Not long after becoming head coach at Pitt in 2005, Dave Wannstedt said he and his coaching staff could -- and would -- build a winner by recruiting within a five-hour drive from campus.
Wannstedt also talked about building a wall around the WPIAL, partly in an attempt to repair relationships with Southwestern Pennsylvania high school coaches that were somewhat strained during the latter stages of Walt Harris' tenure and in hopes of landing more of the area's top prospects.
Before Harris left for Stanford in 2005 after coaching Pitt in a lopsided loss to an Urban Meyer-led Utah in the Fiesta Bowl, a majority of top prospects in the WPIAL at the time -- Justin King, Sean Lee, Anthony Morelli, A.Q. Shipley, Paul Posluzsny to name a few -- were picking Penn State. Others such as Steve Breaston (Michigan) and Travis Thomas (Notre Dame) chose schools with a history of success in plucking players from the area when wanted. There's also Dan Mozes, who played at Washington High School and went on to be a first-team All-American center and Rimington Award winner at West Virginia. Word at the time was Harris did not like recruiting players from smaller WPIAL schools, making an exception for Aliquippa.
There were some WPIAL recruiting wins during the Harris era.
Darrelle Revis, one of the all-time greats to come out of Aliquippa but an undervalued player coming out of high school, and Tyler Palko (West Allegheny) immediately come to mind, but Wannstedt wanted to change the narrative that Pitt no longer wanted local talent while also recruiting fertile football areas such as Ohio, Washington D.C. and parts of Virginia, New York and New Jersey.
Some of Wannstedt's early recruits were among the best players the WPIAL had to offer at the time: Dorin Dickerson, Elijah Fields, John Malecki, Greg Webster, Nate Nix, Aaron Smith and Jason Pinkston. Pitt gradually became a winner under Wannstedt, who guided the Panthers to their only 10-win season (2009) since 1981.
As time passes, however, several questions arise: Was Harris on to something or, at least, ahead of his time? Can strong recruiting classes be built from talent out of the WPIAL and City League?
Judging from recent recruiting classes built by Pat Narduzzi and his staff, the answer increasingly seems Pitt must recruit heavily outside its natural borders to craft a competitive team in the ACC Coastal Division. Strong offensive lines can be crafted from a bevy of Southwestern Pennsylvania players. So can some standout defenders, but when it comes to skill-position players, a far-reaching approach works best.
Let's take a look at the 17 players from the Class of 2021 who have committed to Pitt.
(Rankings by Rivals, listed in order of most recent)
• TE Trey Andersen, Lehi, Utah, (6-6, 250), 2 stars
• LB Derrveron Maxwell-Black, St. Petersburg, Fla., (6-0, 210), 3 stars
• DB Khalil Anderson, Atlanta, (5-11, 175), 3 stars
• DB Stephon Hall, Central Valley High School, Monaca, (6-2, 165), 2 stars
• DB Noah Biglow, Seffner, Fla., (6-0 170), 3 stars
• RB Malik Newton, Norfolk, Va., (5-11, 215), 3 stars
• LB Preston Lavant, Cordele, Ga., (6-2, 200), 3 stars
• OL Brandon Honorable, Detroit, (6-6, 270), 3 stars
• OL Terrence Enos, Detroit, (6-5, 314), 3 stars
• OL Marco Fugar, Fort Lauderdale, Fla, (6-3, 275), 2 stars
• QB Nate Yarnell, Austin, Texas, (6-6, 200), 3 stars
• WR Myles Alston, Virginia Beach, Va., (6-2, 175) 3 stars
• WR Jaden Bradley, Hyattsville, Md., (6-4, 190), 3 stars
• OL Terrence Rankl, Massillon, Ohio, (6-5, 275), 3 stars
• DB Javon McIntyre, Philadelphia, (6-1, 181), 3 stars
• RB Rodney Hammond, Norfolk, Va., (5-10, 185), 3 stars
• DE Nahki Johnson, West Mifflin, (6-3, 210) 4 stars
It's a recruiting class ranked 31st nationally by Rivals, partly because of sheer size, and there's room to add seven, possibly eight, more players.
