Signing day surprise - Malachi Thomas
- Thread starter King Of All Message Boards
- Start date
What!!!! You mean we didn’t get the WPIAL star!?! (Sarcasm).
Love the signing! Love getting players from Georgia!
Love the signing! Love getting players from Georgia!
Looks like we were able to beat out Florida Atlantic, Buffalo, Charlotte, Georgia State, Howard, and Kennesaw State for this one.
pittdan77
Athletic Director
Knew someone was coming with that, LOL. Wasn't too long ago that our "projects" were about six points lower. Big body. Hopefully fast and can catch.
Hopefully. But there is a strong likelihood that he will suck. Sometimes these guys turn into NFL HOF'ers. But more often than not, they are terrible.
Hey, I presented it without comment!
We've gotten an awful lot of players with FCS offer sheets lately, though. Will one or two blossom into good/great players? It's certainly possible. But I'm not sure that's the world we want to be living in. Right now, it seems like Bell is either an absolute genius or he's going to be the reason Narduzzi gets canned. I mean, every single guys he's bringing in has this type of offer sheet, it seems.
For what it's worth, I have always contended that tight ends are very difficult to evaluate at the high school level because they're seldom used there how they'll be used in college (and often they're receivers or quarterbacks who have changed positions). However, Cole Mitchell not panning out was kind of a blow to my sense of hope. I really liked his tape and thought he could be a beast.
pittdan77
Athletic Director
Last TE around this grade panned out pretty well. Who knows? I don't think anyone is going to argue that recruiting hasn't been top notch.
Well, that's pretty much who these guys know and were chasing this late in the game. His is pretty much a G5 offer sheet. I don't know if this was Bell or the new TE coach. Looking at the offense he played in and his athleticism, probably worth a gamble. If it doesn't work, portal him out.
Hell yes! The fact that he's from Georgia is way more impactful than whether he's any good!
I mean, the quality of the player doesn't matter, it's all about where he's from, right?
Central Michigan has 5-6 state of Georgia players on their roster with similar offer sheets to this guy's out of H.S.. 10 kids from Florida. Several more from football rich southern states. A few from California and Texas.
They should be really good, right? Because they got a bunch of their players from talent rich football states?
How could someone not come with that?
A guy from a recruiting hotbed that draws heavy attention from college recruiters from all over the country, with only one P5 offer, Pitt's.
Sure, maybe he's the next Kelce. Just like maybe any TE that any school signs is the next Kelce, or that anyone that buys a lottery ticket has a chance to win the lottery.
Far more likely that he's the next Daniel Moraga.
How does a 2x all-state TE from Georgia only get these offers? Haven’t watched any video but he had good production, played in the 2nd highest division, and seemingly has decent size by his pictures next to other players.
It’s not like his school or region is barren. There are several players from his school with big offer sheets.
It’s not like his school or region is barren. There are several players from his school with big offer sheets.
Right - I mean, it's at least fair to give an, "I sure hope this guy knows what he's doing" in regards to Bell at this point. Like I said, maybe he's a mad scientist. Not writing off any possibilities as of now.
But when you look at some of the recent offer sheets we've brought in... I mean, do we just celebrate them unconditionally, as if there was some sort of suspense as to whether or not we were going to find 85 guys who wanted to play for a free scholarship, monthly stipend, and at least $10,000 of NIL cash this season?
And yeah - Bartholomew, a low-rated tight end, did work out. But Carrigan, Sear, Moraga, Mitchell, Renda, etc. didn't. It's all a guessing game game to an extent, but the laws of averages continue to win out.
And for the record I'm fine with the signing, if the coaches think this guy can help, great. maybe he will. No issue with that at all.
What promoted me to chime in at all on this tread was the post stating, in so many words, who needs the WPIAL "stars" when we can get a no-name, no legit offer guy from Georgia? So dumb...
I don't have a problem with it, either. Though I think the overall macro offer sheet trend is getting a bit concerning. I'm sure plenty of Syracuse of Virginia fans think the players they recruit with MAC/FCS offers will pan out, too.
I am a little curious where all these open spots are coming from. Three obvious ones were Temple, George, and Collier... but it seems as though we've accepted all three of those guys back. Not saying I can't think of any more, but I'm a bit skeptical that it'll work out exactly where we only lose who we want to lose.
And yes: The "A Georgia or Florida 2-star is like a PA 3-star" argument never held much merit with me. I get why people say it... those places just have a lot more players, so mathematically yeah - more 2-stars will develop into good ones. But I can think of plenty of guys from those states - whether high, low, or medium-rated - whose college careers never amounted to much: Malik Henderson, Gentry Ivery, Michael Smith, Albert Tucker, AJ Davis, Jerry Drake, etc. And I can think of plenty of recent low-rated PA guys who got drafted: Jimmy Morrissey, James Conner, Dan Jackson, Geno Stone, Ben DiNucci... or who had decent careers (and some of them still may get drafted): Dorian Hardy, Gavin Bartholomew, Sean Idowu, etc.
Pitt also lost to a TE who was playing QB last year. So maybe Narduzzi found a glitch in the game that he can exploit.
