At Ohio State, Pryor will have the benefit of not being thrown into the fire immediately and being able to learn the system for a year before being handed the program.  At Michigan, Pryor would have been the immediate starter and would have been expected to produce in an offense seemingly designed for him, albeit one that is designed primarily for the college game and doesn’t highlight the NFL abilities of quarterbacks like Ohio State’s system does.

Pryor will be given the opportunity to take the field next season in a role that is continually being compared to that of Tim Tebow on Florida’s 2006 team.  Like Florida, Ohio State has a capable senior quarterback and a freshman quarterback who is one of the highest-rated in the land.  Like Tebow, Pryor is expected to take over the system once that senior leaves.  Like Florida fans, Ohio State fans are going to want to see what Pryor can do next season.  Whether that means bringing Pryor on in goal-line situations or letting him play a certain amount in each game is not yet clear, but Tressel will probably take a page from Florida coach Urban Meyer’s playbook and utilize Pryor’s skills the way that Florida utilized Tebow’s.

Most relevant to the Pittsburgh sports scene is Pryor’s revelation that he probably would have looked harder at Penn State if he had been assured that Tom Bradley would be the coach when the Joe Paterno era finally comes to an end.  That should be the single most obvious sign to Penn State administrators yet about the way that they should handle the coaching situation there, meaning that they should inform Paterno that this coming season will be his final one and tell the world that Bradley will be the coach starting in two years (they could just sign Bradley to a lengthy contract that states that he is guaranteed the job, but that would allow the Paterno reign, something that needs to come to an end, to keep on going).

Now, Penn State is going to have to deal with the threat of Terrelle Pryor at the helm of a national champion contender for the next three or four seasons.

• Pryor announces that he’s entering the Arena Football League. Friday Night Lights’ Smash Williams may have passed up an offer to join the indoor warriors, but Pryor decides that he’ll try to take the Adrian McPherson path to NFL glory and play on the 50 yard field. The short distance allows him to display his true athletic ability as he can fire rockets to receivers that no one has ever heard of, play cornerback as well as quarterback and even catch his own passes (thrown off of the netting at the back of the end zone, of course) in red zone situations. Also, the league has a contract with ESPN meaning that Pryor would receive immediate and constant exposure, replacing Jon Bon Jovi as the league’s resident circus act.
• Pryor announces that he’s going to Pitt and has really just been screwing with everyone the entire time. Dave Wannstedt promptly announces that he is going to shave his mustache in honor of the achievement. Bloggers everywhere see their computers explode.
• Pryor announces that he is done with sports altogether, instead choosing to follow in the footsteps of Pittsburgh’s own Wiz Khalifa and become a rapper. Khalifa is at the press conference and announces that Pryor has not come up with a rap name yet, but that Jeanette will certainly hold another press conference after he and Khalifa figure it out. Khalifa goes on to announce that he will be producing Pryor’s albums and that Pryor is in “good hands.”
• Pryor announces that he is going to follow in the footsteps of fellow former Pitt recruit Herb Pope and New Mexico State (and you thought I was going to write get shot) to play basketball. As for his reasoning, Pryor says that he figured that even bad basketball players get paid about $5 million a year, while he would actually have to be good at football to earn a massive amount of money.
• Pryor announces that he is joining Cirque du Soleil as an acrobat after stint in Barnum and Bailey’s, where he is going to be the lion tamer. When asked if he fears for his life at all, Pryor gives the reporter a dead stare and, without saying a word, causes the reporter’s pen to fall out of his hand.
• Pryor announces that he is going to search the world for Tupac in order to fulfill one of his childhood dreams of meeting the legend. He cites 7/7/2007 as the most disappointing day in his life because Tupac failed to return and claims that he will find Tupac eventually. Jeanette’s principal tries to wrest the microphone out of his hands before Pryor can finish the announcement, but Pryor simply holds it out of the man’s reach until he feels he has made his point.
• Pryor announces that he is going to play basketball in Europe for a year before returning to America to play in the NBA, stating that he can get two years of NBA play in before he is eligible to play in the NFL and that he figures it is the best way of handling his dual-sport skill and earning the most money. Jeanette is promptly overrun by men representing European basketball teams who wear too-tight jeans , drive sport cars and refuse to buy beer if they pay under $10 for it.
• Pryor announces that he never once considered going to Canada, stating that playing in the CFL is just too cold for him and that he can’t imagine why Canadians would possibly play football with three downs. Strangely, everyone in the room starts nodding during the announcement, where Pryor ends up pulling out the Ohio State colors and putting them on, thereby ending the Longest Recruiting Process Ever.

