Editor’s Note: turns out I’m day early on this – signing day is Wednesday – but better early than late. My wife delivered our second child (young Raphael Monteleone!) on Saturday morning and things have been a blur since then. Thanks for the understanding and I’ll try to post a pic once I can get the script onesie on him.

Michaelangelo

Most of the recruits are in the fold thanks to early signing day, but four-star Aliquippa talent MJ Devonshire sits out there like a glittering prize. Can Narduzzi win the sweepstakes and finish the 2019 class off with a WPIAL-grown crown jewel?

Every true Pitt fan hopes so.

In other news a number of readers will be attending the Pitt Signing Day event. I expect full reports and lots of inside information. Enjoy event and the day folks.

Michaelangelo Monteleone

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.

189 thoughts on “Signing Day Thread”

  1. Michelangelo my friend… my first thought…. I hope you don’t flame out as you are really on the beam these days and very prolific. Just a word from the wise.. I have seen it happen in the recent past.. BUT!! Thanks for another header leading up to a big day for PITT…… Thank You Mike!

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    1. Thanks Ike. We just had a baby two days ago so my activity may be curtailed a bit in the near future. Trying to get my wife to put him in a Pitt outfit and then I’ll post a pic

      Liked by 4 people

  2. Devonshire is one of only two Rivals 4-stars this year in the WPIAL/City. Since 2016, The WPIAL has produced thirteen four-stars; the city none. Pitt has gotten 3 of them thus far, 4 if Devonshire comes.. The others have gone to PSU, Michigan and especially ND, which seems to be very attractive to Central Catholic guys.

    13 four-stars would be a one or two year output for the WPIAL/City when many of us grew up. WPa may have literally gone from first to worst …. or pretty darn close.

    Summarizing an article that P-G HS Editor Mike White did back in October …. 30 years ago WPIAL-City had 27 Power 5 recruits and 47 FBS recruits. Ten years ago, there were 24 Power 5 and 38 FBS. So far this year 4 and 14.

    I hate to say it but WPa has become a wrestling area.

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  3. I keep reading that Pitt has used up all of its remaining scholarships. What about the two projected transfers? Or any other Sr. transfers that must await graduation to become official? Not sure where the excitement will come from this signing period.

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  4. VoR – they don’t do the math on scholarships until Fall semester starts. That’s when you have to be at or under the scholarship limits. Kids will leave after spring ball. 5th year kids will leave the program too. The scholarship stuff is just in the moment but in 6 months it will be significantly different.

    Liked by 2 people

  9. I hope I’m wrong but I think Devonshire may well sign with Kentucky tomorrow.—As for scholarships I believe Pitt is one over the limit after signing up our latest recruit this past weekend. So my guess is that Narduzzi will be encouraging several on the roster currently to seek another college if they still want to showcase their football talent.

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  15. BTW, per my son, 40 years ago today a Pittsburgh newspaper article appeared with the headline:

    “Central’s Marino Bound for Pitt”

    (I guess today, Danny Boy would be off to ND. ☹️)

    Go Pitt.

    Liked by 1 person

  16. In that article from 40 years ago, Pitt was recruiting two QBs – Dan Marino and Jon English. Jon was the son of Wally English, a recent hire on the Pitt staff. Apparently Dan and Jon had met on a visit and agreed to go to different schools. Both were considering Pitt and Mich State, among others.

    Well fortunately for us, Dan jumped aboard. Jon lasted one year at Mich State, and ended up transferring to a couple of schools before actually getting to play about half of his senior season at Tulane (where Wally had become the head coach…)

    Sounds like Jon English would have been a busy visitor to the transfer portal…

    Go Pitt.

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  17. ^^ I’m not so sure John… Marino had been raised on Oakland public water and it ran inside to outside of him. You know how city water goes right through ya. He’s an original Pittsburgh kid.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I think you’re right about Danny, ike. And I’m sure his parents/family liked having him in town.

