La Salle's Winslow commits to punt at Pitt

THEY SAY it's hard for punters/kickers to earn Division I scholarships.

Couldn't prove that by the Winslows.

Dad George graduated from La Salle High in 1982, boomed 'em for Wisconsin/Villanova as a punter and played briefly in the NFL. Son Ryan, who goes 6-5, 205, is a rising senior with the same main talent at the same high school and his next stop will be Pitt.

"My dad encouraged me to shoot for a scholarship," Ryan said Monday night. "But he also reminded me that they're not that common [for specialists] and to be ready to compete as a walk-on, if it came to that.

"Deep down, I did feel I was good enough to get a scholarship, though I was starting to second-guess myself."

Reason: Winslow recently attended kicking/punting camps at Boston College, Ohio State, Penn State and Northwestern without getting a nibble. He made his Pitt stop Saturday, and it featured an individual tryout because he'd been unable to make an overall session because of scheduling conflict.

"The pressure was definitely there," he said. "You just have to stay calm while being mentally tough, and make sure you hit the ball well. I got called into a meeting after I finished punting and maybe five minutes into it coach [Paul] Chryst was making an offer. Best feeling in the world."

Winslow, who also plays basketball, said he has tweaked his punting fundamentals since the end of his junior season.

"It has to do with how I drop the ball," he said. "It's more to the outside now, which enables me to really turn it over and get better hang time."

Tidbit time: The Pitt assistant most involved with pursuing Ryan Winslow was North Catholic product Jim Hueber. Three decades ago, he worked for Temple and tried to nab George Winslow.