Ranking the classes 2003-17: No. 10

A new week in Panther-Lair.com's ranking of Pitt's recruiting classes from 2003-17 starts today. We've covered the Panthers' four transition classes (2005, 2011, 2012 and 2015) as well as Walt Harris's final class in 2004.

Now we're moving into the Paul Chryst era and a class included a lot of players who would contribute to Pitt's ACC Coastal Championship in 2018.

It's the class of 2014.

After going for broke with 27 recruits in the 2013 class, Pitt dialed it back a bit in 2014 and signed 23 for a class that would end up ranked No. 44 nationally and No. 10 in the ACC.

Here are the 23 recruits Pitt signed that year.

The Class of 2014

Player	Position	Hometown	Stars

Mike Grimm	OL	Bethel Park, PA	4
Chris James	RB	Niles, IL	4
Alex Bookser	OL	Mt. Lebanon, PA	4
Adonis Jennings	WR	Sicklerville, NJ	4
Connor Hayes	OL	Traverse City, MI	3
Mike Herndon	DT	Staunton, VA	3
Connor Dintino	DT	Wallingford, CT	3
Elijah Zeise	WR	Wexford, PA	3
Jamal Davis	LB	Canton, OH	3
Jalen Williams	DB	Newburgh, NY	3
Adam Bertke	QB	Maria Stein, OH	3
Patrick Amara	ATH	Philadelphia, PA	3
Avonte Maddox	ATH	Detroit, MI	3
Shane Roy	DE	Cincinnati, OH	3
Brian O'Neill	TE	Wilmington, DE	3
Phillipie Motley	DB	Hilliard, OH	3
Qadree Ollison	RB	Buffalo, NY	3
Jaquaun Davidson	ATH	Elizabeth, PA	3
James Folston Jr.	LB	Cocoa, FL	3
Dennis Briggs	ATH	Pittsburgh, PA	2
Quintin Wirginis	LB	Fox Chapel, PA	2
Rori Blair	DE	Pittsburgh, PA	2
Hez Trahan	DE	Philadelphia, PA	2

It's been said that stars aren't everything and that's true, but it's also true that if you get four-star players or five-star players, it would really help to have those players contribute at that level.

Pitt's 2014 class had a quartet of four-star prospects, and that group's overall lack of success ultimately defines the class. Mike Grimm never played a snap for the Panthers. Adonis Jennings left Pitt after one season. And Chris James played two years before transferring.

Of that group of four-star recruits, only Alex Bookser had a productive career. He started 39 games between right tackle and right guard and was part of two effective offensive lines in 2016 and 2018.

Those players at the top of the class may not have panned out (aside from Bookser), but the 2014 group did have its highlights. Brian O'Neill, for instance, was part of that class, signing as a tight end before moving to the offensive line and an NFL career.

Avonte Maddox was also in the 2014 class, as was Qadree Ollison; both of those players are in the pros. And Elijah Zeise, Shane Roy, Connor Dintino, Mike Herndon and Dennis Briggs were all starters during their careers.

Overall, though, the 2014 class carries an air of being just okay. 11 of the 23 recruits in the class didn't finish their eligibility at Pitt. That doesn't count O'Neill, who left early for the NFL, but it does include some players who had high expectations as recruits like Jamal Davis, as well as the quarterback of the class, Adam Bertke.

With high turnover and not much in the way of high-level production, it's hard to see the 2014 class as being much more than just okay.