News and Notes

Nothing major out there today, but a few things to mention before things pile up:

Tom Herrion gets a nice piece discussing his opportunity at Marshall, some of his past coaching experience, and, of course, the quarter:

Making the quick drive from his old job to his new one, Tom Herrion stopped to grab a bite to eat in Morgantown, W.Va.

While Herrion finished up his meal, a gentleman slid out of his nearby booth and came over to Herrion's table.

"Excuse me, weren't you the assistant at Pitt?" the man said.

And when Herrion admitted that, indeed, he was the assistant coach made famous after getting pegged by a flying coin during a Panthers game at West Virginia, the man took a quarter out of his pocket and set it on the table.

"Not all West Virginia people are bad," he said and walked off.

Former Pitt recruit and Seton Hall standout Herb Pope, meanwhile, is still recovering and is back in Pittsburgh. It's unclear if he will play next season at Seton Hall.

Brian Bennett at ESPN.com wraps up his Big East position rankings. Pitt ranked fourth in the secondary and fifth at Tight End.

Just a quick note on the tight ends. I've mentioned this before, but I really believe this position will be more productive than expected. With the loss of Dorin Dickerson and Nate Byham, I'm sure many fans are looking for a large decrease in production there. But I believe that Offensive Coordinator Frank Cignetti will again find ways to get the tight ends involved. And with a new quarterback and retooled offensive line, you can look for some short, safe passes this year to the tight end 'security blanket.' I think fans will be pleasantly surprised, even though it's almost a guarantee that there will be a decrease in production at that spot.

And Dion Lewis was called college football's most productive runner and a top five Heisman candidate by the Sporting News. The publication also ranked Pitt 19th and named Lewis, Jason Pinkston, Jonathan Baldwin, and Greg Romeus to its All American teams.

Welcome Pat Skerry

Jamie Dixon hired an assistant coach to replace Tom Herrion - the rumored Pat Skerry from Providence has accepted an offer.

This is a good get for Pitt. Not an established former head coach (served as the head coach for a couple of years at a small school, Curry College), but someone who's been viewed as a top assistant. Some of the qualifications from his bio:

- Named as one of the top assistants in the country in 2007 by Hoop Scoop

- 2008 FoxSports.com top mid-major assistant in the country

- Helped put together a top 25 recruting class at Rhode Island in 2006

He also has a history with departed assistant Tom Herrion as he served as an assistant with him at the College of Charleston.

Skerry was in on the recruiting efforts for Providence this past season and helped land two ESPN top 100 recruits, including #54 overall Gerard Coleman.

His history on the east coast and ability to recruit well at less successful programs has me encouraged. It's nice to think he might be able to do even more at a school that's had one of the winningest programs in the country over the past decade.

I'm pretty happy with this choice.

Brandin Knight Stays?

Maybe I just missed the boat on this one, but I hadn't heard Brandin Knight was being considered for an opening on Mike Rice's staff at Rutgers.

Thankfully he's staying put.

That would have given me yet another reason to root for Rice. But more importantly, it could have cost Pitt big time. Knight is coming into his own as a recruiter and was instrumental in getting New Jersey PG Isaiah Epps into the fold. Plus, Pitt is still trying to fill the vacancy from Tom Herrion's exit.

Pitt has groomed Knight since his playing days ended and his role should get bigger as time goes on. Glad he's sticking around for now.

Herrion Out

As I first saw reported by Bob Smizik's excellent blog, Pitt top assistant/Associate Head Coach Tom Herrion is reportedly leaving to take the head job at Marshall. It's not a surprise that he was looking to leave as he was a finalist for the Holy Cross job previously, and was linked to the Toledo job just a few weeks ago.

It seemed like it was only a matter of time. Herrion has been Jamie Dixon's main man and was the lead guy on the recruiting of Dante Taylor. According to Rivals, he's credited with the recruiting of Ashton Gibbs, Jermaine Dixon, Dwight Miller, and Lamar Patterson.

Marshall's AD, Mike Hamrick, is familiar with the Herrion family, and I think this is a good hire for them - even if he wasn't necessarily their first choice:

MU officials are holding a press conference at 1 p.m. at Cam Henderson Center. They are steadfastly refusing to confirm Herrion's appointment, but it was reported on the flagship radio station of the Thundering Herd radio network, WRVC in Huntington.

Further, WSAZ television reported that athletic director Mike Hamrick initially offered the job to Appalachian State coach Buzz Peterson, but the sides could not agree on a contract.

Hamrick has a history with Herrion's family, hiring his brother Bill in 1999 while at East Carolina. The older Herrion now coaches at New Hampshire.

Not sure who Dixon will get to replace him. I guess he could promote someone within then hire a lower-level guy. I've always liked the idea of having former head coaches as assistants on your staff. You get opinions of experienced guys who have been responsible for and in the situation of winning and losing games. Too many chefs in the kitchen can be a bad thing, but Dixon had a good find in Herrion.

If Dixon promotes from within, it will be interesting to see who fills the position - Pat Sandle, (who's been in the Howland/Dixon family since the days of Northern Arizona, but isn't really known as a recruiter) or former Pitt star Brandin Knight, (who's less experienced, but credited by Rivals as bringing in PG Isaiah Epps).

Herrion Loses Out

Buried at the bottom of this scheduling article was the fact that Tom Herrion was passed up for the Holy Cross job:

Also yesterday, Holy Cross decided against hiring Pitt associate head coach Tom Herrion for its head coaching position. The Crusaders hired Notre Dame assistant Sean Kearney instead. Herrion had been one of three finalists for the job that was vacated when Ralph Willard, a former Pitt head coach, left to become Rick Pitino's top assistant at Louisville.

You don't like to see this happen, but losing Herrion would have been tough as he's a solid recruiter. You've got to think it's just a matter of time before he's hired somewhere.