Young Panthers make big impression in Big 33 game

By Darrell Laurant  |   Thursday, July 10, 2008  |  Comments( 0 )

Pittsburgh Panthers
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Because of NCAA rules, Pitt football coach Dave Wannstedt couldn't attend the recent Big 33 All-Star game in Hershey, Pa. Instead, he sat at the Kenny Chesney concert at Heinz Field and received a constant stream of text messages from the site. They were very encouraging.

For openers, there was Central Catholic QB Tino Sunseri, a Pitt signee, who threw touchdown passes to fellow Panther classmates Jonathan Baldwin (37 and 10 yards) and Cameron Saddler (5 yards), and scrambled 50 yards on a broken play. Meanwhile, incoming WR Mike Shanahan caught three passes for 49 yards and DB recruit Jared Holley had two interceptions.

Saddler, from Monroeville Gateway, later snagged a 79-yard scoring reception to help Pennsylvania beat Ohio, 31-13, and told Kevin Gorman of the Pittsburgh Tribune Review: "All week, the Cincinnati (recruits) were mouthing off that they supposedly have one of the best recruiting classes in the Big East. We wanted to show them that we don't supposedly have the best recruiting class; we do have the best recruiting class."

"We were saying how we were going to try to send a message to everybody else that Pitt was coming, and we're going to play for the national championship in years to come," added Baldwin, a 6-6, 230-pound speedster from Aliquippa. "Every last one of us contributed."

That is, except for two of Wannstedt's most highly regarded recruits (O-lineman Lucas Nix and LB Shayne Hale) who decided not to play.
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