*, I know. They play at a very high level of competition. Before Reed comes on and tries to tell me that Florida players aren’t much different than any other region. I kind of know that as well but the way the recruiting sites regulate the number of players allowed into certain * ratings I do wonder. Why in the world would there be a cutoff of the number of 5* players. If a kid is a 5* talent why should he be left off because Rivals already assigned their limit. Same goes for 4*’s. Star ratings are basically a guideline it’s not a recruiting bible to me.

    What Narduzzi pulled off today is pretty incredible.

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  141. He had 20 some kids in town that Pitt is the best offer on the sheet. The level of the bar is so low you guys think this is positive. It literally cracks me up. And you wonder why he won 5 games last year.

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  142. I mean diamonds in the sense that they become impact players at Pitt. We get excited every year and then sufferthe let down later. Will they be Conner or will they be Pugh? Time will tell.

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    1. The fans demanded more and got rid of Stallings by not going or supporting. If you guys demanded more than 5 wins or 8 wins (Chryst’s Players) then maybe Heather would act and hire a real bonified HC. Heather never would of hired a DC. She has bigger balls than Herman. So yes, if it excites you we recruit like Toledo and Georgia Southern then more power to you. I prefer a winner and it starts with recruiting. Narduzzi couldn’t coach up Alabama’s Defense.

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    2. And what is negative???? Being truthful and honest. Write out the last 30 years records and Narduzzi’s Recruiting for me. Negative/ Hater is the buzzword for honest assesment.

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      1. Negative is mocking people that are genuinely excited on here about pitt getting a ton of recruits in a single day. U have gone out of ur way to shoot down any positive reaction from pitt fans.

        Liked by 2 people

        1. And upitt i’m sure pitt would be a popular job if they fire the coach that one two eight years seasons and then had one bad year. With the budget we have and the attendance we have that would be a great idea.

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          1. If it was apparent that coach won with the previous coaches players I would support it.

            What has Narduzzi done with his own guys. I’m trying to save us 3 more years of sucking and rip off the bandaid. He can’t recruit. That is 75% of it.

            Heather would get a winner here and pay the $ for it.

            Settling for Narduzzi because we have been a revolving door is not a plan it is a reaction and settle mentality.

            I’m not beating anyone up. Im trying to paint a future under Narduzzi.

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        2. Why do numbers matter whatsoever. Quality is key. I’d take a stud 4 star over 6 3 stars and a no ranking player.

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  144. Mark, that is simply not true. There were Big Ten offers and other P-5 offers to almost all these kids. So are you saying that PITT was a better offer than Nebraska as an example? If so, look where PITT is.

    Hope Reed is enjoying his Father’s Day and is just getting away… ike

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  145. I think the difference here is these recruits are really good athletes and will grow and develop. That is where PItt is right now but it doesn’t mean they are not recruiting well by some rating process. I am telling you this weekend was very good. Pitt got some future game changers. Partridge is killing it here. Don’t go by star ratings exclusively here. Pitt got some talent today. . Mack, Davis, Jules, are explosive.

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    1. Chet – Go back every year this time of the year and fans have said the same thing. 75% of those kids never did a thing under Narduzzi and most left the program.

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      1. And who on Pitt’s staff has shown any propensity to coach up anyone?

        I will check back in a few months. Like Tex wake me up when he recruits actual 4 star. Until that happens and happens often we will get owned in the ACC. Hell Boston college has a higher ranking than us and Northern Illinois.

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  146. Mark, Nebraska was an example so let’s just mention Jules had an off from UNC as another. PITT was certainly not any of these kids best off unless you are telling me PITT is greater than those schools?

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  147. BTW Mark, look over Jackson’s offer list. You’ll find Nebraska again and a slew of other big time schools. I guess they were non-commit-able offers?

