Putting the Pieces together

Well today was a big day for the Pitt Panthers. JuCo center Robb Houser made a wise choice and decided that the last two years of his college career would be best spent at Pitt. When it basically came down to Pitt and Syracuse you had to feel great about where we stood. Wannstedt really knows how to recruit and with some wins (like the WVU game) could really make a huge splash nationally in the recruiting scene.

Speaking of recruiting, Shayne Hale, Cameron Saddler, and Jonathan Baldwin were all in attendance at the Pitt/OSU bball game today. For a long time Hale did not even consider Pitt, however friend and teammate Cameron Saddler chose Pitt, and Hale then became interested. Many felt that Hale/Saddler were a package deal and if that is the case, then the sun is shining brightly on Pitt.

I didn't talk to Shayne at the game but I can tell you this about his visit. He came over to the Zoo with Cameron and watched the game for a few minutes with the Zoo. Not only that, but Shayne and Cameron were both wearing Oakland Zoo shirts. There were many signs and chants from the small Zoo crowd. At this point, I'm fairly confident that Wannstedt will be getting a silent verbal from Mr. Hale and we will continue to keep the Wannstache recruiting train rolling.

Stay tuned folks, this is just the beginning.

Even the WVU band has class

Today's PG has a nice article about how a few members of the WVU band are being "disciplined" for their actions at the Backyard Brawl. You can find the link here.

While we admit that our fans are not always the best, you can always expect to find WVU fans embarrassing themselves with every given opportunity. From the rock throwing incident this year, to Gray's a Fa***t at last year's Backyard Brawl Basketball game. I really didn't expect the WVU band to get involved. Fans at games do not have anyone looking over them to make sure they aren't starting a bad chant (unless you are a zoo leader), but the bands always have the director as well as other assistants who are in the presence of the band for the entire game.

C'mon guys, if you were going to pull crap like that you should have known that 1. You're in the band and should act with more class than the rest of your fans, 2. Doing things like that in a large rivalry game will put extra attention on you so calm down and drop the inappropriate stuff.

While I do not trust most Pitt students to always behave accordingly (see the youtube videos), I know for a fact that our band will never do anything that would warrant an article in the Post Gazette about it.

Another Commit

Tino Sunseri has committed to give us our 3rd QB of the class. Depth is no longer going to be an issue it seems.

12 down, ??? to go.

While some people saw it coming, and I certainly did not, Pitt got a commitment from 6'5 WR Mike Shanahan. Now don't get me wrong, I'm just as upset as you are. I hate Shanahan and his entire system that he will bring from Denver. Alright, sorry, that was a poor attempt at humor, i'll let the guys at Panther Rants make all the jokes. Shanahan adds a nice set of height and speed to our lineup. It is amazing how deep our offense is becoming. With all of the commits that gives us 5 Qb's on scholarship who will have the opportunity to hand the ball off to our amazing core of running backs and a great set of receivers. The only thing that could make Shanahan more explosive is if he had a very tall, very athletic tight end to go with him.

OH WAIT!!!

There is more news!!

Jonathan Baldwin announced today that he is going to be a Panther. Now this is no surprise given that it was leaked he called Wanny after the brawl. He has family connections to Pitt and continues that great Alliquippa pipeline to Pitt. Baldwin is the #3 ranked tight end in the country and is almost as a sure shot for the NFL as any other recruit prospect this year. His height and speed will make matchups a nightmare for everyone else in the Big East.

While we, and others, have questioned Wanny's coaching ability, there is no doubt he is by far the best recruiter in the country. Look at what he has been able to do with 3 non-winning seasons. Next year is the bench mark year and with the talent we have, a 9-3 or 10-2 season could make Wanny UNSTOPPABLE on the recruiting front.

We also have to see if any 5th year seniors will be asked to leave. We have a great momentum going right now, and if it means asking someone not to comeback that really won't contribute to this team, well, at least that person is close to or maybe even has graduated by the end of this year. It will also be interesting to see what happens to recruits who aren't getting much interest from other teams. Taglienetti and Gardiner come to mind with this. Right now other than a Grayshirt opportunity at OSU, we are Gardiner's best choice. Tag's doesn't have many other offers and we are probably the biggest school he will get an offer from. It would be wise to take that offer while it is still on the table.

Lastly, for all of you Zoo members out there. Shayne Hale will be at the basketball game on saturday and we need to make sure we seal the deal with him. He is cousin's with Cameron Saddler, and less than a week ago we were eliminated from his list. Cameron commits and we are back in the mix. A checklist sign will probably make an appearance. So lets get creative and get Shayne to say Pitt is it!

Cross Commits

As expected, Greg Cross gave his verbal to coach Dave Wannstedt and the Panthers today. Cross should be considered the top threat to Billy Stull in camp this year for the starting job. It will be interesting to see if this commit impacts any of our other players and commits. Usually players are loyal to Wanny and we do not typically see them back out or transfer on him, but every year is different.