THE RANKINGS SO FAR:
No. 15 - The class of 2011 | No. 14 - The class of 2012 | No. 13 - The class of 2015
Transition classes have been a theme in the early portion of this class-ranking exercise, with the Todd Graham transition class of 2011 at No. 15, the Paul Chryst transition class of 2012 at No. 14 and the Pat Narduzzi transition class of 2015 at No. 13.
Now, at No. 12, we’ve got another transition class:
The class of 2005.
This was the class that Dave Wannstedt inherited when he took the Pitt head coaching job in December 2004. He replaced Walt Harris and maintained most of the class while adding some pieces late in the process to finish with a class of 23 recruits that ranked inside the top 40 nationally.
Here’s a look at the class that signed in February 2005.
Of those 23 recruits, 12 committed to Pitt after Wannstedt was hired, and those 12 actually include some of the most productive members of the class: Bill Stull, CJ Davis, Ernest “Mick” Williams, Gus Mustakas, Cedric McGee, Doug Fulmer, Shane Murray and Conredge Collins all committed to Wannstedt, as did John Pelusi, Tommie Duhart (as a high school prospect; he would come back to Pitt in 2007 as a JUCO recruit) and Shane Brooks.
Harris did leave some quality players in the class when he went to Stanford, including Rashaad Duncan, LaRod Stephens-Howling and Oderick Turner, and the class of 2005 produced a solid 10 full-time starters. But what stands out about the class is that there were no real stars.
Stull was a multi-year starter at quarterback, but he was a solid game manager, not really a star. CJ Davis was a very good offensive lineman for Pitt but went undrafted. Mick Williams had a great senior season but did not sustain over his career. And guys like Mustakas, Turner, McGee, Duncan and Collins were all solid players but didn’t reach the level of stardom.
So that’s the word that seems to define the class: solid. For a transition class, it’s actually quite good, especially compared to Pitt’s transition classes in 2011 and 2012. But overall, it’s just solid; nothing more, nothing less.