Pryor attended Ohio State’s basketball game against Wisconsin on Sunday, just one day after Pryor had what may have been the best game of his basketball career in the WPIAL championship game.  As a young person, Pryor has a right to make up his own mind and that decision seems to be headed in the favor of Jim Tressel and The Ohio State University.

Pryor will wait until after the basketball season is officially over to make up his mind, but considering that he has not yet made an official visit to Penn State the scales seem heavily weighted in favor of Ohio State.  The decision that Pryor does end up making could shift the scales of the Big Ten for the next three years, as he will want to show off his ability immediately and as much as possible until he can leave for the NFL after his junior year.

It is unfortunate that the recruitment of a high school athlete turned into as much of a media circus as this one has, but the process seems to be reaching its logical conclusion.

In Pryor’s case, he will probably end up at Michigan or Penn State, despite all signs pointing to his having been ready to commit to Ohio State yesterday. Michigan is still the best fit in terms of style of play and pedigree, while Penn State’s Joe Paterno has convinced Pryor’s father that Happy Valley would be the best place for the QB. If Paterno were willing to change the offense for Pryor in order to go out as a winner, then he may actually be correct. If he is not, then he is totally wrong. Pryor will only be successful where he is happiest, meaning the place that lets him be a winner and gives him the best shot at a pro career. He apparently thought Ohio State . . . his father apparently felt differently.

The issue at hand, however, is not necessarily Pryor. It is that, and I will admit that I am as guilty of this as anyone, National Signing Day is an unnecessarily large event. These are the futures of seventeen to nineteen year-old teenagers that are being decided and it is not fair for the media to be devoting seven hour specials to them. Recruiting was once a process that only the most diehard fans followed. Now it is something that most casual fans keep track of. Sure, it is nice to know who will be playing key roles for your program in two years, but to be saying that a player is a “failure” because he was “only” three stars is ridiculous. These players are all capable of playing up to a higher level with some coaching up, just as a “five-star” player is capable of collapsing in college (see: Williams, Willie).

Amazingly enough, however hard it may be for some of us to imagine, these are high school kids who have more to worry about at times than the future of your school’s football program. Sure, they may be playing a vital role in that, but sometimes they are just being kids, something that Pryor is doing in taking further advice from his dad.

These are people from whom we expect a constant and unnatural level of maturity, so when they do something that could possibly be misconstrued as demonstrative of a weakness, they are torn apart. These are kids, no more or less sure of what they want than you were at 18 or 19 years old. Remember that next time you leave a message board post bashing a kid for “underperforming” or having less than stellar grades senior year, think about yourself at that age. If you are an NFL player, you may have some room to talk; if not, you should have a little bit of sympathy.

“Pitt’s out, period. I won’t go there, for sure.”

I think that should put an end to all speculation about Terrelle Pryor attending the University of Pittsburgh.

After initially committing to Pitt during his sophomore year, the #1 recruit in the nation and Army All-American Bowl MVP changed his mind last year and reopened his recruitment. While Pitt never made the list of Pryor’s top five schools after he decommitted, Panther fans have been desperately holding out hope, especially after Pitt’s success on the recruiting trail this year. Even though positive signs for Pitt appear to be everywhere, Pryor has repeatedly shot them down. At the All-American Bowl, Pryor roomed with Pitt-commit Jonathan Baldwin (“I wasn’t in the room a lot, so I didn’t really talk to him.”). He attended the Pitt-Georgetown basketball game last week and everyone at The Pete chanted his name (“I was there to watch ‘Big Fella.’ They’re still trying to recruit me. They’re just doing their job. That’s no knock on them.”).

Last night, KDKA reported that Pryor would make an official visit to Pitt despite not actually considering the Panthers. This seemed very odd at the time and most Panther fans (myself included) figured that something was up. I was preparing to write a post about how Pryor wants to be the kid who gets a lot of attention by changing his mind right before his national press conference. Then, however, I saw that both the Post-Gazette and the Tribune-Review were reporting that the story was untrue and that Pryor was not actually going to visit Pitt. It also dawned on me that Pitt only has one scholarship remaining, and quarterback is definitely one of their deeper positions (six players, at last count, including Pat Bostick, last year’s five-star QB; Greg Cross, a four-star JUCO recruit; and Bill Stull, last year’s starter who looked like an excellent fit in the offense, was injured at the beginning of the year).

