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On Wednesday, we took a glance at where the major recruiting sites slotted Pitt's 2015 football recruiting class to date. But while the class looks similar in terms of placement to where they've finished over the past few years, one thing is noticeably missing - star power.
The Panthers are landing more three-star players so far (seven of the team's eight commits are rated by Rivals as three-star guys) and taking less chances on lower-rated talent, it seems. But they also have yet to land the big name guys that stand out.
This year, it was four-star wideout Adonis Jennings, four-star running back Chris James, and a pair of four-star offensive linemen Alex Bookser and Michael Grimm. In 2013, it was four-star players Tyler Boyd and Tra'von Chapman as well as five-star lineman Dorian Johnson. The year before that, there were four four-star guys - Rushel Shell, Chad Voytik, Deaysean Rippy, and Adam Bisnowaty.
In the 2015 class, Pitt has yet to land a four- or five-star player. But really, that's not cause for alarm just yet.
The only player ranked that highly over those three years under Paul Chryst that committed so soon was Grimm, who committed in the middle of June last year. In general, many big-time players hold off on making a decision over the summer, and eight of Pitt's 11 four- or five-star players mentioned above waited until September or later to choose the Panthers.
It'd be nice if Pitt had landed a bigger name to this point and for the Panthers to get to where they eventually want to, they'll need to secure more talent. But the 2015 class is also typical of what Paul Chryst's others have looked like to this point - and in those years, Pitt did eventually land some highly-regarded players. The Panthers have lost out on several of the big-name players they were pursuing for 2015, but still have outstanding offers to about 20 four-star kids, according to Rivals. In addition, there will be more offers and some of the three-star players Pitt currently has could pick up a star over the course of the year - particularly if they have a strong season.
In other words, don't panic just yet.
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