how does pitt do it

[SANJAY]

Guess what was one of the best recruiting tools USF had this year?  Consensus All-American George Selvie.

David Bedford wanted to play opposite Selvie, and Selvie hosted other players too.

You think if Selvie went on to a Hall of Fame career like Dorsett or Marino that would not be positive for USF years from now? 

[usfgrad84]

Pitt - Tony Dorsett, Dan Marino and Hugh Smith (among others) likely come to mind for most football fans.  For USF...let's see that guy Bill Gramatica that ruined his career celebrating and that guy in the superbowl this year.

In one more year, add Mike Jenkins, and the year after that add another, and so on. One year at a time. We are on the right path.

I DONT  think those guys 25 years removed from pitt effect their recruiting in 2008

You don't think it is impressive for a young local Pittsburgh area kid to be recruited by a head coach and Offensive Coordinator that are both local legends and alumni that flash  national championship rings in their face?  Then he starts throwing around names like Dan Marino, Mark May, Hugh Green, Mike Ditka, Curtis Martin, Larry Fitzgerald, etc, etc and Tony Dorsett?  If you are a local Pittsburgh area kid and you want to stay home where will you go?  Two choices.  PSU or Pitt.  If you grew up in that area and all you heard growing up was all about those local kids making good and they are telling you that you are gonna be the next in line, where would you go?  Stay in State and go to Temple? Stay close to home an go to Youngstown State or Buffalo?  Please.  That's a silly question.  Of course tradition matters.

I have spoken with a couple of guys that I know played at Pitt.  Until we beat them last year they pretty much thought we were a joke.

For some reason smazza thinks that USF is just a garden spot place and once we became a member of the BE, despite less than (huge understatement) competitive facilites, ZERO tradition, 1 maybe 2 players in the NFL that have had even decent careers.  As much as I bleed Green and Gold, I got news for you.  USF has a long way to go before we compare to what a lot of other programs can offer these kids.  We are getting there, but if given a choice between some of the other schools  and USF, I think it's an incredible recruiting job that these coaches do.

[RegretaBull]

Western PA is a goldmine for QBs.  They also have very little competiion in the PA/NY/NJ area beside Penn State and maybe Rutgers. 

Wannstedt had a decent class last year and another good one this year.  If only he gave the coaching duties to someone else...

[Guest Mr. AKA]

Let me preface this entire statement by saying; I think recruiting class rankings are perhaps one of the most overrated topics in all of sports....

Wannstedt is a good recruiter, but terrible coach. He must be a great people person, because he keeps getting decent jobs. He hasnt been successful since he was a Def Coor. with Dallas in the early 90s

That area is loaded with talent, as is FL, but what is most crucial, is selling the program nation wide. Look at the successful programs, they recruit outside of their region. Look at Florida's class, over half of their class is from outside the state. Tradition is crucial, I would assume every skill player being recruited by Michigan proably sees the Desmond Howard highlight where he strikes the heisman pose after a punt return TD against OSU.

We are still relatively unknown outside the southeast, but we are starting to get some recognition nationally, along with an upgrade in facilites, and the tide will turn in recruiting grades.

I will enjoy watching Pitt's stellar recruiting classes lose at Ray Jay in 2008, because its what happens on the field that matters.

[I_Bleed_Green&Gold]

In all honesty this is either a dumb question or just posed by someone that knows nothing about football.

Just a few facts about PITT from Wikipedia.....

Traditionally the most popular sport at the University of Pittsburgh is football, at which Pitt has competed at the highest levels since 1889. During the more than 100 years of competitive football at Pitt, the university has fielded some of the greatest all-time teams, players and coaches.

9-Time National Champions

The University of Pittsburgh officially claims 9 National Championships for the Panthers football team: 4 unanimous ones (1916, 1918, 1937, and 1976) and 5 shared titles (1915, 1929, 1931, 1934, 1936). The University of Pittsburgh bases its claim for the first 8 national championships on a study conducted in 1970 by Sports Illustrated. These championships, together with its unanimous championship of 1976, are the basis for the university's claim of 9 national championship seasons. Furthermore, in 8 additional years at least one recognized selector of national championships has declared Pitt a National Champion. In total Pitt has been recognized as the National Champion by at least one selector in a total of 17 different seasons:

Pitt has had 8 undefeated seasons: 1904 (10-0), 1910 (9-0), 1915 (8-0), 1916 (8-0), 1917 (10-0), 1920 (6-0-2), 1937 (9-0-1), and 1976 (12-0). Of these 8 undefeated seasons, 4 are not claimed as national championship seasons by Pitt.

Pitt has also had 17 one-loss seasons (1894, 1899, 1914, 1918, 1925, 1927, 1929, 1931-1936, 1963, and 1979-1981). Pitt won Eastern football titles in 1925, 1927, 1929, 1931, 1932, 1934, 1936*, 1937*, 1955*, 1976*, 1979*, 1980*, and won a co-share of the Big East Conference championship and received a BCS bowl berth in 2004.

*Lambert-Meadowlands Trophy (est. 1936) winner

Football Traditions & Facts

The football team has played at Recreation Park until 1899, and then began playing games at Exposition Park in 1900, but did not exclusively lease the park until 1904. Pitt moved in to Forbes Field from 1909 to 1924, and the at Pitt Stadium in 1925. The team moved into Three Rivers Stadium for the 2000 season and then into Heinz Field, where they currently play, in 2001.

Pitt's tradition of elite college athletes includes; Tony Dorsett, Mike Ditka, Dan Marino, Mark May, Marshall Goldberg, Joe Schmidt, Bill Fralic, Hugh Green, Curtis Martin,and Johnny Majors. Dorsett, Ditka, Marino, May, Goldberg, Schmidt, Fralic, and Green are the only players in Pitt history to have their numbers retired. Additional NFL Alum with Pitt ties are Russ Grimm and Jimmy Johnson. Recent NFL players and coaches with Pitt ties, are among several others,Cardinal's WR Larry Fitzgerald, former Charger coach Marty Schottenheimer, and Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden. Also of note is alum Beano Cook. While Beano has no formal NFL ties, he has been a respected member of the sports journalism community for well over 20 years.

Pitt Panthers football has also gained a reputation as a national leader in innovation, Bobby Grier became the first African-American player to break the Bowl game color-barrier in 1956.

Long-standing football rivalries with Penn State University, the University of Notre Dame, the Backyard Brawl with West Virginia University, and the new River City Rivalry with the University of Cincinnati also highlight Pitt's resume.

Hall of Fame & All Americans

The Pitt Panthers have a long history of producing top football talent. Pitt has produced 85 1st team All-Americans (49 consensus All-Americans, 7th most of all schools). There are 24 Pitt Panthers in the College Football Hall of Fame and four that are members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame: Dan Marino, Tony Dorsett, Mike Ditka, and Joe Schmidt