It seems to me that Pryor will be heading to Michigan, even though the Wolverines were not even on his radar until Rich Rodriguez was brought on board as the new head coach (Pryor was considering WVU before Rodriguez and his spread offense infamously left Morgantown). Last night, after denying the Pitt rumors, Pryor stated “I want to play in a college town, a facility that has 100,000 and is packed.” Only two schools, Michigan and Penn State (another finalist), fit that description. But don’t get too excited Nittany Lions faithful. Pryor turned down Penn State’s invitation to visit, saying that they “asked me to come on the [January] 18th, and I never answered. I’ve been there so many times, I don’t need to see anything.”

Even Ryan Mallet, Michigan’s five-star freshman quarterback from last season, saw the writing on the wall, and has arranged a transfer to the University of Arkansas.

Still, this is no reason for Pitt fans to be upset. Almost every sports network put out an extremely early preseason top 25 list this week, and Pitt was on most of them. For your convenience, I’ve excerpted them all below.

Sports Illustrated – #25

Who’s back: RB LeSean McCoy, WR Derek Kinder (injured in ‘07), DE Greg Romeus, LB Scott McKillop.
Who’s not: T Jeff Otah, DE Joe Clermond, S Mike Phillips.
Skinny: The young Panthers provided a glimpse of the future with upsets of the Big East’s top two teams, West Virginia and Cincinnati, and fielded the nation’s No. 5 defense.

ESPN – #22

The Panthers have reason for optimism after upsetting West Virginia 13-9 in the regular-season finale, a loss that cost the Mountaineers a chance to play for the BCS championship. Dave Wannstedt failed to produce a winning record in his first three seasons as coach of his alma mater, but the Panthers seem ready to turn the corner in 2008. Pitt lost four games by seven points or fewer in 2007. Seven starters are expected back on both offense and defense. Tailback LeSean McCoy ran for 1,328 yards and 14 touchdowns as a freshman, and freshman quarterback Pat Bostick was much improved by season’s end. Receiver Derek Kinder and defensive tackle Gus Mustakas will return from season-ending knee injuries. Linebacker Scott McKillop led the country with 151 tackles and led a defense that showed bite in 2007.

ESPN (Most Improved) – #2

All hail the ’stache! The Panthers emerged from a four-game losing skid to upset No. 23 Cincinnati and finished off the season by wrecking the title hopes of West Virginia in Morgantown. Pitt will return many of the leaders of the nation’s No. 7 defense as well as one of the country’s top young running backs in LeSean McCoy. They also hope to get back smooth WR Derek Kinder, an All-Big East pick in 2006, who underwent season-ending knee surgery during training camp. QB Bill Stull, another former starter, also will return from injury, and he will try and beat out Pat Bostick, the talented true freshman who finished the season as Pitt’s starter. DT Gus Mustakas, a rugged inside presence, missed the final 10 games of the season after knee surgery and also should be back, as will tackle machine Scott McKillop. I think the Panthers’ patience with Dave Wannstedt will pay off with a return to the Top 25 next season and maybe even a Big East title.

CBS Sportsline – #22

Momentum from the West Virginia win carries over. So do two stars from the future — tailback LeSean McCoy and linebacker Scott McKillop, the Big East Defensive Player of the Year.
Why here? Sure, it’s a reach but Dave Wannstedt is making great strides in recruiting.Defining game: TBA vs. West Virginia

Sporting News – #25

Believe it: Exciting TB LeSean McCoy carries the Panthers — and beleaguered coach Dave Wannstedt — into the elite of the Big East.

Scout.com – #21

2008 will be their breakout season. It’s time for the Panthers to turn the corner. They will contend with West Virginia and South Florida for the Big East title. If not, they could be looking for a new coach.

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.

