Pitt got a commitment from Wilmington Area running back/linebacker Derrick Burns and it was one of the easiest commitments the program has had -- well since Scott McKillop and for the same reason it was so easy for the Panthers to land McKillop all those years ago.....
Family ties -- and not the 80's sitcom featuring Alex P. Keaton.
Burns older brother, Chris, is a redshirt freshman running back (and one of the favorites to win the starting job vacated by LeSean McCoy) for the Panthers. Derrick told my good friend Chris Peak over at Pantherlair.com that he has wanted to follow his brother’s footsteps to Pitt and that's why it was easy to say "yes" when Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt offered him a scholarship yesterday.
Burns, incidentally, was one of a number of junior prospects who visited Pitt over the weekend.
That's very similar to the recruitment of Scott McKillop, whose brother was a freshman at Pitt when he committed and he did so early and was one of the first in his class to commit to the Panthers. McKillop was familiar with Pitt's coaching staff, wanted to play on the same team as his brother and never had any doubt about where he wanted to play his college football.
Boy, if only they were all that easy......
Meanwhile, Dave Wannstedt is waiting to hear about another offer he has tendered -- to California offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr. --- who I profiled earlier on this blog --- as he is hoping to lure Cignetti, a Pittsburgh native, back home. The job has been offered now and Cignetti is very much considering it according to one source.
I spoke to Jonathan Okanes from the Contra Costa Times and he told me that based on the digging he did today that signs are pointing to the fact the Cignetti sounds like a "man on the move". In fact, he called Cignetti's house and spoke to his wife, Ellen, who told him he'd have to talk to her husband about the situation then said "he's not taking any calls".
Stay tuned as there could be some movement on this front soon....
Posted
Feb 17 2009, 10:43 PM
by
Paul Zeise