Pitt football coach Dave Wannstedt believes the day will come when the program is established enough that he will not have to spend the entire month of May on the road visiting schools and recruiting, but he knows that day is a few years off.

That's just fine by him because recruiting re-energizes him, and every time he hits the road he is reminded that the Panthers are headed in the right direction.

"I've had a good month, a real good month," Wannstedt said yesterday after returning from his annual May barnstorming tour. "It was good because I spent a little more time than usual in Akron and in Canton and Youngstown as well as our new areas of focus, Northern Virginia and Maryland. I spent 17 of the 20 days on the road and really, it was exciting.

"People are excited about what we are building here, and that really is something that has pumped us all up."

The Panthers are coming off two consecutive non-bowl seasons, but Wannstedt said that hasn't hurt their cause on the recruiting trail.

"Nobody is talking about our record or our attendance when you go out and you meet with them," Wannstedt said. "Nowadays, it is a different kind of kid, and they all want to know about getting to the next level and they know, outside of maybe USC and Notre Dame, there is nobody out there that can prepare them better for that than me.

"We had seven senior starters and we had six of them find their way into NFL camps, and I believe that's an important part of it. And attendance is simple -- when we start winning, we'll fill up the stadium, and these kids know that. A few years ago, when we had Larry Fitzgerald, we sold out every home game."

Wannstedt is not allowed to comment specifically about recruits, but there are a number of big-time prospects in Western Pennsylvania this year -- players such as Jeannette quarterback Terrelle Pryor, Aliquippa receiver Jonathan Baldwin and Thomas Jefferson lineman Lucas Nix -- and he said that is evident by the number of colleges he bumped into in Pitt's back yard.

"USC has been here, Texas has been here, Florida has been here, Notre Dame has been here, Miami has been here," Wannstedt said. "The list goes on; there are a lot of national-level recruits here, and we know this. But we're not going anywhere. We're going to battle for all of them, and I know we'll get our share. We have to be careful because we only have about 15 scholarships to give, but we're going to have another excellent class, I promise you that."

NOTES -- The athletic department has made some subtle changes to the Panthers' uniforms, and they will be unveiled later this summer. The biggest change will be a return to blue pants for certain games. ... Wannstedt announced yesterday that the Panthers have installed a new synthetic turf surface on one of their practice fields at the South Side complex. The synthetic turf will replace the grass surface and enable the Panthers to practice outside regardless of the weather.