Pitt Football: Coach Graham Shakes It Up with Oakland Zoo on Big Pitt Night

New Pitt head coach Todd Graham sure is a charmer.

He is so enthused about his new job at Pitt and the great potential of Pitt football, he became one of Jamie Dixon's biggest cheerleaders Monday evening at the Pete.

In case you've been stuck in your office with eyeballs to paper or maybe buried in a snow drift, the Pitt Panthers' No. 5 ranked basketball team upended previously unbeaten Syracuse 74-66 in ESPN's Big Monday's leadoff game.

The audience at the Peterson Events Center was as impressive as the game itself. Ben Roethlisberger was there, along with Larry Fitzgerald and other former Pitt players Dorin Dickerson and Nate Byham.

Tyler Palko (Pitt quarterback from 2004 to 2006) and Bill Stull (quarterback for Wannstedt's 9-4 and 10-3 squads) were there to cheer on Dixon's amazing team, one Jim Boeheim described as "really, really good."

The crowd of 12,995 was the largest ever to watch a Pitt game at the Pete.

Todd Graham brought some local football recruits and a slew of assistant coaches into that hyped environment.

The Pete provides the Pitt football program an impressive venue for new recruits.

The never ending thumping of the Oakland Zoo and the sold-out atmosphere demonstrates to recruits that the Pitt spirit is alive and well.

Desimon Green was there with Graham. Green was one of the elite recruits in Wannstedt's 2011 class. When Wannstedt was fired, Green decommitted.

At 6'5" and 220 pounds, this offensive lineman from Clairton High School has aroused interest from Michigan, Michigan State and Illinois.

Graham did his best Monday night to keep Green with Pitt.

Manny Simpson, a 2012 recruit seriously interested in the Panthers, was there too.

"He's a punishing runner, and he keeps coming," Penn-Trafford coach John Ruane said.

"He's the perfect size for a bullish-type running back. He's thick and put together."

Hopewell High's Rushel Shell, another 2012 recruit, has generated buzz. He is 5'11" and weighs 216 pounds. MaxXPreps has rated him No. 31 in the nation. He plays running back and is also an offensive lineman.

Lafayette Pitts, another big name in the 2011 recruiting class, enjoyed the atmosphere and enthusiasm of the Oakland Zoo Monday evening.

He commented to Chris Peak of Rivals.com, "Pitt always had what I wanted; that's why I committed. And it's still the same school, even if there are different coaches."

Pitts is 5'11" and weighs 178 pounds. He has been recruited as an athlete with great skills on special teams. Rutgers has been after him ever since Wannstedt and Pitt parted ways.

No doubt Graham was thinking about how to replicate the atmosphere at the Pete when the Panthers take the field at Heinz for eight home games in 2011.

First order of business: Just win.

Jamie Dixon's team ran its record to 18-1 Monday evening and has been ranked in the top five all season.

With Graham in charge, the Oakland Zoo will need to travel with a slight rebranding, something like the Oakland Zoo at Heinz.

Graham is encouraging Pitt fans to think big.