PSU and Pitt battling over Dieffenbach?

[The Ancient Enemy]

Pitt thinks they are a shoe-in to land legacy Miles Dieffenbach because Daddy coaches the tennis team. Sounds to me like Wanny may be in for another disappointment.

"Coach Bradley has been around, and he's been talking to coach Deal and me. He said that he likes what he saw, and came and watched one of our practices, our mini-camps, and he liked that," he said. "So he invited me to come up and meet some of the coaches, take a tour of the campus, and talk to coach Bradley and coach Paterno. I got to meet with coach Paterno for like 30 minutes, coach Anderson for like 30 minutes, it was a pretty good trip."

The 6-foot-4, 277-pound prospect visited last fall for the Nittany Lions' win over Indiana, and was impressed by his second trip to State College this spring.

"I really liked it, the campus is a lot different than I thought it would be, in a good way," he said. "You talk about how they have so many kids up there, but it's very nicely spread out and put together. Everything was nice, everything was clean and the facilities were very nice as well."

Did Pitt get a vote of confidence as a "leader"?

"It's hard to pick a favorite, but (Pitt) is definitely in the mix," he said. "In my top is definitely Penn State, Florida State, Virginia."

PSU has already landed the top offensive player in the WPIAL in QB Paul Jones, and the top defensive player in the WPIAL in LB Mike Hull. They also have who is arguably the best lineman in the WPIAL in Luke Graham.

[El-Moldo]

I see that Luke Graham has NO stars, according to Rivals. And I know that you yourself have praised Rivals in the past. Something like the "best site ever"?

[The Ancient Enemy]

Sarcasm, Mr. Watson.

But thanks for taking the bait so I could post these Dieffenbach quotes:

Miles: I want to find a school with the kind of academics I want -
Plays in stands that have 90,000 fans every game - Not a Half Stadium.
Going to Bowl Games and Winning Bowl Games.
Playing in the Best Atmosphere is the most fun you can ever have.

Farrell asked if Distance would play a part.

Miles: My family is a huge part in my football
and without them I would be nowhere in football
and so I want them to come see me play in every game.

You can actually feel the ground shake as Pitt's stock plummets towards the Earth. Rut row!!!!!

[The Ancient Enemy]

As for Graham, Rivals has not evaluated him yet. He does not have "zero stars". He's also considered possibly the best o-lineman in the WPIAL along with Dieffenbach.

[El-Moldo]

Look. I don't even know who Dieffenbach is, nor do I care. But if Graham is so good, why hasn't he been evaluated yet? Didn't he play as a junior? Seems like most 2009 high school players have been evaluated already. Right now, he is NR on Rivals. So, if he is the BEST lineman in the Wpial, then what's taking Rivals so long?

[frostlion]

Sarcasm, Mr. Watson.

But thanks for taking the bait so I could post these Dieffenbach quotes:

Miles: I want to find a school with the kind of academics I want -
Plays in stands that have 90,000 fans every game - Not a Half Stadium.
Going to Bowl Games and Winning Bowl Games.
Playing in the Best Atmosphere is the most fun you can ever have.

Farrell asked if Distance would play a part.

Miles: My family is a huge part in my football
and without them I would be nowhere in football
and so I want them to come see me play in every game.

You can actually feel the ground shake as Pitt's stock plummets towards the Earth. Rut row!!!!!

Don't forget going to a place that actually scores points in bowl games!!!

[The Ancient Enemy]

Seems like most 2009 high school players have been evaluated already.

No siree.

[El-Moldo]

Just went to Rivals.com. In the offensive guard section for 2010 graduates, there are 54 high school rising seniors already ranked from 5 stars to 3 stars. Luke Graham is in the middle of a couple of hundred non-ranked kids throughout the country. Meanwhile, Dieffenbach is ranked 3 stars in the offensive tackle section. Seems to me like a whole lot of 2010 grads have been ranked already, like I said. If Graham was worth ANYTHING as a junior, I'm sure he would have been mentioned and rated already.

[The Ancient Enemy]

Dieffenbach is a 4-star on Scout. The 3-stars on Rivals have not all been evaluated yet. Graham is a 3-star on Scout. "Speculation" has Graham being borderline 3 to 4 stars and that Dieffenbach will end up a 4-star.

Regardless, Moldo, the kids have good offers.

[frostlion]

From what I've seen this kid looks like a guard at the college level. 6'5" is a pretty decent sized center. His recruitment is going to be fun to follow. Once again, PSU and virtually anyone else cherry picks talent from behind Wanny's "wall".