Running Back U?

With the recent commitment of running back Jameel Poteat, it got me thinking about Pitt's recent success with running backs.  Lots of schools can stake a claim to being called "Running Back U" all-time.  Pitt has two all-time NFL greats with Tony Dorsett and Curtis Martin, but is still behind schools like USC.  Here's a reasonable list from a year ago, before the success of Dion Lewis.  Still, I think Pitt is a little low.

But how about currently?

With Lesean McCoy and Dion Lewis over the past two seasons, Pitt has had one of the most productive running games in the country over that span.  And don't forget about Shady's backup, Larod Stephens-Howling. It's hard to imagine many schools having a backup capable of rushing for 220+ yards, as LSH once did against Syracuse.  Stephens-Howling is in the NFL and if Dion Lewis bolts for the pros either after this season or next as expected, Pitt will have its three starting running backs all in the pros.

No one can identify just how good Poteat will be, but Lewis' current backup Ray Graham has shown glimpses of being very good.

And if you really want to get technical, you can count Rashad Jennings, who transferred to Liberty and ended up with three straight 1,000 yard seasons (including a 1,500+ season as a senior).  Liberty may only be a I-AA school, but Jennings proved he's a talented back as he's in the NFL now as well.

Go back a few years to 2000 and you've got Kevan Barlow, who after that season was an NFL Draft Pick as well and had a fairly long career.

Over the past decade, Pitt might be it for running backs.

Poteat Version 2.0

So there's the news out there today about Jameel Poteat coming into the fold, verballing to Pitt.  The Bishop McDevitt pipeline is alive and well and it's always nice to get over on USC....twice:

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.

Maybe next time, there, cheaters.  I've got to say it's great news, but I'm mildly shocked by the exuberance of Pitt fans hailing this as the second coming of Tony Dorsett.  Or far worse than that - those claiming this suddenly vaults Pitt amongst the elite.

Whoa there, slow down.

Poteat is good to be sure.  I'll even call him a great recruit.  There have been mentions out there that he had over 40 offers...though I'm sure he never came close to really considering that many schools.  Those offers came from schools such as Florida, USC, Notre Dame, and Tennessee.  He's rated as a four-star recruit by both Rivals and Scout and both sites rate him as the #15 running back in the country.

On top of all this, the underlying theme is that Dave Wannstedt continues to not only pursue big recruits, but he's getting some of them.  Even the group of his greatest detractors (of which I've been a card-carrying member at times in the past) cannot dispute his ability to recruit at a level significantly above Pitt's actual success on the field.

That said.

I'm not convinced that Pitt fans can point to this commit and proclaim themselves as getting close to moving in amongst the elite.  Poteat is a fine player, but he's not even a five-star recruit by most (if not all) accounts.  This is far from a monumental signing by any means.

Need further proof that Pitt has a lot of work to do?  All you need to do is check out this list of Scout's most recent recruiting rankings.  Pitt checks in at #20 after the Poteat signing.  That's pretty good and when it's all said and done, this could even be a top 10-15 class.  But that's not the important part.  Check out the number of five-star recruits and top 100 recruits.  Pitt has zero and one respectively.  Compare that to some of the top schools: Texas (10/7), Ohio State (5/2), and LSU and USC (4/2 each).  For the work that Pitt has done in moving up the food chain, they're a distant 20 behind some of those top 10 schools.

This chart is just one site's opinion, but it's easy to see that there's quite a disparity between some of the elite schools and Pitt.

That's not to say that Pitt isn't making progress - they're taking remarkably large steps compared to the Walt Harris era.  The good news for Pitt fans is that while programs aren't built overnight, the school is doing everything it possibly can to speed up its return to prominence.  Pitt is not going to land five-star prospects in bunches after a couple of good seasons.  It's going to take a while, but the school is on its way. 

So for that I tip my hat to Wannstedt.  However, for Pitt to be considered a serious player, landing guys like Poteat will need to become a regularity - not a special occasion.

Tony Dorsett Casts A Vote For Reggie

Pitt Heisman winner may have shocked some with his recent comments about Reggie Bush keeping the Heisman trophy at a recent golf outing:

"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.

Frankly, I would expect most Heisman winners to fall in line with those same sentiments.  I think that most athletes feel college players get the short end of the stick when it comes to being unpaid, so his comments don't surprise me.

 

But I think he's wrong on this one.  The rules state that winners have to be compliant with NCAA rules and if Bush has not been, then I think he should lose the trophy.  Those are the rules and regardless of his actual performance on the field, if he's found guilty of cheating, then he deserves to lose the trophy.  True, an argument can be made that it didn't affect his on-field performance.  I would be inclined to agree with that.  But let's create a different scenario.  Instead of attending USC, what if he had attended a school with less talented athletes?  If he didn't have the opportunity to play on an outstanding team loaded with weapons, would he have still put up the same numbers?

 

I don't know - I always hate saying an athlete or team should lose an award after the fact...especially YEARS after the fact.  Still, I'm not exactly on board with the idea of saying that the rules shouldn't count.