      But there sure seems to be some sort of indoctrination going on now at CC with so many kids going off to ND.

      And kids leaving their home town seems to be less of an issue now, maybe because of all the connectivity we have…

      I’m still hoping Mr. Devonshire sees the appeal of staying home…like Danny did! 😊

      Go Pitt.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Pitt has four CC alum on it’s roster – Hamlin, Garner, Wheeler and David Green.

        There is more talent on that current team to harvest.

        Go Pitt!

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    1. (Maas) I believe you’re right, and I think he has another sister that married KDKA’s Larry Richards

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  19. Thanks for the correction wwb. Yes Larry Richards, who I thin is very talented, married the another sister. These are Pittsburgh people for sure. although I don’t think Maas is still in the family at this time.

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  20. Congratulations Mike! Kids are such a great gift and going from one to two really amps up the workload. Don’t be afraid to lean on your readers for help with the POV if you become overwhelmed.
    I’m really looking forward to the LOI event tomorrow. It will be good to see Inoke Brechterfield again! 😎

    Liked by 2 people

  23. so MM, what’s it going to be … the baby or us? Yea, I know what you’re going to pick …. us, of course, but I really believe you should think things out.

    But seriously … it doesn’t take too much to get us going. We can do the heavy lifting when necessary.

    The heartiest congrats to you and the Mrs

    Liked by 2 people

  24. When Danny signed, Pitt had recently won a NC and was loaded at many positions. A definite top ten program. They had awesome linemen on both sides of the ball. Danny knew he would have the best line blocking for him, unlike KP who is running for his life on most plays.

    Today Pitt is still struggling for football relevance so obviously not the same environment. Today Danny would go to one of the perennial top ten teams.

    Also a couple other points, as wbb pointed out earlier, the WPIAL was a force back then, so more kids to stay home. Also unlike today, with the internet and social media, much easier to stay connected, back then when you went away, you were gone. Facebook, Twitter, Texting, mobile phones, back then long distance calls were expensive and you made them from a pay phone in your dorms.

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  25. MM, congrats on the new addition to the Pitt family. Keep up the good work we will need many more additions from the likes of you to help fill up Heinz Field.

    Liked by 1 person

  30. Congratulations, MM! As a 67 year old senior on the blog, what I wouldn’t give to go back to those days. Enjoy every moment. Cause you’re going to blink and they’ll be gone. If I can ask, was your first a boy or girl, and what is his/her name? Really happy for you!

    Liked by 4 people

  31. MM

    I don’t post often, but can’t pass up the chance to congratulate you and your wife. Wishing your family good health and hopefully your wife and HCPN will be lucky tomorrow. Her with a pain-free delivery and both your son and Devonshire wearing Pitt script.

    Liked by 2 people

  33. Went golfing today so I’m a bit behind..
    Will be hanging in the parking lot with Scooter around 4 with some cold beer if anyone is coming early to the LOI event.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lastrow – I went golfing today too. I shot an 86 with snow on the course – not having my 7 and 9 irons cost me at least 2 strokes.

      The snow (very little to deal with) cost me 2 strokes as well on the greens.

      Sunny and warm. Living the dream…

      Liked by 1 person

  35. Congratulations Mike!!! That is great news indeed. I wish Coach Narduzzi much luck tomorrow, but none of his recruits can match the star power of baby Raphael. Someone mentioned it above, but I love that masculine, angelic name.

    Liked by 2 people

  36. Raphael Monteleone, That’s a tough name to spell for a 6 year old. Please tell me you didn’t give him the middle name of “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’. . …. . . .:)

    Liked by 1 person

  38. MM. I assume you named your son after the Italian artist just as you were named, Pretty cool. On the other hand, if you named him after a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle …. well then I have 2nd thoughts about it.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hopefully the next Morrisey.

      Saw where Daequan Hardy is going to PSU.
      I think a big mistake for Pitt not to go after a Penn Hills guy with a lot of upside.
      Really bad if they don’t get Devonshire.

