BleacherCoaches.com

I do a lot of work over at Cardiachill.com (Pitt's SB Nation site), so I follow and cover the Panthers pretty closely. This isn't much of something to write about in June, since none of these kids are guaranteed to stay at Pitt, and more additions will be on the way. But, since I actually like talking about sports, and its too hot to do anything but sit in an air conditioned room and type, here it goes. I'll work on a Penn State one too, well just because.....Its freaking too hot to do anything else.


1. Michael Grimm OT Pennsylvania - Grimm is a massive presence on the offensive line. He is a 3
star by Scout and ESPN, and 4 star by ESPN. Grimm stands at an overpowering 6-6 330 pounds. He chose Pitt over numerous BCS level offers, and is regarded as one of the best prospects out of Western Pennsylvania.

2. Wade Freebeck QB Florida - You may look at this kid's offer list, and wonder why I think he is a great recruit. There is a story with this player, and he may be the steal of the year for Pitt. ( If he remains committed) He was injured this past offseason and missed Spring evaluations and Summer camps, so that hurt him right there. He also came from a relatively unknown school and as since transferred to Florida powerhouse, St. Thomas Aquinas for this season. The high profile program, and a healthy senior season, and you are looking at a top flight quarterback prospect. Florida did offer Freebeck at one time, so he has elite talent for a national power to have offered him. ESPN sees him as a four star, Rivals only a three. It may be difficult to hang on to him, because some SEC schools should, and likely will, offer Freebeck.

3. Elijah Zeise WR Pennsylvania - Zeise started for Pennsylvania power, North Allegheny, since he was a sophomore. Elijah can play either safety or receiver, but Pitt is taking him for offense. He is a big 6-2 185, with room to get stronger. Zeise chose to play at Pitt over Arizona and WVU, and the Ivy League for that matter. He is a bright and talented kid, a good addition for any program.

4. Mike Herndon DT Virginia - I look for Pitt to open up Virginia as their Southern state of choice with the move to the ACC, and Henrdon appears to be their first victory from VA. He chose Pitt over home state power, Virginia Tech. He is a massive 6-4 325 defensive tackle that is an excellent athlete. He plays middle linebacker in high school, not many 325 pounders can move like he can.

5. Connor Hayes OG Michigan - Hayes is a good offensive line prospect, and fits the Paul Chryst model of players. He is a big 6-4 presence, with room to add weight. Four year starter in the highest classification in Michigan. He chose Pitt over Syracuse, Duke, and Indiana.

6. Shane Roy DE Ohio - Roy is a nice sized defensive line recruit from the Cincinnati area. He had offers from Boston College and Illinois among many MAC looks. Defensive Line is thin for the Panthers, so he can make an impact soon.

7. Jalen Williams S New York - Williams got the ball rolling on the run of recruits in mid June. He is a Safety with some talent from New York. Rivals sees him as a 3 star, and he picked Pitt over in-state teams, Buffalo and Syracuse

8. Connor Dintino DT Connecticut - Dintino is looked at on recruiting services on offense, but Pitt is taking him for defense. A rare pickup from Connecticut, Dintino is a big player that will be able to plug the middle.

9. Adam Bertke QB Ohio - Bertke may be considered the second option at quarterback for this class, but he won't see it that way. Bertke is a confident player that has won two state championships in his career already, albeit in the smallest classification in Ohio. ESPN likes him much more than Rivals, as he is regarded as Pitt's second best recruit. He has big time size (6-5 210) and has a winning pedigree, could be a steal for Pitt. He had some big ten offers in Purdue and Illinois.

10. Avonte Maddox CB Michigan - Speed is the name of the game. A reported 4.3 40 time is impressive, although he lacks ideal size. A college weight room should do him wonders. You can't turn down speed. He has a Cincinnati offer to go along with a variety of MAC offers.

