Unless you live in a cave, you probably have heard by now that by some divine intervention, we were able to grab Cameron Saddler out of the firm grip of UVa's hands. Maybe I was trying to prepare myself for the worst just like I was doing for the WVU game, but I never expected us to land him. According to some people close to the program, his attitude towards Pitt really changed after the WVU game. He was at WVU on his official visit and after the game had ended he wanted to go into the Pitt locker room but wasn't able to. I have also heard rumblings that Wanny and Dickrod went to his house around the same time and that Dickrod was not pleased to see the old Wannmobile in the driveway.
This commitment is huge not because he is a 4 star return specialist from what has been a PSU pipeline high school, it is important because Saddler is the type of player you want in your program. He is very well spoken, highly intelligent, and appears to be passionate about everything he engages in. The second biggest thing about this commitment will be the domino effect we see. Saddler has been open in admitting that he and Shayne Hale would like to go to the same college. Hale originally had crossed Pitt off his list, but all of a sudden in a recent interview Hale said that Pitt is back in the fold. Again, it will be hard to beat UVa, but if there is one thing Wanny has shown he can do better than anyone else in the Big East, it is recruit.
Speaking of linebackers, we just landed quarterback Zach Stoudt. I know you are wondering where this is going, but let me explain. Stoudt is a highly rated Qb from Dublin Oh (motherland of Adam Graessle). Not only is he the son of the man who replace Terry Bradshaw at quarterback in 1983, but he is also good friends with a linebacker from the Buckeye State. That linebacker would be Steve Gardiner. If we can land Gardiner (which is about 97%) and Hale, we would be in very good shape at linebacker with this year and last years class.
Still no work on Jonathan Baldwin. He will be a Panther, but the question is when will he announce? My best guess is that he will wait until late in the recruiting process to make an announcement. If you notice he also has Florida and Miami on his interest list. Pitt, Miami, and UF. It sounds like someone is going to have a couple of nice vacationing weekends in Florida before becoming a Panther.
Lastly, if you are worried about the number of scholarships this year, don't let it bug ya too much. Pestano will not be back on the team next year. On field performance as well as reported attitude issues have cost him his scholarship. Wanny has remained strong in his belief that he will hold up his end of the deal and if you do not hold up your end he will pull your scholarship. He has done this each and every season. I wouldn't be surprised to see a couple of more guys (think DL and DB) to be gone in the next few weeks.
As more news happens we will continue to let you know about it.
13-9.
Friday, December 7, 2007
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2 comments:
Baldwin will be a Panther. I expect Saddler to bring in Hale as well. Apparently, Gardiner recently got an offer to grayshirt at his "dream" school, THE Ohio State University, so our chances have dropped considerably. There's another Ohio LB that is a current Nebraska commit who I've heard will switch to Pitt. If we can land him and Hale, that would be a fine LB duo.
This should be an interesting recruiting weekend, especially with the QB's. Stoudt's commitment came out of the blue, and I would consider it a soft verbal. I think he committed now so that his spot wouldn't get taken, but will jump ship if a Big 11 school offers.
Stoudt only has offers from like BG and another MAC school. I doubt that OSU or any other Big10 school will offer him. I just wonder if this will affect Sunseri. I don't think he'll ever start here at QB with Bostick, Stoudt, and Stull but he could help bring in those other WPIAL players if he commits.
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