      Like

      1. for whatever reason, Pitt apparently wanted no part of Hardy. According to Rivals and 247, Pitt did not offer. It will be interesting to see if his Rivals 2-star rating will be elevated now that he signed with the Nits. I thought it would be after the state title game, but it wasn’t

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  43. Obviously a positive thing if Devonshire comes, not the end of the world(program) if he doesn’t.

    Pitt’s recruiting is below average. Devonshire coming or not doesn’t change the overall picture all that much.

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    1. if you see his tweets during both FB and BB games, he’s just like every other Pitt fan. He’s overjoyed with the coaching when things are going well, and visa versa.

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  54. Well, IMO, the important announcement was that we got OL Nolan Ulizio to sign with us. Help where we need it now.

    H2P

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  56. Pitt athletics is on quite an unbelievable losing streak over the past couple of weeks. Both the FB and BB teams are really having their troubles especially on the recruiting front.

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  59. Here’s a theory.. PITT does have some nice young depth in the D backfield. I think Hamlin will get back a years eligibility he used as a freshman. Devonshire wouldn’t have seen the field right away and he knew that… So off to the whipping boy school Kentucky.

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  62. Or he could have felt Kentucky’s coaching staff is better than Pitt’s which is true given thier 10-3 record and #12 ranking.

    Three winning seasons in a row and a recent bowl win to get them to 10 wins means something… Like a program on the rise.

    Liked by 3 people

  65. Not an excuse NRS just one theory. Plus I agree, not that great of a loss… There was a reason Narduzzi didn’t offer him until late in the process.

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    1. Yeah, that showed a lot of class. It is actually quite appropriate that the big live announcement had no audio and flawed streaming.

      Great to see Reed commenting again.

      H2P

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  67. So are we giving Narduzzi six years to get ten wins?

    In his first five years, Stoops record was 26 – 36. If he was at Pitt, Pitt fans would have wanted him fired. He didn’t win above 7 games and lost every bowl game.

    After four years, Stoops 19-30, PN 28-24.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. once again …. Kentucky’s OOC

      Central Mich / Murray St / Middle Tennessee and Louisville .. which this year was worse than the other 3

      Liked by 1 person

      1. NTL, I do think Kentucky was better than Pitt this year …. but when you talk W and L, the schedule has to be considered

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    1. Nope. And, they did not dump Winston. Must be a function of how valuable they think the kid is—not what he did wrong. Can’t do much worse than what Winston did.

      H2P

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    1. Pitt offered him before six other schools did and Pitt was one of two official visits he took. Quit blowing smoke – Pitt lost out on one of the best local recruits and a kid who you would be singing praises of had he chosen Pitt.

      C’mon Ike… Be a bit realistic at least.

      Liked by 2 people

  74. Hey Reed, I was tuned in and hoping MJ picked PITT for a bunch of different reasons. Being a 4* at the top of the list. Playing at Aliquippa another. Perception pretty high up there as well. Yeah, I wish he would have signed with PITT but I think it was very apparent he never was going to do that. Before he was finally offered, Narduzzi was heavily questioned as to why he wasn’t offering him. He knew….

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  79. Love it or hate it, I suspect PN has 2-3 years left, unless he struck gold with the new OC. As many have speculated, I think it’ll be recruiting that will ultimately be his undoing, and I’m not talking about Devonshire, he’s just one guy and he could be great or a bust, far more importantly is the class as a whole, which just doesn’t move the meter, and is reflective of a staff that is consistently mediocre in the critical area of recruiting. I do appreciate that PN has stabilized the program and brought back a degree of respectability, but at $$$ millions in annual compensation, that only gets you so far. Given Lyke’s history here, I suspect she will be watching things closely over the next year or two.

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      1. Yet playing much better than last year’s team. Write-up on basketball and projecting into next year would be a breath of fresh air.