11. Patrick Amara DB Pennsylvania - Amara seems like an athletic player from Philadelphia powerhouse, West Catholic. He should end up on defense, and I think he can be a really good safety down the line. Not a huge recruit, but you still need versatile guys like this in every recruiting class.

12. Brian O'Neill TE Delaware - O'Neill is a big 6-6 tight end prospect. Pitt has loaded up on some talent in this spot in recent seasons, so it may not be the worst idea to take a project mixed in there.

13. Dennis Briggs RB Pennsylvania - A local back that has some ability, but lacked exposure. He does not come from a football powerhouse, and flew under the radar. I think Pitt will take two backs in this class, and the other one will be more highly regarded than Briggs.

14. Quintin Wirgins LB Pennsylvania - Wirgins is another local prospect, and seems like a fallback option already. Pitt missed on some of their top linebacker targets, and Wirgins has some ability. Temple was his only other division one offer, so you have to question that a bit. He is a productive player in AAAA and has size in his defense.

Crimson, is Pitt going to get any of the big guns out of the WPIAL? Henry, McKenzie, and Nicholson are some big time kids and would be huge gets for HCPC.

Shai McKenzie - McKenzie is a very candid dude, and tells it how it is. After losing to YSU last year, he was not happy about it, and it seemed Pitt had no shot. But Pitt's coaches got in his ear, and he had a good junior day and what not. Now Pitt is in his top 5, more specifically his #2 behind Florida State, Pitt's opening night opponent. Shai will be there. If Pitt wins, and has a 8-4 or better season, I would expect to see McKenzie as a Panther. If Pitt has a 6-6 year, poor showing with him in attendance.....Looking at a FSU running back.


Dravon Henry - Its interesting because some "experts" proclaim he is a Penn State lean, some say he is favoring WVU. History says Pitt is in fine shape. Aliquippa is a Pitt pipeline and Aliquippa kids don't pick their school until after the season. It doesn't matter who he favors in July, come February, Pitt should still be right there.


Montae Nicholson - Nicholson released a final 12, so that is where we are with that lol. If he makes a second round of cuts, I could see Pitt being pulled along to a top 5-6. I never had a good feeling about him, though. He did sneak a visit to Pitt this Summer, one of his few so far, so that's good.


Alex Bookser - Pitt should be right there with this kid, Ohio State is right there. I think OSU may fill their OL before Bookser wants to commit. That would be big for Pitt.

Malik Hooker - Bit of an unknown for a while, but his freak athleticism allowed for Michigan and OSU to offer. Pitt has an uphill battle, but a winnable one I'd say.


Pitt has landed Mike Grimm and Elijah Zeise.

They have lost out on Troy Apke and Chase Winnonovich, two guys they really liked.

JJ Cosentino and Chandler Kincade have went elsewhere, two top WPIAL QB's. Don't think this staff liked Kincade, and Cosentino is good, but a tab overrated.

The two other Gateway kid followed their coach to Temple.
The two other Aliquippa kids likely aren't coming to Pitt.


A few others are out there in the WPIAL, but no huge priorities for Pitt.

If Henry is thinking about Penn State, he better decide soon. PSU has only 2 scholarships left for 2014. They may be gone in the blink of an eye.

See can't post any good posts like this bout a Penn State class cuz two dickheads are on the site..........nice post Crimson

crfball: Get your head out of the sand. What I said is NOT a criticism of the Nits. It's a FACT. PSU's scholarship limit DIRECTLY affects PITT's potential recruiting class. Normally, PSU would STILL have about 10 schollies to give out. BUT.....they don't!!!! This is a GOOD thing for PITT. I'll bet Pitt is line to get several recruits who would have probably gone to Happy Valley BECAUSE of scholarship limits. AND, when I discuss PSU's class, I don't make things up. I just give my opinion.

