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Local Recruiting
What If the Local Players Now At Michigan Had Gone To...

PITT
By Joe Bendel
Pittsburgh Tribune Review

Turn back the clock to the 2003 Pitt football season and picture this: Larry Fitzgerald lined up to quarterback Rod Rutherford’s left and Steve Breaston lined up to his right.

Scary, isn’t it?

This, of course, never happened, because the slick and speedy Breaston broke the heart of then-coach Walt Harris by opting to go to Michigan instead of staying close to home.

His decision to leave town represents Pitt’s most devastating local recruiting loss in a decade, moreso than the departures of safety Ryan Mundy (Woodland Hills), linebacker Scott McClintock (Belle-Vernon) and All-American cornerback Marlin Jackson (Sharon).

Walt Harris once said the departure of Breaston was his most disappointing moment in recruiting, and understandably so.

With Breaston, the Panthers would have caused so much havoc for defensive coordinators in 2003 that Heisman runner-up Fitzgerald might have been even better, the running game could have flourished, and the Panthers would have been the Big East’s BCS bowl rep in ‘03 (not Miami) and ‘04 (which they were anyway).

Moreover, the Fitzgerald-less Panthers would have beaten Nebraska with Breaston this past season, not so much because of his receiving skills, but because he would not have flubbed three punt returns like Allen Richardson did during a 24-17 loss at Heinz Field.

Breaston might be the most electric return man in the nation. He averaged 24.6 yards on kickoff returns last season (36.8 in the Rose Bowl loss to Texas), and 12.2 yards on punt returns. He’s taken three punts back for TDs in his career. Pitt averaged 5.5 yards on punt returns in 2003.

Breaston makes game-changing plays. And, for a team that’s lost so many close ones like Pitt has over the past two years, he would have been a difference maker. Make no mistake, the struggling defense could have used the likes of Jackson, McClintock and Mundy, but Breaston still represents the biggest loss of all for the Panthers.

Joe Bendel covers football and basketball for the Pittsburgh Tribune Review.

Penn State
By Neil Rudel
Altoona Mirror

Penn State fans wondering what is wrong with the Nittany Lions’ football program only needed to flip on the Rose Bowl to learn one of the reasons.

There was Michigan, featuring several players from Pennsylvania. Many were performing well on offense, a concept that has been generally lost on Happy Valley for the past half-decade.

The Wolverines started six players from Pennsylvania, Wyomissing quarterback Chad Henne, Sharon cornerback Marlin Jackson, the Woodland Hills duo of returner-receiver Steve Breaston and safety Ryan Mundy, Allentown tight end Tim Massaquoi and Belle Vernon linebacker Scott McClintock.

No, the rumors are not true that Lloyd Carr saves money by keeping an apartment in Corry.
Think this group, or even the nucleus of it, would have made a difference for a Lion program that has managed seven wins in the last two years?

The Lions have lacked speed, particularly at the wide receiver position. And the punt return game could surely use Breaston’s blurry presence.

But it’s also difficult to project how the aforementioned would fit in, or at least how quickly.

Penn State is beginning to play more true freshmen than Paterno prefers. The Lions used six last year, but only two, middle linebacker Dan Connor and wide receiver Mark Rubin, were starters.

It’s doubtful the Lion braintrust would have sat Zack Mills in favor of Henne, who probably would have redshirted or been used in a similar fashion as Morelli, whose freshman year was virtually wasted. Morelli, the Penn Hills native, attempted just 13 passes the entire season.
While Henne made a smooth transition at QB-savvy Michigan, Paterno said Morelli was “not adequately prepared” for such a role at PSU.

One thing seems certain: The Lions, who have lost to the Wolverines six straight times, will need all the reinforcements they can assemble against their biggest Big Ten nuisance, one that knows its way around Pennsylvania.

Neil Rudel covers Penn State football for the Altoona Mirror.