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  149. As usual upitt has worked himself into an embarrassing and off-putting and completely un-self-aware frenzy

    Actually here are the P5 (plus premier G5) offers for Pitt’s listed commits (there’s 4-5 not listed yet)

    Deandre Jules: BC, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, UNC, Pitt, Purdue, Rutgers, Wake Forest
    Calijah Kancey: FAU, GT, Kansas State, Louisville, Pitt, Rutgers, South Carolina
    Travis Koontz: Louisville, LSU, Maryland, Pitt
    Leslie Smith: Pitt
    Khadry Jackson: Maryland, Missouri, NC State, Nebraska, UNC, Pitt, Rutgers, USF, UCF
    Vincent Davis: BC, FIU, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Pitt, Syracuse, Wake Forest
    Davis Beville: Northwestern, Pitt, Rutgers

    Not confirmed yet but another commit is said to be

    Brandon Mack: Kentucky, Louisville, LSU, Mississippi, Pitt, Mississippi State

    Plus 2 more commits whose names are not confirmed or rumored at this moment

    These are not bad offer sheets except Smith who has been touted by one of Florida’s top recruiting analysts and Beville who has also gotten a lot of compliments from analysts

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    1. So LSU and K- State. I will wait for the other good teams that are after the kids.

      Call it what you will. You guys choose to sit around the Pitt Kool Aid Campfire all you want. Recruiting like this gets you 6 wins maybe with a weak schedule.

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  150. Bostic – 5 stars.
    Pugh – 4 stars
    Grimm – 4 stars.
    Recruiting is like a box of chocolates…unless you’re Alabama or Georgia or Ohio State.

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  151. Pitt is recruiting where the talent is located. Doesn’t mean NJ and Ohio and DMV don’t have talent. But Pitt is expanding the recruiting into Alabama, Georgia, for example. ACC is a known and offer SEC level talent. Down year in the WPIAL so Pitt knows that is the best approach. Pitt is not a program that can blow anyone away and needs to win. But the staff IMHO is the best staff in years and I think they know what caliber of athlete is needed to compete. Was Miami over rated when they hung 40 on the Domers last year?. Yes, but Pitt beat a team playing for a NC shot. Much more explosive athletes in the mix here. Athletic high motor guys are never a bad thing.

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  152. Pitt goes up against Miami and va tech in the division. Any offers from those schools?

    It would play Clemson or Florida state in the championship. Any offers from those schools?

    No
    And
    No

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  153. Just goes to show ya. If you are hell bent on ripping PITT down you will rip PITT down. Today is a case in point. Ripping PITT today is really try way way too hard and it’s obvious. It just is.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. And lost to cupcakes and Syracuse and a 16 UNC team and haven’t won a bowl. It goes both ways. Listen Ike, we all want to be better and recruiting is the fastest way. That is the scariest part. He is recruiting like he coaches in the AAC not ACC. He has more funds and support. If Wanny had that or Chryst it would be amazing what they accomplished.

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  156. and don’t give me that low rated 3* BS. There’s no such thing as a high 3* rated player on the POV. Changing the goal posts. That also speaks for itself.

    Liked by 1 person

  157. Paul Chryst has more four stars than Pitt. I guess he’s not following the coach them up model. We know how well that worked for him at Pitt.

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    1. He also plays in front of 80 plus thousand every week and has been winning the last few years in a program that always wins. Much easier to recruit under those circumstances. We saw how he recruited at Pitt (not as good as Narduzzi despite competing against Sanctioned Ped St and not Franklin).
      Don’t get me wrong I liked Chryst. But listening to the Narduzzi haters act like he was so great compared to Narduzzi is just insane.

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      1. Chryst was a .500 coach at Pitt, plain and simple. If he had the “It” factor as a coach he would have gone at least 25-13 against those soft schedules and his staff wouldn’t have blown the bowl game to Houston.

        Chryst’s discipline and how he handled some kids was muddling to say the least. He is thriving at Wisconsin and good for him. He likely never would have won eight games in a season had he stayed at Pitt and Lyke would have replaced him.

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    2. Chryst recruitted against a sanctioned Pedo St. Everytime someone brings up Chryst’s recruiting, that MUST be brought up as well. We got AT LEAST 3 kids that decommitted from Pedo after sanctions were rhythmically slapped on them.

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  159. It’s silly to me that I hear these kids don’t have offers from Clemson, Miami or psu when PITT beat them the past two years. Did you hear that? The amount of effort being thrust here today to tear down Narduzzi is ridiculous and obvious. and to be quite honest is embarrassing to me. I don’t think anyone needs me to point this out though. So I move on and will enjoy the rest of my day.

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  160. Well, this is going pretty much like I expected, except we are getting more guys than I thought. Now everyone is getting excited. We are getting commitments, but are we getting players? I don’t know, and neither does anyone else. There are a smattering of good offers for most of these kids, but a heck of a lot from not so swift power 5 schools.

    I’m still concerned with recruiting. Nothing I’ve seen leads me to believe this will be a top 35 class. We will see. Guys, this is going to be a really interesting year for the direction of Pitt football!