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  81. a very disappointing class
    probably Narduzzi’s worst in his 4 years if you go by avg star ratings from Rivals
    with recruiting trending down, this doesnt bode well for the program’s future

    I understand that winning bowl games and being ranked come seasons end will help
    But I think it goes beyond that
    Something is rotten on the South Side and its not the dead possum on the side of the road

    what explains the lack of recruiting results relative to peer schools?
    Look at what other ACC schools have done recently. They are building for their futures.
    Pitt is building for more 6-6 seasons.

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  82. Jus saying… it’s very possible that PITT could have landed their best QB recruit prospect in over 30 years… again…. jus saying. A book is best not judged by it’s cover.

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  83. Well, here’s a quite apropos article on signing day and the current state of recruiting. Leads off with a picture of a Pitt recruit and his mom. And, here’s an excerpt from the article; Narduzzi should take note.

    “For college football, recruiting is the lifeblood,” said Luke Stampini, a recruiting analyst at 247Sports. “If you’re not recruiting well, you’re probably not going to be around for long.”

    Liked by 1 person

  84. Signing day and all we have to talk about is a grad transfer who didn’t start, a 2 star we snatched from the Airforce, and guys who we recruited 30 years ago. Narduzzi is rolling. Oh BTW, congrats on the new addition. At least there is SOME good news.

    Liked by 1 person

  85. “We came back that Sunday, I talked to my parents on Monday, Coach (Mark) Stoops came to my house on Tuesday and from there I was sold,” Devonshire said. “I was ready to go.”

    The 5-foot-11, 170-pound senior met with Pitt coaches last Thursday to “see what they had to say,” but they couldn’t sway his decision.

    Trib Review

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  86. “If there’s something for Pitt fans to be up in arms about, it ought to be the lack of overall quality in Pitt’s recruiting class, especially when it appeared to be poised for success.”

    Alan Saunders
    PittSportsNow

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    1. Alan is late to the party. Reed and others have been saying this for years.

      And what Narduzzi recruits have made a significant impact to this point…after 4 years?

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  87. Pitt’s middle of the road football budget gets them middle of the road recruits and middle of the road records. It is what it is.

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  90. Ahem… Que the speech…. If PITT would have played Kentucky and or Syracuse’s OOC schedule, along with PITT winning the coastal division this past year.. PITT too would have been ranked in the final top 25 poll… and oh yeah, PITT beat Syracuse this past year and no, there is absolutely zero proof that Dungey played with a hangover. << That’s fake news and a bad attempt to diminish a PITT victory.. ike…

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  91. Ike, you’re probably right, but Narduzzi is 4 years in and I really don’t know of any reasonable excuses for his mediocre recruiting at this point. Stoops is recruiting people to Kentucky- for football- yes, that’s Kentucky football, with zero tradition and a horrible on field track record up to last year. On 247 Kentucky came in at #34, Pitt at #53. It’s not fair to compare recruiting in vacuum like that I know, but to me, if I’m the AD, I give him a year or two with the new OC, see how it goes, then move on. If she does something sooner, which would shock me, I’d be OK with that too. So unless things turn around on the field quickly- and I mean next year- the drum beats will just get louder and louder.

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  92. BTW, KY has about a 60,000 seat stadium. They filled it last season for their conference games and drew a minimum of 47000 for their crappy out-of-conference opponents.

    Go Pitt.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Good for them. That doesn’t change the fact that its a historically crap program with no tradition, and that’s all it takes to turn things around, getting the right coach. That’s the point. Of course attendance may be helped by the area, not sure how much there is to do in Lexington in terms of sports entertainment competition.

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    2. Pitt has a 68,000 seat off campus stadium where students get bused 5 miles. Last year, Pitt drew 35,000 yellow seats to their games. But, the students and fans got free bobble heads and Fantas. 🙂

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      1. I didn’t get a Fanta & I love the grape flavor. Went to Cuse game. But a POV friend (thanks Rick) got me a bobblehead.

        Btw – South Carolina has their own off campus stadium & the students can ride a school provided bus for the 4 mile trip but no drinks or snack.

