Pitt football is in good company

It’s hard to imagine, at this point that the Pitt football team would rank among the top… It’s hard to imagine, at this point that the Pitt football team would rank among the top programs in the nation in anything but games played on weeknights.

However, in a certain field, the Pitt Panthers rank higher than programs like Ohio State, Miami (Fla.) and USC. As a matter of fact, they currently hold the No. 12 spot in the entire nation.

That field is recruiting. Believe it or not, head coach Dave Wannstedt and the Panthers’ coaching staff have done a better job recruiting in their first season than Walt Harris ever did in his 8-year career at Pitt.

As a matter of fact, most of Pitt’s recruiting success came before the season even started, and despite the Panthers’ troubles on the field so far, they have yet to lose a significant verbal commitment.

Pitt currently holds 18 such verbal commitments from high school and junior college players up and down the East Coast, 13 of which come from Pennsylvania. But the quantity of recruits isn’t what matters most, nor is it what has earned the Panthers the No. 12 ranking thus far.

Much like the stories we write here at The Pitt News, quality supercedes the aforementioned.

Rivals100.com, the nation’s leading college football recruiting service, ranks (to their best ability) and publishes the top 250 high school players in the nation each year in what they like to call the “Rivals 250.” Of those top 250 players, five of them have committed to Pitt.

The Panthers’ prize recruit from this bunch is athlete Dorin Dickerson from nearby West Allegheny High School. Dickerson is the 83rd ranked prospect in the country as rated by Rivals. So far this year, Dickerson is averaging just about four touchdowns per game, and is claimed by many to have the playmaking ability that Pitt last saw in (bow your heads) Larry Fitzgerald.

Another Pitt commit with such ability is tight end Nate Byham from Franklin, Pa. Scout.com, another recruiting agency like Rivals, currently rates Byham as the No. 1 tight end prospect in the country.

As a junior in high school, Byham averaged just under 20 yards per reception with nine touchdowns. His coach at Franklin Area High School, Dave Smith, was quoted as saying, “Nate was like a man among boys this past season.”

Such men are exactly what Pitt needs. The Panthers’ offense has been anything but consistent this year, leaving fans and media alike scratching their heads. Elite athletes like Dickerson and Byham could quite possibly be the missing link.

Penn State is a direct testament to that claim. Look at the impact a freshman like Derrick Williams had at Happy Valley prior to his injury. He added a dynamic, not to mention exciting, element to the Nittany Lions’ offense, ending the days of losing to Iowa 6-4. No matter how you feel about Penn State, this is irrefutable.

So what is the cause for Pitt’s sudden recruiting success? Is it the energy felt at Heinz Field as twenty-thousand strong roar when Josh Cummings splits the uprights? Could it be Pitt’s ability to contend on a national level, as they showed last year in the Fiesta Bowl?

No, it’s coach Dave Wannstedt.

It doesn’t matter that the Panthers are 5-5 and in immediate danger of not making the postseason for the first time since 1999. Pitt has a former NFL coach, which players believe is a huge advantage, should they want to pursue professional careers.

The reason USC has built a dynasty over the last few years is the talent former NFL head coach Pete Carroll recruited. In his first year at USC, Carroll and the Trojans went 6-6, including a 1-4 start. Sounds familiar.

Since then, they have been 45-3.

Carroll brought in players like Reggie Bush, Dwayne Jarrett, Mike Williams and last year’s Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart to lay the foundation for the nation’s top football program three years running.

So hang tight. Although this season hasn’t panned out the way it was supposed to, all hasn’t been lost. Once the talent Dave Wannstedt is able to recruit suits up in blue and gold, good things will start happening. Who knows, maybe even the throwback uniforms will become permanent.

Well, maybe not.

Pat Mitsch is a staff writer for The Pitt News.