• DePaul did not help out Pitt on Thursday night, defeating #17 Villanova 84-76 and giving one of the teams that expected to be the class of the Big East a shock to start the season. Pitt has to play in Philadelphia tomorrow, opening up their portion of the Big East schedule against what is sure to be a more focused group of Wildcats. Villanova would be a very tough game for Pitt even if the Panthers had Mike Cook and Levance Fields, but without the two guards, the Wildcats and their six guards will likely be able to play at a level significantly higher than that of Pitt and their four inexperienced guards (yes, there are two seniors in that group, but Keith Benjamin is seeing his first playing time in years and Ronald Ramone is not a point guard). The game should be competitive, but it is unlikely that Jamie Dixon and his team will be able to pull off the upset.
• While on the subject of the Panthers, they football team has had some more major recruiting developments. Top defensive end/linebacker Shayne Hale from Gateway (Pittsburgh, PA) and coveted tight end Mike Cruz from Bishop McCort (Johnstown, PA) both verbally committed to Pitt yesterday. Hale had offers from Ohio State, Michigan, WVU, and LSU. Pitt had not been in contention until their upset victory in the Backyard Brawl and were certainly helped out by the commitment of Cameron Saddler, Hale’s cousin and good friend. Cruz had formerly verballed to Pitt, but decommitted three weeks later after receiving offers from Clemson and Florida State. He will be a huge boost to a tight end unit that has been suddenly decimated by graduation and serious injuries.
• Troy Polamalu is probably going to start against Jacksonville Saturday night, meaning that the Steelers’ will not have the absence of their Pro Bowl safety to blame if they lose against a Jacksonville team that is playing at an extremely high level right now. The return of Polamalu should be a boost for a Steeler defense that has been lacking veteran leadership without the presences of Polamalu or Aaron Smith.
• It is supposed to start raining at about 12 o’clock Saturday, meaning that the field should be nice and soaked by the time Fred Taylor comes out for warmups. If anything happens to him during the game that could be even remotely blamed on the turf, it will interesting to see whether or not he follows through on his word and actually files a lawsuit.
• Remember, the Steelers, especially Hines Ward, play the respect card better than any other team in the game today. And the media has definitely been disrespecting the Steelers in the week leading up to this game.
• Matt Morris and Damaso Marte are providing great veteran leadership and not attending the Pirates’ mini-camp next week in Bradenton. For two of the veteran players and, therefore, expected leaders to not attend mini-camp is not a good sign. Neither one is a star, as Morris is a drastically overpaid replacement level pitcher and Marte is a left-handed specialist, but both players are putting themselves in front of the team by not showing up.
• Speaking of Matt Morris, Neal Huntington apparently believes that he will make up 1/5 of the Pirates’ starting rotation next year along with Ian Snell, Tom Gorzelanny, Paul Maholm, and Zach Duke. That comes as something of a surprise as the Pirates’ should probably be attempting to dump Morris and his $9 million salary, while counting on Zach Duke for anything has been a huge mistake for the past two seasons. Huntington should be bringing in somewhat legitimate arms, not settling for the mediocre (in Duke’s case, the mediocre-at-best).
• One of the arms that Huntington should have been pursuing, Matt Clement, signed a contract for one year, with an option, with the division rival St. Louis Cardinals. That Clement avoided signing with Pittsburgh, where he would probably be able to be a better left-handed pitcher than Zach Duke (Clement is a righty) says a good amount about how he feels about the situation here and about the way that the organization has treated veterans in the past.
• Huntington did, however, sign Elmer Dessens, inking the veteran right-handed reliever to a minor league contract. Dessens, 37, was awful last year, putting up a 6.60 ERA with Milwaukee. If Dessens is giving anything larger than the John “this game is getting out of hand, let’s conserve arms” Wasdin role, John Russell is an even worse manager than Jim Tracy was and deserves to be fired on the spot.
• Maxime Talbot practiced yesterday, signifying the beginning of a return to the ice for the feisty center who has become one of the most valuable players on the team almost by accident.
• Pittsburgh has a full weekend of sports ahead, with the Penguins hosting the Florida Panthers at 3:08 and the Steelers hosting Jacksonville at 8 on Saturday, while the Panthers play the Villanova Wildcats in Philadelphia at noon on Sunday.