And of those 17 players, only two -- West Mifflin's Johnson and Central Valley's Hall -- are WPIAL products.
For perspective, there are three players -- Newton, Alston, and Hammond -- from the talent-rich Hampton Roads area in Virginia. Anderson and Lavant are from Georgia, a recent area of recruiting emphasis for Narduzzi's staff, and, as usual, Pitt hits Florida hard, securing commitments from a trio in Maxwell-Black, Biglow and Fugar. Pitt's connection with the Sunshine State can be traced back for decades.
These are areas where some of Pitt's top recruiters search for talent. Defensive line/assistant head coach Charlie Partridge handles part of Florida. Defensive backs coach Archie Collins concentrates on Georgia and Ohio, and wide receivers coach Chris Beatty is a hit in the Hampton Roads area, where he once was a high school coach.
But don't mistake this as Pitt not recruiting the WPIAL. Several of its top remaining targets for 2021 are from the area. They could be key pieces to future defenses and offensive lines.
I will be committing on Friday, July 24th🙏🏾 #Decision #HardWorkPaysOff pic.twitter.com/4BOFHHAkmE
— Elliot Donald (@ElliotDonald3) July 17, 2020
Elliot Donald, a rising senior at Central Catholic, is a defensive end the Panthers covet and not just because the four-star prospect is the nephew of Pitt great and NFL star Aaron Donald. Gateway defensive prospect Derrick Davis recently listed Pitt as one of seven finalists, and he is one of the more heavily recruited WPIAL players in recent years. Pitt also is bullish on Dorien Ford, a three-star offensive/defensive lineman from Baldwin.
Landing any of the three is crucial for Pitt, but it's clear options from the area are becoming fewer.
Consider: In the Class of 2020, there were six players from WPIAL or City League schools who now are freshmen at teams in a Power 5 conference. They are: Pitt defensive end Davon Hayes (Westinghouse); Penn State linebacker Zuriah Fisher (Aliquippa); North Carolina defensive end A.J. Beatty (Central Catholic); Notre Dame offensive lineman Michael Carmody (Mars); Purdue offensive lineman Josh Kaltenberger (Seneca Valley) and Virginia tight end Josh Rawlings (Woodland Hills).
Of those six, there are no running backs, wide receivers or quarterbacks.
Let's go back to the Class of 2019, where eight area players went to Power 5 programs. Pitt's Will Gipson (Aliquippa), Syracuse's Courtney Jackson (Gateway) and Maryland's Dino Tomlin (Shady Side Academy) are wide receivers. The rest of the group consist of offensive linemen and cornerbacks.
The Class of 2018 produced 13 Power 5 players, but other than quarterback Phil Jurkovec, the Pine-Richland product who went to Notre Dame before transferring to Boston College during the offseason, the group is a collection of offensive and defensive linemen and defensive backs. Penn Hills product Julian Major was recruited to Michigan State as a wide receiver, but he left school before appearing in a game.
The Class of 2017 produced the same number of major-conference players as 2018, including Pitt safety Paris Ford and Penn State safety Lamont Wade. There were no skill-position players among the group.
So, over a four-year stretch, the WPIAL and City League produced three wide receivers, one quarterback and no running backs on a current Power 5 roster. But there were 11 offensive linemen, 11 defensive backs, nine defensive linemen, three linebackers and two tight ends among the group.
There are 119 football-playing school in the WPIAL. Only eight play in Pennsylvania's largest classification (6A), and 18 more play in Class 5A. Conversely, there are 24 schools competing in the smallest classification (A) and 27 in Class 2A. Simply put, there are too many roster spots and not enough competition for them. If a player at a larger school isn't getting enough playing, moving to a nearby small school often is a solution. The City League fields just six teams.
And considering how few elite skill-position prospects are coming from the area, Pitt faces significant recruiting competition for those athletes. Chances are Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan, West Virginia and Notre Dame are recruiting the same player.
The lack of skill-position players close to campus puts Pitt at a disadvantage. Can it be overcome? Yes, and time will tell if Pitt's staff is landing the right mix of talent from elsewhere to fill the void.
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