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  93. I have been complaining about recruiting since Narduzzi’s first real class.

    If anything it is getting worse.

    Recruiting is the lifeblood of any football program and we are trending downward.

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  94. So Franklin a much more successful recruiter than Narduzzi takes Hardy as his last pick.

    As far as I know Narduzzi never offered. A kid from the school that brought us Donald, Fralic and Flynn among others. Pathetic! A kid that scored 5 touchdowns in the State Championship game.

    Liked by 2 people

  96. 1618, I’m not against what you’re saying. PITT winning football games is what is important to me the most, not who the head coach is. << That’s the truth. It’s just the constant turnover of the PITT coordinators that are blurring my opinion on where this PITT football program stands right now.

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    1. You and me both. As far as the coordinators blurring things, I agree, and to me one last hurrah is the new OC, which I mentioned earlier, and this maybe buys him another 2 years? 3? At some point the HC has to take responsibility. I don’t think Narduzzi is a bad coach by any means, but if he isn’t able to recruit well enough, or won’t matter.

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  97. Fran, Scooter, Richman, Mark and anyone else attending tonight’ LOI event — I regret that I won’t be able to join you guys. I started getting a cold/flu on Monday and it’s a whopper. My nose has run so much it could be to NYC by now.

    Anyway, I don’t want to “pass” this on to you guys or Mr. Whipple or Coach Beatty. (We need our QBs and WRs to be healthy to work on improving our passing game. 😊 )

    I think I’ve only missed one of these events, going back to Walt’s days…

    Have fun! I’m sure you will. Looking forward any comments or observations.

    (If you get a chance to talk to Coach Whipple, maybe someone could blurt out “Screen Pass!” — just to get his reaction. 😊)

    Go Pitt.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I won’t be able to join yinz either, but not because of the flu or cold. I am sick from the way this recruiting shtick went down.

      Still haven’t renewed my tickets for 2019 – the year Pitt defends it’s Coastal championship.

      Need Duzz and Heather to give me some good reasons – MD would have done it!

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  98. Year/Avg Stars/#5.7 rated and above

    2019/ 2.89/ 3
    2018/ 3.05/ 11
    2017/ 3.04/ 6
    2016/ 3.08/ 7
    2015/ 2.80/ 6

    These figures are from Rivals
    For comparison, Miami and Va Tech over this period have averaged around a 3.3 avg star. Pitt stands at a 3.0

    Miami and Va Tech typically land 12 recruits rated 5.7 or above. 4-star kids start out at 5.8 stars. Pitt lands less than half that.

    Make no mistake, this was a bad recruiting year for Pitt.

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  100. The closer in all recruiting of the big fish targets is the in home visit by the head coach. The Trib article very clearly lays out Stoops personality beat out Narduzzi. Plain and simple I do not feel that Narduzzi is not that bad of a coach but he is a terrible closer in recruiting the few top end targets a good program needs every year. For Pitt I feel you need 4 to 5 4stars every class anything less is not enough.

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  101. Can’t sugarcoat this below the line class. Ike, I hear you on not judging a book by its cover…….but we’ve had years of books with worn, recycled covers while 45 schools above us have hard cover books. Sure we can, and have, get lucky with 2 and 3 stars. But he can’t close because you have to be a great salesman to sell this stadium and atmosphere. The truth is he’s arrogant, not likeable or popular and thus makes it harder.

    That said, I know you are not a Narduzzi apologist…….

    He can’t recruit and that won’t change so we kind of are what we are.

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      1. Hey Reed… Much like Narduzzi himself… I don’t understand why you allow yourself to be bothered so much by me? I didnt do nuffing. 🙂

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  102. This all goes back to drum Reed has been banging for 3 years now. Narduzzi’s best years were with Chryst recruits. Please everyone please spare me but we won the coastal. This year’s coastal was way behind an old big East conference schedule.