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      2. Avg star is 3.0
        That equals mediocre
        Rankings are based on total count of stars
        You need to look at the average star
        And I’m really glad we’re beating out Appalachia state for these guys
        Of course we are ranked ahead of UCLA but they will get 8 four stars to our one
        Penn state will end up with 14 plus
        You guys are getting excited about nothing.
        Pitt recruits just slightly better than a MAC school
        Maybe that should be our conference

        Tex

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  163. Can’t we continue to be concerned about recruiting, while looking at the commits today as a possible trend? I think so, it doesn’t have to be either/or. H2P!

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  166. Florida recruiting is so important. Teams that have been consistent top 25 finishers with 2 and 3 stars from Florida are UCF and South Florida. UCF had the 67th ranked recruiting class in 2018 and South Florida 55. Pitt is going where the talent is. Pitt will have a class of over 20. Plenty of time to get some 4 stars. It was a very good day.

    UCF was 6th and South Florida 21st when the clock ticked midnight last season. UCF has an avg ranking in the low 70’s the last 4 years and South Florida has an average ranking in the high 50’s. Pitt has an avg ranking in the mid 30’s over the same period of time … and now consistently adding Florida talent to boot. They are fine. Right in line with Michigan State, Wisconsin, etc. Hell, even VT doesn’t recruit that much better than Pitt.

    Florida kids play football year around and Florida speed on the football field is just different.

    Recruiting Florida really cannot be understated. There are so many kids with D1 talent that they cannot all be scouted, thus the reason for the NR’s, which quickly turned into 3 stars. Creating a pipeline is important as well. These 3 stars from the schools may end up 4 and 5 stars in a few years because of Pitt’s dedication to the area.

    People seriously need to chill. Pitt plays in the Coastal. They are recruiting just fine right now to contend for the division’s title.

    Eventually they have to actually compete for the coastal and I’ve been saying all along it starts this season. Good teams overachieve. Good coaches get their teams to overachieve. The clock started in December. The leash is being reeled in on Narduzzi. It’s his team now. He got a pass last season for the transition year … and, yes, a 3rd year dip is very very common in the sport.

    Once Pitt can get to that point, you’ll see more 4 stars. Pitt just hasn’t earned that distinction … yet.

    This was a good day for Pitt, however. 3 stars does not mean that they are not difference makers. It just means that they generally need a redshirt. Pitt is young and can afford to redshirt these kids.

    Man, this blog can go insane sometimes. Talking about Pitt football 24/7/365 is just not healthy. Haha. Let this season play out. Hell, let this recruiting season play out. They haven’t even filled half the class yet.

    Liked by 2 people

  168. Some view the recruiting through the prism of programs that Pitt will never have that kind of cache. But the caliber of recruit no matter what some think is much better and much deeper. Narduzzi and Walsh have landed the best QB class since the Palko days. Not Wanhy, high octane or mooselodge have come close. DT and DE with Mack and Jules is really good. Secondary with Jackson, Pinnock, Mathis, P Ford, Garner, Campbell incoming class and Hill thus far is deep and talented. RB is good and offers more variety now. TE with the Grad transfer and JC are big bodies who add to things. The issue is OL and we will see if that is better going forward. Drake and Warren and Brown hopefully come along. .It is still somewhat early in the recruiting cycle so another 10 to 15 will add as well. Far better program than PItt has had but the ACC is a challenge.

    Liked by 1 person

  169. This blog must be buttoned up tighter than an old WW2 U-boat. Tried to send a message using an analogy from current events. It referred to Derangement Syndrome. Reading through the last few messages it seems like many folks have developed Narduzzi Derangement Syndrome. Whatever he does is by definition just not good enough.

    I wondered last night about the large influx of visitors – many of high quality. I noted PGH Sports Now suggested as many as half might commit to Pitt within a month or so. I thought that sounds crazy – but here we are. Any objective person would say this is pretty remarkable and give Narduzzi some props for pulling this off.

    Here we have negative messages before we even have the complete list of recruits available – that is simply insane.

