Today we get to part four of our look at Pitt’s 2013 recruiting class, which will sign National Letters of Intent for the Panthers Wednesday. Today, we’ll dive into a position that was clearly very important for Paul Chryst and his staff in their first full recruiting class: offensive line. Click below to view this post...

Here’s part three of our series leading up to National Signing Day Wednesday. Today, we look at where Pitt stands on wide receivers and tight ends. This one is a little bit longer than the rest (thanks to the fact that Pitt has NINE combined wide receivers and tight ends in this class), so we’ll put most of this after the jump so as to not clog up the front page. Click below to view this post...

Here's part two of our series leading up to signing day Wednesday. Today, we'll take a look at where Pitt stands at the running back position.

Early enrollees: None.

Verbal commitments:

James Conner (6-2, 225 lbs)

McDowell High School (Erie, Pa.)

Rivals: 3*, No. 26 Weakside DE

Scout: 2*, No. 124 DE

ESPN: 3*, No. 101 DE

Rachid Ibrahim (6-2, 170 lbs)
The Avalon School (Gaithersburg, Md.)
Rivals: 3*, NR
Scout: 3*, No. 89 S
ESPN: 3*, No. 79 RB

Remaining targets:

Jojo Kemp (5-10, 189 lbs)
Deland High School (Deland, Fla.)
Rivals: 3*, No. 10 all-purpose back
Scout: 3*, No. 72 RB
ESPN: 4*, No. 28 RB

This is sort of a unique position for the 2013 class because Paul Chryst got his running back of the future last year in Rushel Shell. Running back isn’t an area of huge need for the Panthers, but they’ll take talent if they can get it. The Panthers lost their top target in October when Corey Clement decommitted from Pitt and instead chose Wisconsin.
I included Ibrahim in this grouping, even though there’s a very good chance he’ll start his Pitt career as a defensive back. I spoke with his high school coach, Tad Shields, yesterday, and Shields was effusive in his praise for Ibrahim as a running back, so (especially if Pitt doesn’t land Kemp) he could end up there as well. Shields said Ibrahim took a big step forward as a running back his senior year, and that he wouldn’t be surprised if that’s where he ended up making his biggest impact at the college level.
As for Kemp, he will decide Friday between Pitt, Kentucky, South Florida and West Virginia. Most indications I’ve seen have this as a two-horse race between Pitt and Kentucky, with the Wildcats probably holding a slight edge. As I said earlier, Kemp would be a nice addition to the class, purely on a talent basis, but I don’t get the sense that the staff is desperate to add a running back in this class. Shell and Malcolm Crockett will both be sophomores, eligibility-wise, next year, and Isaac Bennett will be a junior. Running back is also a position where a guy can step in and play right away, so the staff may be better served targeting an elite 2014 guy if Kemp decides to go elsewhere.

The one guy from this class who will definitely start in the offensive backfield is James Conner. Even though he's listed as a defensive end, the staff likes his ability to run the ball as a bigger back in this system. He doesn't strike me as an every-down type of back, but could be the perfect guy for goal-line and short-yardage situations, almost like a halfback/fullback hybrid role who's capable of getting 10 carries a game.

Glad to be back from vacation and, with just eight days until Pitt’s 2013 recruiting class puts ink to paper, let’s get started taking a look at the players who will sign with the Panthers Feb. 6. Over the next week, I’ll take a look at the current recruiting class position by position, look at who Paul Chryst and his staff have signed, and if there’s anyone still out there that could jump on board.

Before we get started, a quick note on the overall numbers. Pitt currently has 27 verbal commitments, including the four early enrollees. Those four can count against last year’s 16-person class, so the staff has two more scholarships to give out before they hit the annual limit of 25. The problem, though, is that another 29 players would put Pitt at 91 overall, well above the 85-man scholarship limit (and that’s not even factoring in that Tom Savage will almost certainly be added on scholarship this year). The Panthers have to get down to 85 by the time this class enrolls in the fall, and to do so, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a couple more transfers, as well as maybe some walk-ons who were on scholarship this year having to pay their own way this year. It may not be pretty, but Pitt is somehow going to have to get down to 85 scholarships over the next few months.

With that, let’s move on to the positions. We’ll start today with a pretty straightforward one: quarterback.

Early enrollees:
Tra’von Chapman (6-2, 200 lbs)
Theodore Roosevelt High School (Kent, Ohio)
Rivals: 4*, No. 12 dual-threat QB
Scout: 4*, No. 20 QB
ESPN: 3*, No. 20 pocket-passer QB

Verbal commitments: None

Potential commitments:

Tim Boyle (6-4, 216 lbs)
Xavier High School (Middletown, Conn.)
Rivals: 3*, No. 25 pro-style QB
Scout: 3*, No. 70 QB
ESPN: 3*, No. 36 pock-passer QB

Like I said, this one is pretty easy to start off with. Chryst got his quarterback early in the process when Chapman committed to Pitt in June. Chapman is a dual-threat guy, and I know a lot of people have made comparisons to Russell Wilson, who Chryst coached for one season at Wisconsin. I can see that, to an extent. Chapman is taller than Wilson, and I think a more polished recruit coming out of high school. We spoke to him a few weeks ago, and he said that his first goal coming in is just to learn the offense and not worrying about his place on the depth chart. Enrolling early is always beneficial for quarterbacks, but barring disaster, he will almost certainly redshirt the 2013 season behind Tom Savage and Chad Voytik (in some order). That said, the staff is very high on Chapman as their quarterback of the future. Voytik will certainly get his chances to win the job — and he has the talent to do so — but he originally committed to Pitt under Todd Graham, whereas Chapman has been Chryst’s guy from the get-go. Ideally, it would seem that the longterm plan is to have Chapman be a multi-year starter down the road for Pitt.
As for Boyle, he originally committed to Boston College under former coach Frank Spaziani, and is rethinking things after the hiring of Steve Addazio, who brought in a third quarterback recruit when he took the job. Boyle was originally very high on Pitt, according to his coach, Sean Marinan, and if the Panthers have an open spot, Boyle would strongly consider it. He also said Boyle would try to make it out on a visit this week, but wasn’t sure. I think some other targets would have to fall through for Pitt to find a spot for Boyle, but it’s at least worth paying attention to.