Five years ago, the USC Trojans went all-out to land a premier tailback talent out of Bishop McDevitt High School in Harrisburg, PA. And though they failed to sign former Pitt Panther and current Philadelphia Eagle LeSean McCoy in the class of 2006, that attempt could pay off in a big way with class of 2011 standout Jameel Poteat.
Today in court, Sheard reportedly wanted to plea to a lesser charge. He also agreed to pay the victim's medical bills, totaling about $1,000.
However, the victim would not accept either and now wants the case to proceed.
"I was at that game scouting Stull and [tight end Dorin] Dickerson," said one scout in attendance. "I knew who Baldwin was, but I had never seen him play in person. That drive was impressive, and it really showed how dominant he could be on the big stage. But, that catch he made in the end zone, against a pretty good defender, brought back memories of Larry Fitzgerald."
Let someone else reach for...
Jonathan Baldwin. Sure he's one of the more physically gifted wide receivers in the country, but I'm not sold on the Panther offense in 2010. Only two offensive linemen return, Tino Sunseri has some big shoes to fill, and this will remain a run-first and run-second offense. I'm not telling you to avoid Baldwin, just that there are reasons to doubt that he'll match his 57-1111-8 from 2009.
Greg Romeus, Pittsburgh: With the Panthers projected to be a force in the Big East, look for the senior to improve on his numbers from last season. Romeus racked up a team-high eight sacks and 11.5 tackles for a loss. The first-team All-Big East performer and Hendricks finalist just might be able to garner some votes if the Panthers are near the Top 15 most of the year. Keep an eye on how Romeus does in the team's biggest games -- at Utah (Sept. 6), Miami (Sept. 23), West Virginia (Nov. 26) and at Cincinnati (Dec. 4).
The other seven defensive players SI mentioned for the Heisman were Adrian Clayborn (Iowa), Jared Crick (Nebraska), Von Miller (Texas A&M), Greg Romeus (Pittsburgh), Patrick Peterson (Louisiana State), Rahim Moore (UCLA) and Greg Reid (Florida State).
Now Romeus, a 2010 "Lott watch list" candidate, will attempt to cap off a stellar Panther career as he matriculates his way to the NFL.
And perhaps thrust himself into the Heisman conversation along the way.
When the Panthers are not handing off to speedster running back Dion Lewis, they will be passing to the 6-foot-5, 225-pound Jon Baldwin at wide receiver. Baldwin leads a unit that has potential, but lacks real experience. Baldwin is a genuine threat downfield, and defenses doubling him will take some of the pressure off the new guys. Last year Baldwin averaged almost twenty yards per catch. Two new guys on campus are expected to make an immediate impact catching the ball for Pitt. Drew Carswell and Salath Williams should be two of the best freshmen receivers in the nation.
Key stretch: at Connecticut (Nov. 11), at South Florida (Nov. 20), West Virginia (Nov. 26), at Cincinnati (Dec. 4).
The British Basketball League could have a franchise in Belfast by the year 2012, Ireland's most-capped international player has said.
Gareth Maguire made the statement at the launch of the Belfast Basketball Classic, a four-team tournament featuring the University of Pittsburgh Panthers, Australian NBL team the Melbourne Tigers, as well as the national sides of England and Scotland.
Maguire told the BBC: "This tournament is a stepping stone towards the [BBL] franchise."
It is proof we can run events like these. Wouldn't it be a fantastic story to launch this team at the Olympics in September 2012? That is what our aim is."
The Panthers, Pittsburg University's team, are one of the biggest names in American basketball, while the Tigers -- owned by former Belfast man Seamus McPeake -- are one of the top outfits in the Australian NBL. Both are watched regularly by crowds of 20,000.
“Gary, is easily the best center we’ve ever had, defensively. That’s half the game right there. That can’t be underestimated..."
“All the exposure and media attention, it really helped us get a feel (for) what it’s going to be when this season starts,” said swingman Gilbert Brown. “If they expect you to win, you have to exceed expectations. If they expect you to lose, you have to prove that you’re worthy.
“The expectation to win is (like) what we’ve had when we were No. 1 in the country.”
According to some of the team's veterans, Wright and Moore didn't take long to get acclimated to the environment of Pitt's practices.
"From the first day, you could see that both freshmen were pretty physical themselves," senior guard Brad Wanamaker said. "Especially Cameron: he's a very physical two-guard. He's always tough on me."