    Liked by 2 people

  170. Hey TT, some on the POV wouldn’t know a good time if it sat on their face. To look and search for so much to be wrong today and excuse me for the term but I’m going to say it. You have an “agenda” and it’s big-time! … and hey that’s ok with me, that’s not my problem. I can appreciate good news because I recognize it when I see it and I embrace the truth unconditionally. This joint here has a very big sour taste in their mouth or they just aren’t realistic to what PITT really is or about. ike

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  171. Khadry Jackson will get a rating eventually + there’s one more unidentified commit… once Khadry gets a rating and the last commit from today is identified and listed Pitt could be in the top 30 with half the class still to go

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  172. First, Happy Father’s Day to all of you dads. Sorry fellas, but while I usually lean towards Iek more than I do towards UPitt, I have to jump to Mark’s defense on this one. If you look at our impact players over the past 30 years, as well as the impact players on other teams, they tend to be the higher star recruits. If HCPN was a coaching savant (hint: he’s not), he could elevate the program with two and three star recruits. But Mark is right. Nothing that HCPN has shown us so far suggests that he is going to do that. You cannot lose the games we lost last year and say with any sincerity that he is elevating the program. He has yet to win a bowl game. We are what we are, and what we have been: Mediocre. I was elated with the PSU, Clemson and Miami wins. But looking at he big picture, they have little meaning if you are finishing with 5 or 6 wins every year. I’m not giving up on HCPN yet, but I’m not inspired by his recruits. In fairness, I have not seen the tape on any of these kids yet. I’m relieved that we finally are getting a few horses in the barn. But I don’t see a Secretariat. In this regard, Mark is spot on.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Eric – Been thinking about you and your family today buddy. Happy Father’s Day! Capel proved it is possible and quick. Recruiting the right talent is 75% or more. Just because they are from Florida isn’t enough. They need to be the better ones out of Florida. Narduzzi makes enough money to perform. He needs to recruit better or won’t have a job with a real AD now.

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      2. Thank you, Mark. Father’s Day has a little special meaning to me today. Once I get my new kidney, I’m going to pay you a visit in Texas or Florida.

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    2. Teams that win championships have five stars
      Teams that consistently compete for titles have more than half their recruits rated four star and above
      There are some exceptions like whisky, Michigan state and TCU
      Pitt needs to get some difference makers
      Needs four stars
      A tough ooc schedule and conference gives no margin for error
      Wanny got an easy four elite players each year
      Narduzzi should be held to the same standard
      And he’s making twice as much as wanny did

      No more xcuses

      Tex

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  173. The comments knocking down Narduzzi’s great recruiting day are still greatly appreciated and welcomed. Yet when you trash such a day, just be prepared for incoming. I consider that fair enough.

    … and honestly… I feel some of you are really a lot smarter than to do it today. Between Heather’s vacation and today, you guys are tattle telling on yourselves.

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    1. Ike – Narduzzi could be caught nude with a clown wig with 6 midget hookers, a llama, and a lb of cocaine and you would defend him in some form and fashion.

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  174. Ike – It really is comical. Only here would landing 5 recruits from Florida, 1 each from Alabama, South Carolina and Maryland be bad. Lol. Isn’t that called recruiting ACC country? Smh.

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    1. Go defend Stallings some more Tossing. You were so good at that and thought he was awesome and light candles around your Dokish shrine.

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  175. ^^ and here I was going to offer you a kidney but that’s ok, I was running low anyways…. 🙂 🙂

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  176. I hope narduzzi is having some good three star steak today for Father’s Day.

    I know franklin is having some four and five star steak.

    Big difference in taste

    Franklin doesn’t need to cover his steak in Ketchup to make it taste good

    I’ll ship Nard dog some pepto tonight.

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  177. Pitt this weekend received 4 commits from Florida who are ranked in the top 150 in Florida. WTf is wrong with that? Top 20 in Bama in Mack. QB who is highly regarded as the 24th rated QB. Hill a safety who is a rivals 3 star but a 4 star on two other services. Not to be a downer but that is a great weekend to me.

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  180. Reed was busy all day – doing a podcast this evening. I’ll say two things right now:

    Getting 7 recruits in one day is impressive and
    2, They are about the exact same recruits Pitt got last year with one exception – they are from the South and FL. If that give you chills then good for you.

    I’m doing a podcast about the “Florida Recruit” syndrome Pitt fans have – if you do your homework, as I have spent the last three hours doing – you might see things a bit differently.

    But there are a few of these kids that are good – all have Chryst-like offers that Pitt fans wanted to run him out of town on a rail about – but some of those played well also. Like like a repeat of 2018 so far to me but there are months and 16 more spots to fill.