    Liked by 1 person

  103. Two years and our record is 12 wins 14 losses. This program is trending down. Our best player last year was Ollison a Chryst recruit. Aston a Chryst recruit. Idowuo Chryst rChrist and on and on.

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  104. Narduzzi went 6-2 in the division. and won it…. I must be crazy to think that’s some sort of progress…. oh that’s right. The other teams stunk and played with hangovers…..

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    1. Pitt got all the breaks this past year. They got lucky. And Dungey was hung-over.

      Yet

      Pitt still managed to get blown out by Clemson, lose another bowl game and not be ranked

      7-7 is nothing more than mediocre

      That participation trophy for winning the Coastal should be junked

      Liked by 1 person

  106. Regarding Stoops…

    Never met him. But I do have family in Ohio with close ties to the Stoops family. I’ve been told he is easily the most likeable of the Stoops coaching brothers.

    That can go a long way when it comes to CLOSING the deal with the family on an in-home visit.

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  107. A 500 record is not progress it’s flatlining. There is nothing to sell 0-3 in bowls a revolving door of coaches. Losing to North Carolina. All hat no cattle from Narduzzi.

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  108. Per a tweet from Chris Dokish per Rivals on PN recruiting rankings since he came aboard:

    How Rivals ranked Narduzzi’s four full recruiting classes
    2016- No. 29
    2017- No. 38
    2018- No. 36
    2019- No. 47

    Regardless of how you feel can we all agree this is not the direction you want to be going?

    Dave

    Liked by 3 people

    1. What is really scary about this is typically that first class is a disaster as the old coach leaves and you are struggling to keep as much as you can from deserting the ship.

      That was actually PN’s strongest year.

      SMH/Sigh

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      1. That first class was impressive to me — and unfortunately we lost a couple of the top kids in that class to medical issues. Just our luck.

        That Hill kid from Ohio would have been the fastest kid on the team…

        Go Pitt.

        Liked by 1 person

  109. I’m too depressed to discuss this subject. Narduzzi can’t change his personality, he can only hire coaches who can shoulder the recruiting efforts. He better hope that the new OC and WR coaches can make a difference or it is over for him. I think we can put to rest the idea that winning the Coastal added any value to recruiting.

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  110. VOR… you pretty much nailed it..

    The X Factor is just how much improvement we will see in the Passing Game now that there is finally a Coach on board with the ability to teach the “Art of Quarterbacking.”

    Personally, I think Pickett is going to be alright. But if not him, then Patti and if not Patti then Beville.

    Problem is… there is certain to be a DROP OFF in the Running Game with Ollison and Hall both gone.

    Going to be interesting.

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  111. Think it’s fair to say that “Devonshire Day” has turned out to be “State of the Program Day” with the focus it has placed on Narduzzi’s recruiting.

    Similarly, next year will likely be the “Season of Decision” regarding the future direction of the Program.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Had a good discussion with Kman today. We both agree Duzz hung on to his job ONLY because he won the Coastal.

      That will be the low water mark in 2019 or Heather cans Duzz.

      Recruiting is tough to Pitt because of Heinz Field. Not having an on campus stadium is severally hindering the program. Another administrative blunder…

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  112. One of the great adages of life is “people buy from salesmen they like. “
    The first book I had to read as a young salesman is “How to win friends and influence people” by Dale Carnegie published in 1936. How you come off to people is as important today as 1936.

    I was Blessed, people seemed to like me and I was a natural in sales. But there is a set of rules!

    Duzz is not Blessed. He’s abrasive and aloof …. or at least that’s how he comes off to many. I would think he’d want to improve that image.

    Maybe he should read the book!

    #47 recruiting class is unacceptable.

    Liked by 8 people

  113. I don’t see how I really sugar coated anything. Please, read what I type, you can trust this to be true, if PITT would have reeled in the 9th best recruiting class, I would have been much more excited and happy BUT…..I still would have expressed a wait and see mind-set on how these young recruits pan out in a few years. I follow recruiting fairly closely and all things considered, with the understanding that sometimes the numbers don’t necessarily add up with the second tiered group of teams. A recruiting class made up of 3* 17 and 18 year old kids is a total crap shoot. It causes me to pause and wait before I judge. I’m different that way. You know the Hugh Green’s and Aaron Donald’s have taught me a couple good lessons.