• Sidney Crosby is no longer in the top five in points in the NHL. Vincent Lecavalier, Jarome Iginla, Henrik Zetterberg, Ilya Kovalchuck, and Daniel Alfredsson all have more points than Crosby’s 43. It says something about the recent play of the Penguins that their superstar is lower than, well, other superstars.
• Speaking of Crosby, his favorite winger, Ryan Malone, is out indefinitely with an infected cut on his leg. That is not a good thing at all for the Penguins as the two players definitely clicked and Crosby will now have to gel with another linemate. The Pens need production out of that top line in order to be successful simply because they have played such awful hockey at times this year.
• Apparently no one is happy with Dany Sabourin in goal, as there are rumors out of Toronto that Ray Shero has been calling about Andrew Raycroft and rumors that the Penguins may have spoken with Curtis Joseph. Neither one of these guys would be an upgrade, but then again, they would keep Tyler Conklin from standing between the pipes in an important game.
• Anthony Smith has finally been benched. This should not be a surprise for anyone who has followed the Steelers closely for the last two weeks as teams constantly made Smith look stupid on the deep ball. At times, Smith has looked more like the namesake of this site, Tike Redman, than a safety getting ready to make a play on the football.
• Pitt inked JUCO C Robb Houser to a commitment, beating out Syracuse for the signature of the three-star player. Houser is a valuable asset if not only because he prevents there from being a gaping hole in the middle of Pitt’s line next season, but he could be the answer for the next two seasons.
• Though Pitt playing a more difficult non-conference schedule than normal and is still undefeated, the jury is still out on them as contenders. Prognosticators seem to like Duke tonight against Pitt, though it wouldn’t surprise anyone if the Panthers squeaked out a win. I generally agree with them, but it should be an extremely well-played and against game between two of the best programs in the nation over the last five years. Seth Davis from Sports Illustrated has an in-depth breakdown of the game and predicts Duke to prevail 78-76.
• Also from Sports Illustrated, Luke Winn has a Q&A session with Pitt forward Sam Young.
• West Virginians can’t take a joke. A Charleston, West Virginia DJ was removed from the airwaves for playing the Michigan fight song four times in one morning. The DJ, a Michigan native, struck a nerve with Mountaineer fans who are still bitter about the defection of Rich Rodriguez.
• The Steelers are in the playoffs with a win tonight against St. Louis and a Tennessee loss Sunday. Pittsburgh has not looked like a team that belongs in the playoffs in recent weeks, with sloppy execution occurring on both sides of the ball, and will probably be an early exit unless they catch some particularly powerful lightning in a bottle.
• The Pirates lost out on a really, really valuable replacement-level pitcher Chad Durbin, who signed with the Phillies yesterday. They are now chasing Octavio Dotel and Sean Chacon, who they just could not resign earlier this offseason. It is not good, to say the least, when your prize free agent signing could be Octavio Dotel.

• Prized Cincinnati Bearcat quarterback recruit Domonick Britt has decommitted and is said to be looking at Pitt, West Virginia, and Missouri. As Pitt has at least six quarterbacks expected to be on the roster next season, I highly doubt that the interest is mutual. With a very limited number of scholarships this season (currently floating at around 15), Pitt’s quarterback quota is filled. Its one thing for a recruit to return a scholarship offer, but its much worse for a school to revoke a player’s scholarship and give it to another player. Additionally, Britt seems way too spoiled for my taste. His reason for decommitting was “I was just not feeling the love from them anymore. … They were not really sending me as many texts messages or calling me like some of the other schools.”
• Rumors have been floating around that Kevan Smith may be looking to leave the football team. Smith, who was heavily recruited to play baseball, drew the ire of most fans before being benched in favor of Pat Bostick and may be looking to play for a different Panther team instead of sitting towards the bottom of a crowded depth chart. I am not sure how this would affect either team’s scholarship allotment.
• Keeping with the theme of quarterback news, speculation has been rampant regarding all-everything athlete Terrelle Pryor. Remember that Pryor verbally committed to the Panthers at the start of his junior year but has since reopened his recruiting. Pitt’s victory over West Virginia seems to have fueled speculation that Pryor has a renewed interest in the Panthers. However, if Pryor were to commit, there would be a mass exodus of quarterbacks from Pitt’s roster. Tino Sunseri and Zack Stoudt would surely decommit instead of wasting away for four years behind Pryor, and Pat Bostick would likely seriously consider transferring. Greg Cross will be enrolling at Pitt next month as a JUCO transfer and will not have the opportunity to leave. Though Pryor is good friends with several current and future Pitt athletes (he played AAU basketball with DeJuan Blair and Mike Shanahan), he has also maintained that he would like to go to school outside of his home city.  ESPN’s recruiting blog just did a feature on him (Insider only), saying that he has “Heisman potential”.
• Marcel Pestano will not be returning to the football team, although he is leaving on good terms. He graduated as a redshirt junior and has chosen not to take advantage of his fifth year of eligibility. He has decided to move on, as opposed to fighting for a spot on the suddenly crowded wide receiver corp.
• Junior Scott McKillop, who led the NCAA in tackles this season, is racking up the postseason accolades. He anchored a defense that simultaneously performed well and looked terrible, along with his brother, senior Chris. Scott has been named to three All-American teams so far. He landed on Scout.com’s first team, Sports Illustrated’s second team, and the Associated Press’ third team.
• One final note: Jeff Otah has been popping up towards the end of the first round on many mock NFL drafts.

