Wednesday, January 16th, 2008 by Adam Wagner
Pitt continues to “build a fence” around PA
An already strong recruiting class for Pitt became even stronger over the past three days, as three recruits committed. These four players, WR A.J. Alexander, CB Jarred Holley MLB Joe Trebitz represent the tail end of Pitt’s extremely strong recruiting class. Wannstedt and Co. are still chasing Josh Jenkins, the top-rated offensive guard in the nation who is down to Pitt, Ohio State, Florida State, or West Virginia, (ed. Jenkins pulled out of his visit to Pitt and is visiting WVU this weekend instead. Looks like the Panthers are actually not in the running for him.) and a few other prospects, but with 20 recruits Pitt’s class is just about finished.
Perhaps the most important of the new recruits is Alexander, a 5-10 WR who has been clocked as running the 40-yard dash in a ridiculous 4.35. The only questions about Alexander lie in his size, but his strengths are all about elusiveness and speed, so his smallish stature may actually prove to be a strength. Also, size will not matter when he is lined up in the slot with 6-6 Jonathan Baldwin on the outside for the next three or four years. Alexander is from Altoona, PA, further showing Wannstedt’s commitment to “build a fence” around Western Pennsylvania and demonstrating his willingness to extend that fence to include the central and eastern parts of the state. If Wannstedt can prove that Pitt, not Penn State, is the true power out there as well as in Western Pennsylvania, then Pitt should be able to consistently add elite talent.
Also included in the latest batch of players is CB Jarred Holley, who just committed today. Holley, who chose Pitt over Florida, Iowa, Virginia, Stanford, Michigan, and Penn State, is a 5-9 CB who has been timed as running a 4.5 40-yard dash. Scout.com has him rated as a 3-star recruit and the 24th cornerback in this year’s class. Holley’s strengths lie in his tackling and anticipation abilities. He is not at all a gambler, known for his anticipation, but rarely surrendering the big play. One fun fact about Holley is that he was born on Christmas.
MLB Joe Trebitz, of Boca Raton, Florida, seems to be an interesting prospect who did not receive very much attention from scouting services. Scout rates Trebitz as a two-star player and says that the linebacker received offers from Air Force, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, and Western Michigan as well as Pitt. Trebitz does not have any overly impressive numbers, but looks like a solid player who will be able to step in at some point later on in his career. Like Holley, his strength lies in his ability to anticipate. Fun fact about Trebitz: He lead his high school in tackles all four years he was there.
These three are all solid additions to what has been touted as Pitt’s best class of the last 20 years, but we still have to see what they are capable of on the field. Hopefully Wannstedt, Cavanaugh, and Rhoads (Gattuso?) don’t mess them up too much.
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