Tomorrow begins the spring recruiting period for college football coaches. Through May, coaches can travel to high schools, watch films of prospects and meet with coaches.

But you won't see any head coaches on the road this spring.

That's because the NCAA established a new rule that bars Division I head coaches from recruiting on the road in the spring period.

It is one of two notable new rules on the recruiting front. The other one prohibits Division I coaches -- head or assistant -- from attending camps or combines for high school kids.

The rule concerning head coaches on the road won't mean much to some head coaches because not all of them went on the road in the spring. They left that job to their assistants. But some head coaches hit the road with frequency. Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt used to visit many high schools in the spring, especially in Pennsylvania.

"As far as going to schools in the spring, I think he was as hard-working as any head coach in the country," said Pitt assistant Greg Gattuso, who recruits Western Pennsylvania. "Taking him off the road is something we're not pleased with because he's a hard worker."

The American Football Coaches Association came up with the rule and presented it to the NCAA. Grant Teaff, executive director of the AFCA, said the majority of head coaches in the country wanted the rule.

"I would imagine that out of the 120 Division I-A coaches out there, probably about 30 or 35 really want to be out there in the spring because they feel they can get out there and learn a lot about things," Teaff said. "But what the majority of the coaches felt strongly about was the danger of head coaches being out and getting in violation of the contact rule."

Under NCAA rules, a college coach can visit a high school and talk to the coach at that school, but he can't talk with a player. Apparently, the rule was being broken.

"When we sent out info on this regarding head coaches off the road in the spring, there could have been an override to the rule," Teaff said. "It takes 30 coaches to override a rule. We only had 14 of 120 coaches who filed for the override."

The top high school hockey players in the district were playing for Team Pittsburgh in the Chicago Showcase this past week. The event regularly attracts some top players around the country and Team Pittsburgh won the title last year.

But if you look at the story of Ryan Malone, there might be a Pittsburgh area player somewhere who didn't make the team, but has a bright future.

Malone attended Upper St. Clair High School for a few years before leaving the area to enhance his career. But while he was at USC, he tried out for Team Pittsburgh -- and was cut.

"I wasn't good enough," Malone said.

He is the classic case of a late bloomer.

In this newspaper last week, it was pointed out how the Serra Catholic baseball team was looking good enough to possibly put the school in WPIAL history. A WPIAL baseball championship would make Serra the first school to win football, basketball and baseball titles in the same school year.

It's almost as if Central Catholic pounded its chest this week and said, "What about us?"

Central Catholic also won football and basketball titles this school year, and the Vikings' baseball team is 8-1. Central Catholic had a big 13-3 victory against Plum Wednesday that vaulted the Vikings to the No. 2 spot in the Post-Gazette Class AAAA rankings.

Could there actually be two triple plays on championships this school year?

"Everyone has been talking about Serra and rightfully so, because they're really playing well," Central Catholic coach Rich Krivanek said. "It's OK if we're overlooked. People are aware of us already winning in football and basketball, but winning all three is not really talked about all that much. I see some of the other coaches, and they joke around with me about it, but that's it.

"It's so hard to win those two championships at a school, let alone three. The fact that Central already has two and we're doing well is a real testament to the kids at the school."

Some of the top non-senior basketball players in the country are in Pittsburgh this weekend for the "Hoop Group Jam Fest."

The event, which started Friday and concludes today, includes more than 200 AAU teams in four different age divisions (15-19). It is being played at Pitt's Petersen Events Center, Chatham University, La Roche College, Schenley High School, Frick Middle School, North Allegheny High and three other schools in the North Allegheny district.

The event regularly attracts players ranked highly by scouting services. Among the players in this year's tournament is Lamar Patterson, a 6-foot-5 junior at Lancaster McCaskey (Pa.) and a Pitt recruit. Some Western Pennsylvania teams also are in the tournament and the event always attracts numerous high-profile college coaches from around the country.

The championship games in all four divisions are today. For the schedule, go to www.hoopgroup.com.

The future of Schenley basketball star Deandre Kane is still uncertain.

Kane, a 6-foot-4 senior guard who averaged 31.1 points a game this season, has not signed with a college. Kane said a few schools, including Pitt and St. John's, are waiting to see how he does the rest of the year academically and how he does on the SAT or ACT. Also, it's not clear if Pitt has a scholarship left to give Kane.

Kane is unsure when his college future will be determined. It's one of those "stay tuned" situations.

Shady Side Academy quarterback Dan Rooney will play next season at Dartmouth in the Ivy League. Rooney is the son of Steelers president Art Rooney II.

Elsewhere in football recruiting, Gateway junior standouts Dorian Bell and Corey Brown both have more than 30 scholarship offers from Division I colleges. Bell, a linebacker, is the highest-rated junior in the WPIAL, ranked by scouting services as one of the top 20 players in the country. Brown is being recruited as a cornerback.

Bell is making an unofficial visit to Ohio State this weekend, and it's likely the Buckeyes will be one of Bell's finalists. Gateway coach Terry Smith said both players might make a verbal commitment to colleges by the summer.