Pittsburgh is scheduled to arrive in Atlanta on Friday for its first game against Georgia Tech as an ACC member. A Panthers recruiter was to arrive in advance to spread the word.
Desmond Robinson, Pittsburgh’s player personnel director, planned to spend Friday visiting with local high school coaches and then watching a couple of games Friday night, following up trips he made to metro Atlanta in January and May.
Pittsburgh’s entry into the ACC has made Georgia a more viable market for the team’s recruiting efforts, Robinson said, particularly since Tech and Pittsburgh both are in the Coastal Division.
“These kids know they’re going to get a chance to play against Georgia Tech,” said Robinson, who played for Pitt’s 1976 national championship team. “An Atlanta kid is going to get a chance to play in Atlanta every other year.”
Further, Coastal opponents North Carolina, Duke and Virginia Tech aren’t too far away, either. Robinson said that Pitt entertained high school players from metro Atlanta this summer on unofficial visits.
“That tells me they’re very interested,” Robinson said.
Syracuse coach Scott Shafer, before his team’s 56-0 loss at Bobby Dodd Stadium two weeks ago, also noted the importance of playing in Atlanta for recruiting purposes. His roster has six Georgia players. Coach Paul Johnson said that the addition of Syracuse and Pittsburgh wouldn’t impact Tech’s recruiting in the Northeast beyond the exposure of playing in Pittsburgh every other year.
“We’ve always tried to recruit a little bit of Pennsylvania,” he said. “We haven’t changed anything.”
Tech has one player from New York (wide receiver Ricky Jeune) and one from New Jersey (long snapper Sean Tobin). Johnson also has a 2014 commitment from a tight end from central Pennsylvania, Trey Klock. The staff has placed a greater emphasis on recruiting beyond the Southeast.
Robinson knows well that the state is one of the country’s more fertile recruiting grounds. He grew up in Atlanta, graduating from West Fulton High and playing for coach Walter Wade. In fact, Robinson was a teammate of Tech legend Lucius Sanford.
Robinson noted that Pitt has had recruiting success in metro Atlanta previously, such as Robert Haygood, who was the starting quarterback for the first two games of Pitt’s 1976 team before suffering what would turn out to be a career-ending knee injury. Ironically, the game was at Tech, the last time the two teams met.
“Georgia is actually an area we’ve tried to build and get it back to the level where it was,” said Robinson, who is in his second year on coach Paul Chryst’s staff.
Injury report: Offensive tackles Ray Beno and Morgan Bailey, nose tackle Shawn Green and middle linebacker Daniel Drummond were declared out for Saturday's game on the Tech injury report. Defensive back Lynn Griffin and wide receiver Darren Waller are questionable but expected to play.
Should starting middle linebacker Jabari Hunt-Days get hurt, defensive coordinator Ted Roof could move Quayshawn Nealy to middle linebacker or play nickel defense, which uses only two linebackers.
Late night: Following Wednesday's practice, cornerback D.J. White stayed at the football offices watching video of the Pitt offense until about 10:15 p.m. White and cornerback Louis Young will match against perhaps the best receiving tandem in the ACC, Devin Street and Tyler Boyd.
“I feel like the challenge is something that I kind of thrive on, myself and the rest of the DBs,” he said. “It’s going to be a good game for us.”
Bowl scouts: The Chick-fil-A Bowl will have a scout at Saturday's game, as Tech is on the bowl's short list, along with Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Miami and Virginia Tech. Georgia also is on the bowl's SEC short list. Tech can become eligible for its 17th consecutive bowl with a win Saturday.