El-Moldo is right. Once Penn State runs out of scholarships, then Pitt might actually get a committment from a kid that both Penn State and Pitt are after. Thus far, Penn State has gone 7 and 0 against Pitt in recruiting battles. That is with sanctions. This is when Pitt was supposed to be taking advantage of Penn State. They have been unsuccessful, so far. In Fact, I would say Pitt's recruiting has looked like what most would expect Penn State's to look like. They are stealing guys from Colgate, VMI, the MAC, and IVY schools.

Might find some diamonds in the rough, but thus far I would not be impressed with Chryst's recruiting. He is either a genius or he will have a MAC level team in the ACC. Of course, as often as Pitt loses to MAC teams and D-II teams that might be a good thing.

Offer lists per rivals...
1. Michael Grimm OT Pennsylvania 4 star - Rutgers, South Florida, Wisconsin, West Virginia, and many other offers. No offer from PSU, Michigan, or OSU tho/

2. Wade Freebeck QB Florida 3 star - Akron, Marshall, Samford, South FLorida

3. Elijah Zeise WR Pennsylvania 3 star- Pitt, Arizona, Temple, WVU

4. Mike Herndon DT Virginia 3 star - Pitt, Uconn, James Madison, Old Dominion, Va Tech, W. Michigan

5. Connor Hayes OG Michigan - 3 star - Bowling green, Cent Michigan, Duke, Indiana, Syracuse, Toledo, Central Michigan

6. Shane Roy DE Ohio - 3 star - Virually every MAC school and illinois.

7. Jalen Williams S New York - 3 star - Buffalo, UMASS, Old Dominion, and Temple

8. Connor Dintino DT Connecticut - 3 star - Pitt, Buffalo, Uconn, Holy Cross, and Villanova

9. Adam Bertke QB Ohio - 2 star - Akron, Bowling Green, Illinois, Kent State, and Toledo
'
10. Avonte Maddox CB Michigan - 2 star - Ball State, Cent. Michigan, Cincy, East Michigan, Toledo



11. Patrick Amara DB Pennsylvania - 2 star - Bowling Green, Fordham, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Maine, MASS, UCF

12. Brian O'Neill TE Delaware - 2 star - Coastal Carolina, Colgate, Old Dominion, Tulane, William and Mary, Youngstown State

13. Dennis Briggs RB Pennsylvania - 2 star - Only other offer Toledo

14. Quintin Wirgins LB Pennsylvania - 2 star - Robert Morris, Temple, Virginia Military

In fairness to Chryst, Wisconsin on average landed 1 5 star, 2-3 4 stars and the rest with 2 and 3 stars. Also, most of Pitt's top targets are on the board. Their top RB, top 3 WR, top OL, top DT( who PSU is also in on) and top two DBs. Not saying they land all of them, but it's possible they will still add some quality players. My biggest concern with PSU recruiting (if I were actually concerned with it) would be trenches. BOB is sure taking a lot of athletes, and good ones at that. But still I would be alarmed. The only Pitt target I'm really upset is the Linebacker going to Michigan. Other than that, I never really saw the kids that are going to Penn State going to Pitt.

As a Pitt fan, not a lot of blue chips to date. But again, I really do like about 6-7 of these kids. And the other 7 are a bit of unknown. I trust the staff can evaluate players better than the outside eye. Again take a look at Freebeck, Florida did offer him. He has all the tools and is playing at a top 10 HS nationally. Injuries hurt this kid's stock. Good steal for Pitt. Zeise, started as a sophomore for the best programs in the state. He's smart enough to attend and Ivy League school and gifted enough to garner offers from 3 major conferences. Again, offers not stars tell the story, and As of now Pitt's class isn't glamorous in either.

I know you Nits put a lot of stock in rankings and things. The latest 247 rankings of 2014 college football team recruiting as of 7-17-13 shows Penn State ranked 22nd, and Pitt ranked 37th. PSU has 2 offers left, Pitt may take in as many as 10 more recruits. Let's see what happens by LOI Day in February.