While Pitt practices are legendary for their intensity, this one was toned down as far as bodies -- and language -- flying.
"It wasn't as physical as we usually practice," senior guard Brad Wanamaker said, "when there's no one around."
Kubiak expects Dickerson to contribute on special teams before cracking into the rotation at receiver.
"He's got to prove that he can help us out there. If he was a fifth receiver on game day or a sixth, you can suit six guys if they're all playing special teams. I think that's his number one priority, doing it for (special teams coach) Joe (Marciano) right now."
"It gets overwhelming when you're in the huddle and they say the play so fast," Dickerson said. "You've got to think a lot faster and react a lot faster."
“Not many teams get the chance to have an organized practice during the summertime,” he said. “This is helping us get closer. Last year, we were all still getting used to each other because we were young. This year, with us in the summer league and going over to Ireland, we’re going to be real good.”
"We'd get 100 or 200 kids here [in camp] and, really, we might only be interested in four or five and maybe one we'd offer a scholarship," Wannstedt said. "That just didn't sit right with me. I thought we could make the experience better for the players and really make the camps something that could help more kids play college football.
"We can only take 15 to 25 kids every year but there are an awful lot of really good football players out there who we'd bring to our camps and I felt like we could do a better job to make the camps something that would be helpful to them and help them get a shot that maybe they wouldn't get otherwise."
That's how Wannstedt came up with the idea to start inviting college coaches from all different levels to come to the camps. This year's prospect camps -- which took place in four one-day sessions June 11, 12, 18 and 19 -- were the most attended of Wannstedt's tenure.
Karabin is expected to make all the calls and anchor an O-line that was arguably the best in the Big East last year. And to do so while still paying his own tuition. He said earning a scholarship would be great "but that it's more important to win games."
Whether Pitt can win as many games as people expect this year may depend a lot on how their walk-on center performs. Karabin knows one thing: after all this time waiting for a shot to play, he's going to give his best effort.
"I definitely don't want to give it up now," he said. "I will lay it all out on the line to keep my job."
As a proud University of Pittsburgh alum, Spencer was pleased to see another Panther drafted by the 49ers in consecutive seasons. Spencer approached rookie tight end Nate Byham in the locker room on Thursday to check in and offer advice. “He said it’s been tough and I told him, ‘Just keep swinging. Keep your head up and stay positive.’”
McKillop started for three years at Pitt and was invited to the New York Jets' rookie minicamp in May 2008. Later, he had tryouts with the Chicago Rush and Columbus Destroyers of the Arena Football League, but the league canceled its 2009 season.
McKillop will work closely with defensive coordinator Dave Opfar, a former defensive lineman at Penn State. McKillop said Opfar showed a lot of faith in him during spring drills.
“He’s about 6′10″, 6′11″, and about 225 or 230 pounds,” says Kenny McFadden, Adams’ coach in Wellington, as well as the Development Officer of basketball in the country. But I think he’s going to eventually be over 7′0″ feet. He’s only sixteen.”
“We played professionally in New Zealand together many years ago,” says McFadden, who played for George Raveling at Washington State. “And we have been friends ever since. When Jamie was down here for the World Championships, we sat down and I told him about my players. He was interested in Rob Loe (6′11″ center) at the time, but he went to play at St. Louis. And I told him about Steve, and I told him that he was even better. He is bigger and more skilled than Rob was.”
As for the future for Adams, McFadden doesn’t mince words. “His aspirations are to play in the NBA and I think he can. We’ve had a few others from here play in the league, like Sean Marks (9-year veteran who played at California), and he is going to be better than all of them.”
“When I went on my visit there it was like a family,” Johnson said, “the coaches can be like father figures to me and that’s important because I don’t want to go to college just for basketball…I want to become a good man too.”
While all expectations are that Sunseri will be up to the task, if 2009 was any indication, it won’t matter who is under center for the Panthers — they’ll be efficient and fun to watch every Saturday.
Now entering his seventh NFL season, Fitzgerald has turned into the mentor and turned his hometown into the place to be for professional pass catchers in the weeks before training camp begins in August. With a star-studded list of instructors, Fitzgerald invites players of varying experience to train with him at the University of Minnesota.
