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Harris' departure to affect Pitt's recruiting
Player Position Hometown
John Bachman OL Moon
Irvan Brown RB Central Square, N.Y.
John Brown OL Burrell
Steve Dell LB Lantana, Fla.
Tommie Campbell DB Aliquippa
Dominic Jones DB Columbus, Ohio
Kevin Hughes OL Allendale, N.J.
Rashad Duncan DL Belle Glades, Fla.
Derrell Jones DL Waldorf, Md.
Shawn Simmons WR New Brunswick, N.J.
LaRod Stephens RB Johnstown
Marlon Terry DL Akron, Ohio
Oderick Turner WR Teaneck, N.J.
Bryan Williams DB Akron, Ohio
Kevin Gorman can be reached via e-mail or 412-320-7812.
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So the Columbus (Ohio) Brookhaven cornerback, who committed to the Panthers this past summer, was more disappointed than surprised upon learning that Harris had resigned to take over at Stanford.
"I probably won't come now," said Jones, who added that his brother, all-purpose back Keith Massey, was prepared to join him at Pitt. "For me, I committed myself to the coaching staff. I wanted to play for coach Harris. We'll probably go to Minnesota now."
Jones is one of several recruits from the Class of 2005 reconsidering their options now that Pitt has a coaching vacancy. Akron (Ohio) cornerback Bryan Williams and Lantana (Fla.) linebacker Steve Dell -- who plans to enroll in a school by January -- also are wavering on their verbal commitments, which are non-binding, amid the coaching staff uncertainty.
"When I heard that, it shocked me," said Williams, also being courted by Minnesota, Michigan State and Kansas. "I'm going to take all my visits now."
Pitt assistants were on the road recruiting despite not knowing who would succeed Harris or whether they were going to keep their jobs. One Panthers coach said the Class of 2005 was Pitt's strongest, from top to bottom, in Harris' eight-year tenure.
The Panthers had lured 15 recruits, including WPIAL products John Brown of Burrell, Tommie Campbell of Aliquippa and John Bachman of Moon. Those three, along with Allendale (N.J.) lineman Kevin Hughes and Teaneck (N.J.) receiver Oderick Turner, maintained their allegiance to Pitt on Monday.
"For the local kids, the Western Pennsylvania recruits, we kind of knew this was coming," Brown said. "The whole time, I knew it was going to be a coin flip."
Harris was criticized for failing to sign top local players, and Pitt athletic director Jeff Long said yesterday at a news conference that the ability to recruit is a desired trait of the next coach. Long said Pitt would honor the commitments of Harris' recruits.
"Recruiting is the lifeblood of any program," Long said. "We need to do a better job of local recruiting. We have some outstanding players in Western Pennsylvania."
The Panthers offered a dozen WPIAL players this year, and four are scheduled to visit Pitt this weekend: Central Catholic quarterback Shane Murray and tight end John Pelusi, Duquesne running back Shane Brooks and Monessen linebacker Ernest Williams.
Bachman committed during an official visit this past weekend, even though Harris was interviewing at Stanford.
"The way I looked at it is, Pitt can get a very high-caliber coach either way," Bachman said. "I wasn't too concerned with the fact that coach Harris was leaving because I think they can get as good or better coach now."