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  114. So Stoops swoops in and takes away a kid who hadn’t been to their campus until recently. How does this happen?

    It is BS that the kid was never coming to Pitt. If Narduzzi “KNEW” he wasn’t coming to Pitt, why did they waste their time, money and efforts on him? Sorry guys, just not buying that story. It’s kind of like the dairy college saying they didn’t want our kid anyway. If Stoops would have settled for that reasoning of Devonshire not being interested in his school, he never would have come to recruit the kid at all. This is all about settling. Stoops didn’t settle and was rewarded without spending much time or money to recruit the kid. I wish the kid well but at the end of the day, Narduzzi got beat by someone who spent a week recruiting the guy.

    University of Portal for Narduzzi recruiting. Well, it worked out well for the island of misfits for rudolph the reindeer.

    You are either an influencer or you are not.

    Stoops got the KY AD and Administration to pony up $150M for a complete overhaul of their ON CAMPUS stadium. They understand that they can’t rely on one revenue producing sport to make it.

    Mike – Congrats on the new anklebiter. Best of luck to you and your lady. Much health, happiness, long life and prosperity for him.

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    1. Pitt trots recruits to an off campus stadium with 35,000 yellow seats and far more once the students leave after receiving their free Fanta. Thats a tough sell.

      Then they have recruits attend a Pitt basketball game and Pitt comes away a loser.

      The tactics need to change.

      Frankly, the Head Coach needs to change.

      Liked by 2 people

    2. Hufff III, that was my thought exactly. Pitt never had a chance especially when I heard his final choices were OSU and UK

      Like

  115. Heather has to live with her extension of the Dog. But it was well known this dog had some fleas and she did nothing about it. She ended up enabling him.

    So the extension did give Pitt a participation trophy that they can place in their glass case but it also provided yet another .500 year, several blow out losses on national TV, a bowl loss, no final ranking and a dismal recruiting class.

    In 2019, its 10 wins or bust. Thats a wrap.

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  116. Does the lack of OCS affect recruiting? Kids like to roll out of bed and walk to practice in their own stadium. Is KY that way?

    Some kids want to get away from their parents, some do not. Recruiting in today’s world of social media is a real crap shoot.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. If you were a 17 year old, would you like to play in front of 35,000 yellow seats?
      Would you like to hear your fellow students complain every year about being bused 5 miles off campus to see a game?
      Would you feel unappreciated if 90% of the students left at the 3rd quarter?
      Do you really think practicing and playing on the same fields as the drama Queen and under-achieving Steelers is neat?
      Do you prefer Heinz or Hunts?

      Liked by 1 person

      1. To me, this photo is Pitt’s and Narduzzi’s problem in recruiting.

        You can bet that our recruiting opponents show the recruit photos of Heinz versus photos of their packed stadiums.

        That’s a tough negative to overcome when recruiting the elite players, who have several good offers and are looking for reasons to narrow down their list. Tough decision, but not hard for the elites to scratch Pitt once they see those photos of Heinz, IMHO.

        Go Pitt.

        Like

        1. thats why Pitt needs to tarp the upper deck
          and conduct a feasibility study for an OCS
          Oh wait, it was conducted by Populous and they did say it was feasible
          So why not make it part of Victory Heights?
          $$$$$

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  117. Great comments all around. Not much else going on for awhile, so I will add a few to keep the pot stirring.

    If we took a poll, I wonder how many of us think Kentucky brought out the booster pack for Devonshire? Was it money, women, apparel deals, anything similar to what they may do for their bball players?
    Personally, I would vote yes to something like that having happened and their head coach may not even know of it yet. While we may never know, I wonder what a poll like that would look like..

