With the season in hand about 70 college teams are prepping these next few weeks for a bowl game, while the other 49 are getting a head start for the holidays. Bowl season also means two other things, the first of which is more time to focus on recruiting, in-home visits with athletes all around the country, and seeing where you stand coming into the final stretch until signing day. The second is the changing landscape in college football, as many universities are evaluating the status of their programs and making major changes. Where these two collide for Penn State has to deal with the most recent news of Dave Wannstedt's firing at the University of Pittsburgh.
With all due respect to Dave Wannstedt, who I think has done more than a great job at Pitt and didn't deserve to get fired, this is great news for Penn State. It is great news because I truly believe that this was a rebuilding year for Pitt as they were breaking in a new quarterback, and that next year would've have launched Wannstedt's Pitt program into a competition for the best team in the state of Pennsylvania. If you don't believe me, just go ahead and ask the slew of recruits that had committed to Pitt over Penn State with the firm belief that Pitt was on the verge of something great. Wannstedt was compiling a top 25 recruiting class, with many of the top recruits from our very own backyard, but now with him gone I am expecting for some of those commitments to waver.
Couple that with the current state and perception of the Big East (seriously, UConn lost to Temple and Michigan this year and are playing in the BCS) and you've got some wavering thoughts going on. This is the out that most of these players were looking for. A lot of these players have also built bonds with each other at high school football camps and want to continue to play together at the collegiate level, and the most likely place that these players have a common offer from is Penn State. Throw in the fact that over a handful of these players came down between Pitt and Penn State and simply chose Pitt because of Dave Wannstedt, and the slow developing interest from Penn State as they were taking their time on the recruiting trail. Now that Dave is gone, none of that matters, the only thing that matters is who's calling now.
With Wannstedt gone, I would expect that many coaches from the surrounding area are using this situation to take advantage of the current instability at Pitt. This is the perfect opportunity for coaches from surrounding programs to get back in touch with these players and pull them their way. Nonetheless, I expect that the Penn State coaching staff just got the spark they needed to get back in the hunt for some of the top talent in the states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and West Virginia. This is the turn they needed, and if they don't come away with at least three to four of Pitt's top commitments, I would be heavily surprise. Just be on the lookout to hear some news from Kyshoen Jarrett, Terrell Chestnut, Bill Belton, and Marquise Wright. These would be the home runs Penn State needs to shore up this recruiting class.
We still got a long way to go until signing day, but continue to watch the threads, and we'll see if the coaches can capitalize on this situation. For all you Penn State fans, enjoy the Outback Bowl, it'll be a great one to watch on New Year's Day. For all you Pitt fans, I guess you'll just have to continue wondering why you'll never work your way back up to elite status, but for now enjoy watching Randall Cobb tear up your defense in the Compass Bowl.
WE ARE................
No comments:
Post a Comment