True, it might seem a little odd that Fitzgerald is training fellow NFL veterans, but he's got some help:What started as a group of about five or six players a few years ago has swelled to about 40 athletes, all working on an efficient and demanding routine that lasts for three weeks.Greg Jennings, Brandon Marshall and Sidney Rice have participated in the past. On Tuesday, Green Bay tight end Jermichael Finley, Seattle rookie Golden Tate, New Orleans defensive back Malcolm Jenkins, St. Louis linebacker James Laurinaitis and Vikings quarterback Tarvaris Jackson were among those in the group, which changes from week to week.
Legends like Jerry Rice, Carter and Irvin stop in to help teach youngsters like Tate and Denver rookie Eric Decker(notes) the tricks of the trade. One of Irvin’s lessons, for instance, was for receivers to anticipate the snap count rather than waiting to hear it from the quarterback to gain a split-second in the never-ending search for an edge.
The mornings are basically on-field chalkboard sessions. Ideas are shared and compared. But let there be no doubt, the workouts are as demanding physically as they are enlightening mentally. Different days are devoted to different things, be it improving speed, agility, strength, technique. One of the mornings concluded with the players running 16 110-yard sprints, with limited rest in between. It was enough to make an onlooker feel like he was going to lose his breakfast.Don't get me wrong - I don't think guys are out there going until they hurl. But as the article states, to get guys to go before training camp during some of their last days of freedom....to Minnesota? Yeah, Fitz has some serious pull.
Davis said recruiting will be his primary focus at XU. His main bases are in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, although he also has ties in Maryland, Georgia and Florida.
Davis was a point guard and later an assistant coach at Division II St. Thomas Aquinas College in New York. He served as an assistant varsity coach at national power Rice High (N.Y.) for two seasons and worked with the New York Gauchos AAU program for three years.
He has a master’s degree in guidance counseling from the College of New Rochelle (N.Y.) and for two years was a guidance counselor at Foreign Language Academy of Global Studies High School in South Bronx.
At Xavier, Davis will be a full-time assistant and is expected to be on the road recruiting this month for the second ‘live’ period which covers July 22 – July 31.
Troutman receives offers to play in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, but he has declined those offers in recent years because he has been under contract in Europe. He makes a six-figure salary and feels comfortable with his situation.
"For my size and the way I was being promoted, it was better for me to go over there than anything else," he said. "I realized that early. I said, 'Let me just start my career off as a pro over there and see how it goes.
"Now I'm very successful over there. I'm known in basketball. I don't think I'll ever have a problem having a job the rest of my career. I actually thought about coming back over here [to give the NBA a try], but for me it's probably not worth it.
"It's kind of difficult to get your foot in the door. They have to show the initiative."
Troutman, the former Pitt star, is no longer playing basketball in this country, and his appearance is proof positive. There was a certain European flair to Troutman last week when he strolled into the Greentree SportsPlex in shorts, T-shirt, sandals and a fanny pack to watch some Pitt players compete in the Pittsburgh Basketball Club Pro-Am.
Toss in some spectacular alley-oop dunks and blocked shots, and Adams is clearly a young man going places.
"I want to try and make the NBA," Adams said. "My hero is [Orlando Magic superstar] Dwight Howard."
"I don't see any reason to take it back from him. Anybody that watched college football during his time will tell you Reggie Bush was the most exciting football player on earth at the college level," said Tony Dorsett, the former Pittsburgh Panthers and Dallas Cowboys great.
"I think he was a very justified winner. His numbers were right. He meant as much as anybody has ever meant to their team."
Dorsett, the 1976 Heisman winner, believes Southern Cal officials should share the blame.
"It's not Reggie Bush. I don't know what his economic background was at that time, but that's what a lot of these universities do. They get these great talents and they get them to go to their higher institutions of learning because they shell out a little cheese for them," Dorsett said.
"And sometimes these kids need that. They all know it's wrong. But in most cases, they don't ask (schools) for it. They offer it. Those people that are doing that need to be sanctioned."
Though the Heisman ballot states "recipients must be in compliance with the (NCAA) bylaws," Rogers, South Carolina's lone Heisman winner, and others said the most important criteria are Bush's football accomplishments.
“Herb’s doing great, Herb’s doing great,” Willard said Thursday. “Taking classes, working, getting back because he did miss quite a few classes. He’s really working hard to get back academically what he needs to do and get back on track for graduation. Herb’s doing pretty good.”Former Pitt great and current Pope mentor, Charles Smith, also comments briefly via text in the article.