    Secondly, I wonder if there is any correlation between the dwindling amount of 4 and 5 star recruits in PA and Pitt’s recruitment rankings?
    It costs a lot more money to recruit by plane than by car. I imagine we really chew through out recruitment budget. You see and visit a lot less recruits if you need to find them by plane.

    I also wonder if there has been a similar decline in Virginia techs local area as well as miami’s.

    As for this year’s recruiting, I get the impression what you did the year before matters the most to the majority of recruits, as opposed to what happened this last fall. The most recent season though, probably matters more to the high 4 and 5 stars.

    This would include coaching changes and on field success in their decision making processes.

    With that in mind, if our oline coach was deemed by recruits as an improvement this year, then we should see improvement in our oline recruits for the next signing period.

    Some schools can weather the coaching changes when they have a lot of other areas of success, such as wins and losses and stadium atmosphere. I don’t think we are at that level yet.

    I think narduzzi is an above average coach, but I do not think he is a great coach. I don’t know if that changes with stability and time, but with the Capel hire, after reading what he wrote about his dad, and seeing some of the early success he has had a few times this year already, I feel we hired a really great coach for the basketball program.

    Liked by 3 people

  119. Great job Frank…. I would be looking for a challenge instead of a walk in the park. We can all have a stroll in the park on a Saturday…. PITT football is no walk in the park. perspective…

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  120. Like

  122. M.Devonshire was the only recruit signed by KY today AND he was the sixth DB signed by KY in this 2019 class.

    Interesting choice by the young Quip.

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    1. Proven HC’s were too expensive at that time for Pitt’s budget. Sir Patrick Gallagher went the less expensive and less experienced route.

      SOP!

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  125. ‘None Shall Pass’
    ‘I move for no man’
    ‘Tis but a scratch’
    Remember – the Black Night was down to no arms and legs after the chopping was finally done
    ‘We’ll call it a draw’

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  126. We are where we are…. how do we fix this? Heather..you out there?

    The fix is so obvious. It’s doable.

    Start planning to build a 45,000 near campus stadium. I can give u five spots. Can you imagine the excitement, the recruiting bump, the comaradie it would cause??!!

    Heather …. you would go down as the greatest AD in Pitt history !!

    Imagine a stadium called Pitt Stadium. … again.

    Liked by 1 person

  127. Like

  130. The only reason PITT lost 7 games and finished with a 500 record is because they earned the right to get beat up by the eventual national champion in the ACC title game.. When was the last time a PITT football team played 14 games in a football season?. Don’t bother looking it up cause it has never happened before.

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    1. No Ike, the reason we lost 7 games is that we played like crap in those last three games getting outscored 80-26.

      Don’t act like losing to Clemson was inevitable – you still dine out on our beating them earlier.

      The goal is to win more than you lose and PN hasn’t done that in 50% of the seasons he has coached at Pitt. 12-14 in his 3rd and 4th years sucks.

      Add to that another loss to bottom dweller NC and a crap recruiting class to finish out the season (following a poor 2018 class) and even you should be able to see the actual state of the program.

      Liked by 1 person

  131. Reed, if memory serves, you picked Stanford to win by 17 (or something like that) … and then you say Pitt played badly even though Pitt outgained Stanford by about 150 yards. The only difference in the game is that Pitt was within the 10 yard line twice but had to settle for FGs

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  132. Sorry, but I have a problem with this statement; PN still has that Alabama attitude. Substitute Alabama for Pittsburgh: #Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi: “I want guys that love Pittsburgh, okay, and that’s what it comes down to. You either love Pittsburgh and you want to stay here and play for your city or you don’t. And if you don’t, I’m good. We wouldn’t win with you anyway. It’s beautiful.”

    Maybe kids like Devonshire have friends and family who might consider Pitt someday. Or Devonshire may someday want to transfer. Would they want to play for this guy? This arrogant attitude may be characteristic of a coach who consistently brings in top 10 recruiting classes, not #54. I think he knows he is not cutting it, and is very defensive.

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