The two three star recruits are Norwin WR Mike Shanahan (not to be confused with the Denver Broncos’ coach) and Pittsburgh Central Catholic QB Tino Sunseri (whose father is a Carolina Panthers coach). Shanahan (left) is a 6-5 two-sport athlete who should develop into an excellent deep threat after averaging 20 yards per catch in high school. After signing, he stated, “I want to be part of the turnaround at Pitt.” He will be joining a young, promising receiving corp that regains star Derek Kinder after an ACL injury kept him out all of last season. Sunseri (right) had formally verbally committed to Louisville ,but an uncertain coaching situation appears to have changed his mind. His father, Sal, a former All-American at Pitt, almost certainly had a role in his decision. Sunseri, listed as a “pro style quarterback” by Rivals.com, is an accurate and strong-armed passer who, though not a clone of Pat White, can burn a defense with his speed if given the opportunity. He will likely be in open competition with senior Bill Stull, potential-filled sophomore Pat Bostick, recently committed freshman Zack Stoudt (whose father Cliff played for the Steelers), and Greg Cross, a JUCO transfer who also committed today.

Gateway RB/CB Cameron Saddler and Aliquippa WR/TE Jonathan Baldwin are the two recently committed four star recruits. Saddler (left), who was recently featured in ESPN Magazine alongside his teammate and cousin Shayne Hale (to be discussed shortly), had all but registered for the fall semester at the University of Virginia before suddenly changing directions and committing to Pitt almost immediately after their win over the Mountaineers. He told ESPN, “Virginia was the leader for about four months. When coach [Dave] Wannstedt came to my house, it changed everything. He made such a big impression on me and my mom. He let me know where I really stood and talked to me about how I would really fit into the offense.”  He is a shifty runner and a very solid tackler, but his real talent is as a kick returner, where he has the ability to take any given kick to the house. Saddler was recruited to play receiver, but given coach Dave Wannstedt’s emphasis on a speedy defense and an already crowded group of wideouts, Saddler will likely find his place on defense and special teams, similar to junior Dorin Dickerson. However, Saddler’s biggest contribution may come as a recruiter for other WPIAL players. “I’m going to be Greg Gattuso Jr.,” he said, referencing Pitt’s recruiting coordinator. Baldwin (right) is a excellent receiver/tight end who has both soft hands and blocking skills. He was also recruited as a wideout, but he may very well be forced into tight end, as the incumbent at the position, Darrell Strong, will be graduating and both Nate Byham and John Pelusi won’t be at 100% going into spring drills. However, once the other two are back at full strength, Pitt will either have a trio of young, skilled tight ends or another exceptional receiver.

This is an unbelievable recruiting class as it currently stands (Rivals.com ranks it at #14), but the addition of one player could be the cherry on top. Shayne Hale (left), a coveted five star recruit, has recently reintroduced Pitt into his very narrow list of prospective school. Previously, his top two schools were Michigan and Ohio State, although the Wolverines have dropped out of the running after the retirement of coach Lloyd Carr. Taking their place in the recruiting process was Pitt, who have had several variables fall in their favor. Hale attended the Backyard Brawl, taking his official visit to West Virginia to view what may be the turning point for Pittsburgh football. As previously mentioned, he is Saddler’s cousin and teammate and the two have repeatedly mentioned the possibility of following each other to the next level. Back in August, Saddler went so far as to say, “I’d say there’s about a 90 percent chance we’ll go to the same place.” Both Scouts and Rivals recruiting services label Pitt as a close second to Ohio State. Hale has until February 6th to make his decision. Lets hope he makes the right one.