    I’ll get excited when we sign some Blue Chip kids though.

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  181. Another small note missed by the just a touch on the negative side posters. Narduzzi with the help of his staff and most namely Charlie Partridge are sweeping through the south like General Sherman. This is not a bad thing folks. It’s how a good coach sets things up.

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  182. Oh man, an anonymous poster trying to compare Pitt to Penn State. Lol. You need a foundation before you build a house. Only Pitt fans.

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  183. Ike – he drummed the bushes and he got exactly one 4* kid to take an official visit. Good coaches get the top shelf kids on campus and close the deal. Getting normal 3* players on campus and verballed is good but let’s not think this is the greatest thing ever… except if you have a hard on for FL players. Then it is wonderful.

    He did some good things but we need the better blue chip kids otherwise… 3* players play 3* ball as we began to see last season. Regardless of where they come from. i’m more interested in the next 16 recruits than this bunch actually – only one kid jumps out at me and that is the QB.

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  185. It’s a system defense. The stars don’t matter as much as fit. That’s part of the intrigue of running a system.

    The team is so young most of these kids won’t see much playing time until their 3rd year in the program.

    They do need 4 stars in offense. Especially at the skill positions, WR and RB.

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  186. Reed, for me it’s not about Florida but the competition and video I watch from these young men. Today is also more about what and how this was all set up and put into play. I think Charlie earned his promotion money times two.

    I think it would be a fun idea to review videos one by one and give feedback on what we see and think how the players impress or not to an individual commenters. ??

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  187. Waiting for Reed’s podcast……. Why do I feel like I’ve been told you’re in big trouble and wait until Patsy gets home boy?

    Liked by 1 person

  188. PITT ranked 33rd right now in recruiting and when Jackson gets rated and then bumped up to a 3 star they will be rated up even higher. Let’s hope Narduzzi stays on vacation at Disney World. Some of you need to step off….

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  189. Rivals site mentioned Brown and Allen are very interested in Pitt and were blown away with the visit. Brown safety from Bama has a couple 4 star ratings and 5.7 on rivals said final two are Pitt and LSU. Allen from IMG academy also was close to committing today as well. Both have big time offers from SEC programs. Pitt did really well today and I expect the 4 star argument will fade as Pitt recruits. Correct OL recruiting is key here.

    Liked by 1 person

  192. Here are the simple numbers..Using the site 247 Sports (had to use something) went back to the year 2007 and look at the AVG Star of each recruiting class – then looked at the Pitt football record 3 years later (when that class should be playing actual games)

    2007 Class: 3.04 stars 2010 Record: 8-5
    2008 Class: 3.47 stars 2011 Record: 6-7
    2009 Class: 3.09 stars 2012 Record: 6-7
    2010 Class: 3.12 stars 2013 Record: 7-6
    2011 Class: 2.45 stars 2014 Record: 6-7
    2012 Class: 3.17 stars 2015 Record: 8-5
    2013 Class: 3.07 stars 2016 Record: 8-5
    2014 Class: 3.20 stars 2017 Record: 5-7

    AVG: 3.07 stars AVG Record: 6.75(W) – 6.12 (L)

    If you love a team full of 3-stars, you love a 6-6 record (maybe 7-5 in a good year).

    I don’t want to hear about “coaching them up” (like other colleges don’t “coach up” their players as well ). I don’t want to hear about schedules – they are done far in advance of knowing how good your opponents will be. I don’t want to hear about “Florida 3-stars”. I get that star ratings are subjective. I get that you can have 2-star Aaron Donalds and 5-star Russell Shells….Just looking at the averages here.

    Doesn’t matter the coach or the ‘system’. Pitt, with their average 3.07-star recruits, screams 6-6.

    So you can be happy about today’s 3-star recruiting bounty – but then you’re happy with 6-6. You’re happy with being average.

    OK – Let me have it…

    Liked by 1 person

    1. 3 stars are like Shiner Bock to me. Solid but unspectacular.
      I’d rather have a cold Saint Arnolds IPA however

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    2. … and how many coaches and changes in schemes occurred in that period? More problems than the recruiting that showed up in the W/L column. Smh.

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  193. Just in case anyone is out there. PITT gets a very good commit in Kyri Wright. I think he is a really good pick up…

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  194. Jordano gone. 😦 Mark is doing his happy dance. Can’t say I blame him. PITT moving forward with Heather. Who would have thought?

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