THE RANKINGS SO FAR:
No. 15 - The class of 2011 | No. 14 - The class of 2012 | No. 13 - The class of 2015 | No. 12 - The class of 2005

Panther-Lair.com's ranking of the 15 recruiting classes between 2003 and 2017 continues today as we move on to No. 11. After transition classes have dominated the rankings thus far, we're moving to a class that was right before a transition.

No. 11 on the ranking is the class of 2004.

The class of 2004 was the last class to sign at Pitt with Walt Harris as head coach, and it was largely built on the strength of the 2002 season. But despite signing 25 recruits, the class ranked No. 48 in the nation.

Here's the list of prospects who signed with Pitt in February 2004.

Right off the bat, there are two very big names that jump out:

Darrelle Revis and Scott McKillop.

Two of the best players to suit up for Pitt this century signed in the same class, and yet it ranks No. 11 out of 15 classes from 2003-17. How could that be?

Well, take a look beyond Revis and McKillop at the other 23 players in the class and the answer becomes pretty apparent. Of those 23, only four did much of anything over multiple years: Darrell Strong, Derek Kinder, Adam Gunn and Josh Cummings.

Those were nice players who made some solid contributions. But if that's the best the class has to offer after its stars - and there were only two stars in the class - then there are some issues.

The class just wasn't very good overall. It failed to create any kind of foundation for Pitt's lines, either offense or defense, and the quarterback in the class (Robbie Agnone) moved to tight end shortly after arriving.

That's a recipe for disaster, and a lot of Pitt's struggles in the early years of Dave Wannstedt's tenure can be traced to the shortcomings of the 2004 class.

Really, it's the star power and overall excellence of Revis and McKillop that elevates this class over the transition classes of 2005, 2011, 2012 and 2015, but the separation in the depth of those classes isn't great.