It would be tough to describe how much winning last night meant to the team after losing eight straight over 35 days. But it would be tougher to overstate how good Tray Woodall was in his second game back from injury. The junior point guard was simple incredible last night to the tune of 17 points on 6-8 shooting, nine assists and only one turnover.

Woodall was spectaular and really was the catalyst for the win (via the Trib):

How big a difference did a relatively healthy Tray Woodall make in the Panthers' offense?

"Totally different team," Providence coach Ed Cooley said. "Everybody's in their roles, everybody's in their comfort zones."

Everybody except Woodall, that is. He has been anything but comfortable, battling a painful abdominal/groin injury that required a pain-masking injection before the game.

"(Athletic trainer Tony Salesi) has been doing a great job of shooting me up with some drugs," Woodall said, drawing laughter.

With a healthy Woodall, we'd be talking about Pitt as a bubble team for the NCAA Tournament, flirting with .500 in the Big East.

It's not that hard to figure out. What is a football team without its starting quarterback?

Dixon smiled when he was asked if he'd learned any lessons during the losing streak.

"I guess it reaffirmed that point guard is important," he said. "Although I think I knew that beforehand."

That took the pressure off Gibbs who went back to doing Gibbs-like things, like five three-pointers on his way to 22. Even the old Nasir Robinson was back - getting attacked on the court and all - with 14 points and six rebounds.

Fantastic news tonight as Shaler tight end JP Holtz committed to the Pitt Panthers on the 6 o'clock KDKA news. A three-star prospect by Rivals, Scout, ESPN, and 24/7, Holtz looks to bolster a position that Todd Graham virrtually eliminated.

Holtz originally committed to Penn State back in July, but decommitted after the ensuing mess. (Very rarely does a Pitt blog get to call another program a mess).

The 6'4", 240 lb tight end prospect played everything from tight end to linebacker to quarterback to punter to running back in college. If it wasn't for Pitt's absolute dire need at tight end, Holtz would seem to be the kind of prospect that takes a redshirt and we find out what position he grows into next year. With huge issues at tight end - senior Hubie Brown Graham and sophomore Brendan Carozzoni are the only true TEs on the roster - expect Holtz to be a tight end from the moment he steps on campus.

His final two were Pitt and Michigan State, but he also had offers from Penn State, West Virginia, Syracuse, Virginia, Arkansas, Rutgers, and Purdue, among others.

Highlights courtesy of ScoutingPA.com after the fold.

Welcome home, JP.

Finally some good news on the recruiting trail: Washington cornerback Ryan Lewis committed to Pitt Tuesday night.

Lewis, a 6'0" 185 lbs prospect, is a three-star prospect according to Rivals, but landed just two stars on Scout and 247.

He picked Pitt over Colorado and Utah, but did not have an offer from either Washington or Washington State. The lack of offers from the Pacific Northwest schools concern me since it's not exactly as if WA is a football hotbed where the local programs can ignore local FBS-caliber players. But for Pitt, this class needs players and signing day is just a week away.

And if you're wondering what the Pittsburgh connection is for this west coast kid (via the Trib):

Cornerback Ryan Lewis, the nephew of former Steelers defensive coordinator Tim Lewis, made a verbal commitment to Pitt on Tuesday night, according to his father, Will Lewis.

....

Tim Lewis was a standout cornerback at Pitt, and was drafted in the first round of the 1983 NFL draft by the Green Bay Packers.

Welcome aboard, Ryan. May you have as much success at Pitt as your uncle.

With Chryst and Bostad's reputation for developing offensive linemen and Pitt's need at the position, it seemed pretty plausable that they would be looking to gain some commitments from some big boys before signing day. One such get was supposed to be JJ Denman, the 4-star PA lineman who originally committed to Penn State and then Wisconsin. Being that Pitt hired away Wisconsin's offensive coordinator and his position coach, things seemingly looked good for the Panthers.

No such luck, as Denman committed to Rutgers last night. (via Philadelphia Inquirer):

Six assistants have left Wisconsin boss Bret Bielema's staff in the last few weeks, including offensive line coach Bob Bostad. Bostad departed to become offensive coordinator at the University of Pittsburgh, but could wind up as the offensive line coach for the NFL's Chicago Bears.

"I just don't feel like I have a relationship with any of the guys there now," said Denman, a four-star recruit ranked 17th among offensive tackles in the Class of 2012 by Scout.com.

Of the Rutgers staff, the 18-year-old said, "I've known them for a long time. I'm real close with the guy who recruited me [tight ends coach Brian Angelichio.]"

So that's three Pennsylvania offensive lineman who are now going to Rutgers (4-star Chris Mueller and 3-star Brandon Arcidiacono). Disappointing to say the least.

Pitt has received just one commitment since Paul Chryst took the reigns of the Panthers program, and that was to local linebacker Mike Caprara, a player who had no other offers. Obviously, Chryst is in a tough situation - keeping the current class basically intact is an accomplishment in and of itself - but there's a certain level of disappointment that the past month has been as unproductive as it has seemingly has been.

The Bostad-to-Bears rumors seemingly haven't helped matters (as if Pitt needed more instability), but there has to be more than that.

With signing day a week away, Pitt has some ground to make up.

And now the good news, local tight end prospect JP Holtz will announce his decision during the 6:00 KDKA evening news on Wednesday. It's between Pitt and Michigan State. Paul Zeise thinks it will be Pitt. A good player in an area of dire need. Here's hoping.

