CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Pitt offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti was perusing the depth chart of the Panthers' next opponent, North Carolina, and couldn't help but notice one common theme: He was at least partially responsible for recruiting a lot of those players for the Tar Heels.

Cignetti was the offensive coordinator at North Carolina in 2006 under then-coach John Bunting and, true to his reputation, made an immediate impact on its recruiting efforts. That's why Saturday, when Pitt (9-3) and North Carolina (8-4) clash in the Meineke Car Care Bowl, will be somewhat of an emotional day for him because he still feels a connection to many of the players who were part of the 2006 and '07 recruiting classes.

"I don't think there is an extra spice for me to win this game because of my history," Cignetti said. "But I am looking forward to seeing a lot of the guys that I either coached or was involved with the recruitment of. If you look at their depth chart, 17 of their 22 starting players were either John Bunting recruits or part of that last recruiting class we got started [2006-07] that [Bunting's successor, Butch Davis] finished.

"So there is an excitement for me to see these young men because I care a lot more about them than just football. I sat in a lot of their homes, sat [with] their parents, coached some of these young men, so that part of it -- seeing these guys again -- will be very exciting."

Cignetti is known as a strong recruiter because he is personable, engaging, detail-oriented and a hard worker, and those traits also carry over to his coaching.

Pitt's quarterbacks have raved about how much of a perfectionist he is and how he pushes them to memorize and take care of the minor details on every snap, regardless if it is a game or practice.

These traits are also what some of the Tar Heels whom Cignetti recruited say attracted them to North Carolina. They all have some good memories of working with him, even though he was only at the school for one year.

"I was a redshirt player the year he was there," said North Carolina starting quarterback T.J. Yates. "So I didn't get the benefit of working as close with him as the guys who were active, but I do remember he was so detail-oriented in his meetings. He really drilled us on every little thing, and you could tell that he's a successful coach because he was such a stickler for the details.

"I enjoyed what little time I did have with him and I am really happy that he was able to go on and be a part of something big in the NFL and at Pitt."

Starting linebacker Quan Sturdivant is another player whom Cignetti helped bring to North Carolina. In Sturdivant's case, Cignetti was the assistant coach primarily responsible for recruiting him. That meant Cignetti made home visits with Sturdivant's family and showed him around campus.

"Coach Frank, I remember him well," Sturdivant said. "I remember thinking to myself that he was the most organized coach I had ever seen. He was on top of everything, he was really organized and that made a big impression on me.

"Plus, he was good at talking. I was a quarterback and I knew I wasn't going to be playing quarterback in college, but he kept making me feel like I had a shot. That told me that he really wanted me to come to North Carolina.

"It will be cool to play against him, but it will be a challenge because he has built a very strong offense with a great running game."

Cignetti's stay at North Carolina was short and mostly because that one season he was there -- 2006 -- the Tar Heels finished 3-9 and Bunting, along with his staff, was fired.

Despite that, Cignetti has no hard feelings toward North Carolina and said that what happened to the staff that year was just part of the reality of Division I football.

"My experience at the University of North Carolina was very positive," Cignetti said. "It is a great academic institution and a great place to live. Unfortunately, it didn't work out for us. We thought we had some time to build the program, but we obviously didn't, and now it is Butch Davis' time to build it."

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