Last week, Todd Graham began to attempt to repair his battered reputation by smacking softballs provided by FS-Arizona's Craig Morgan. You can't really expect the Phoenix media to risk access by slamming him, but geez, why not just have the Arizona State Media AAD ask the questions? (via FS-Arizona):

FS Arizona: Why not ask ASU for a day and then have the players over to your house or meet them at an off-campus location to explain your position and to reaffirm your oft-stated commitment to character and honor?

Graham: I did. I told them, 'I need a day.' I asked the search firm, but they said there was no time. ASU wanted me here the next day. I didn't control the process. I wasn't even talking to ASU. I was talking to the search firm. That's how these things often work.

And remember, I didn't have a job.

I have never not talked to my players. I talked to my players when I left to go from Rice to Tulsa. I talked to my players when I left Allen (Texas) High School to go to West Virginia. I talked to my players when I left West Virginia and when I left Tulsa to go to Pitt. But we don't control these processes, although they control our employment and our livelihood.

Again, I didn't have a job. It's kind of a scary place to be, and we took a giant leap of faith. These things don't always work out, and I just gave up a pretty big job. I wanted time to talk to my players, but I don't control the process, and I don't think a lot of people realize how these deals work with search firms. I had to come here the next morning.

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Bad news today as (PLAYER) Brandyn Cook decommitted from Pitt. The (STARS) three star (POSITION) offensive lineman has elected instead to verbal to (MAC SCHOOL) Miami of Ohio.

As soon as I caught up on today's recruiting news, another Pitt commit decides on the MAC. This one hurts a little bit more since offensive line is still a huge area of need. With Pitt having only one OL for this class (and only got one last year) and an area of need is becoming an area of desperation.

Of course, Cook is a bit on the small-side for Chryst/Bostad lineman. Cook is 6'2", 290 lbs . The smallest lineman on Wisconsin this year was 6'7" and 300 lbs. So maybe there was a lack of interest from Pitt's side. But if that was the case, I'm not sure I understand the logic when I'm looking at the lack of offensive line players currently in the pipeline.

Add in that it seems likely that Pitt will miss on 4-star PA lineman - and one time Wisconsin commit - JJ Denman to Rutgers and it seems as if the panic will start any minute now.

UPDATE: According to some quotes by Jerry DiPaola, Cook was basically told to move on (via the Trib):

Cook, 6-foot-2, 300 pounds, said new Pitt coach Paul Chryst suggested he look elsewhere because of his height.

“He didn’t think I would be able to get a fair shot at Pitt, basically because of my height,” Cook said. “Being a competitor, I wanted to go where I can play and to a place where I am needed and a place where I am wanted.”

Best of luck to him.

Kind of a head-scratcher this morning (via the PG):

Penn Hills receiver-defensive back Corey Jones said tonight that he has changed his mind about Pitt and has decided to play next season for Toledo.

Jones, a Post-Gazette Fabulous 22 selection, committed to Pitt when Todd Graham was coach. He said he didn't feel like Pitt wanted him as much since Paul Chryst became coach.

"When coach Graham was there, I would get a lot of phone calls from Pitt," Jones said. "After he left, that slowed down. I just felt like things fell off or something. I felt like I wasn't a main priority for them.

"I wasn't sure of how Pitt was going to handle things, how I was going to fit into their offense and if I was still in their offensive schemes. ... [Pitt's coaches] are cool, but I'm just trying to do what is best for me and I think Toledo's offense is what's best for me."

It's not often that Pitt loses a kid to a MAC program, but I suppose if Jones decided that the spread was the best option for him, so be it. Back when he committed, Jones mentioned that all the attention he was getting from Pitt was a big factor, and that attention seemed to die down when Chryst and company took over.

Interestingly, teammate Chazz Whitticker decommitted from WVU to pledge with the Rockets. Strange times.

It was set up to be the perfect turn around. ESPN's College Gameday was broadcasting live. Tray Woodall returning. Packed house. Wild Oakland Zoo. Football recruits in the stands. First round football alumni courtside. And most of all, a reeling Louisville team ripe for the picking.

Until it wasn't.

Pitt lost their eighth game in a row last night, losing by 11 to a Louisville team that had lost five of its last seven games. Pitt was expected to be buoyed by the return of Tray Woodall, but it was Louisville who was lifted by Kyle Kuric, who had missed the past two games with an ankle sprain. Kuric had 21 off the bench.

Defense and turnovers continue to be Pitt's Achilles Heel, allowing Louisville to shoot over 55% from the floor and turning the ball over 18 times. Woodall picked up two quick fouls and Dixon inexplicably reverted to Gibbs at point. Why, I don't know. Epps was serviceable during him minutes at point guard and I think we have a large enough sample size to show that Gibbs is ineffective when he has to run the point. But once again, Cam Wright and Flipp were trotted out to play big minutes that they're clearly not ready for.

The bench as a whole continued to struggle, despite a rare sign of life from Dante Taylor who finished with eight points and five rebounds in 19 minutes. JJ Moore coninutes to shoot terribly, missing 20 of his past 22 threes.

Lamar Patterson was maybe the only bright spot on the team, racking up 14 points, seven assists and five rebounds.

There's no one reason that Pitt is now 0-7 in the Big East. There's the defense and there's the shooting and there's the injuries and there's the turnovers. But no one reason has been big enough to kill this season. But it's dead nonetheless.