2024 Georgia 3-Star Tight End Malachi Thomas Signs With Pitt
Some surprise news from Pitt football this morning as they add a player to their Class of 2024. Pat Narduzzi announced the signing of 2024 3-star tight end Malachi Thomas from Thomas County Central High School in Thomasville, Georgia. SIGNED ✍️ @Malachi_2Thomas Another weapon for this offense 👀...
pittsburghsportsnow.com
It's obvious that Pitt needed to get a TE in the class. Back in June, Pitt got a TE commitment from Eric Ingwerson. He was a 3 Star 5.5 and from all places, Nebraska. He had two scholarship offers (Northern Iowa and Northern Illinois). Nebraska came in a took a chance and he flipped to them.
Now we they get Malachi Thomas. He's also a 3 star 5.5 player. However, he's from Georgia, a MUCH BETTER area for recruiting and competition and easier to overlook.
I look at it this way, we needed a TE, and if I had to pick a player from Georgia or Nebraska, I'll take Georgia every time. His film is good. Let's see what happens
Now we they get Malachi Thomas. He's also a 3 star 5.5 player. However, he's from Georgia, a MUCH BETTER area for recruiting and competition and easier to overlook.
I look at it this way, we needed a TE, and if I had to pick a player from Georgia or Nebraska, I'll take Georgia every time. His film is good. Let's see what happens
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I'm sure they've kicked the tires on that. If I recall correctly, he was more of an H Back in high school than an inline tight end or anything like that.
We should just survey lunch ladies for now on. Send them a Survey Monkey link where they type in their favorite player. Boom. Instant diamonds in the rough!
Jason Kelce was a walkon who almost committed to Pitt.
Travis Kelce was a 2-star TE recruit.
Kelce was a two-star recruit according to 247Sports, but won All-Lake Erie honors after his senior year playing quarterback. Kelce finished his senior year 103-198 passing for 1,523 yards and 21 touchdowns, rushing for 1,016 yards and 10 touchdowns.2 days ago
https://www.ncaa.com/news/football/article/2024-02-05/travis-kelce-college-football-career-stats-highlights-records#:~:text=Kelce was a two-star,1,016 yards and 10 touchdowns.
NCAA.com
https://www.ncaa.com › news › football › article › travis-.
https://www.ncaa.com/news/football/article/2024-02-05/travis-kelce-college-football-career-stats-highlights-records#:~:text=Kelce was a two-star,1,016 yards and 10 touchdowns.
He actually was recruited as a QB.
In November, Kelce made his college commitment: he would follow his brother, Jason Kelce, to Cincinnati. The Plain Dealer noted in its article on his commitment that while some schools were viewing the 6-6, 235-pound recruit as a tight end, Kelce was still more interested in quarterback. He wouldn't rule out changing positions, however.
Part of Kelce's decision to commit to Cincinnati came down to the chance to play quarterback. The Cincinnati Enquirer reported he had offers from Michigan, Michigan State and West Virginia and that Bearcats coach Brian Kelly's pitch to Kelce was that he might be able to play the position.
(from Sporting News)
https://www.ncaa.com/news/football/article/2024-02-05/travis-kelce-college-football-career-stats-highlights-records#:~:text=Kelce was a two-star,1,016 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Travis Kelce: College football career, stats, highlights, records
NCAA.com
https://www.ncaa.com › news › football › article › travis-.
https://www.ncaa.com/news/football/article/2024-02-05/travis-kelce-college-football-career-stats-highlights-records#:~:text=Kelce was a two-star,1,016 yards and 10 touchdowns.
He actually was recruited as a QB.
In November, Kelce made his college commitment: he would follow his brother, Jason Kelce, to Cincinnati. The Plain Dealer noted in its article on his commitment that while some schools were viewing the 6-6, 235-pound recruit as a tight end, Kelce was still more interested in quarterback. He wouldn't rule out changing positions, however.
Part of Kelce's decision to commit to Cincinnati came down to the chance to play quarterback. The Cincinnati Enquirer reported he had offers from Michigan, Michigan State and West Virginia and that Bearcats coach Brian Kelly's pitch to Kelce was that he might be able to play the position.
(from Sporting News)
The idea is to get the best players you can from wherever you can get them. If I evaluate a TE prospect from Alaska as a better player than one I'm looking at from Georgia, even a little bit better by evaluation, I'll take the Alaska kid 100 times out of 100.
There are more good football prospects in the big southern states for sure. But that doesn't translate to any assumptions that one player is better than another just because of geography.
Recruiting and recruit ratings are an inexact science for sure, always have been and always will be, and some players fly under the radar for various reasons, but offer sheets are still the best indicators of the way an entire spectrum of college recruiters evaluate a player.
I didn’t bring it up. I was responding to the other poster.
I didn’t make any claims as to him being a good recruit or not.
Yesterday, he was a zero star. Maybe the other kid was too before he verbaled, I don't remember. He was here for like 3 days it feels like.
My opinion is if this is the kind of guy you take late, you'd be better off looking in the portal.
Travis was a high school QB and recruited like an athlete.
WVU recruited him as a QB and he's talked about being embarrassed by Geno Smith at the camp.
Portal guys probably have less future upside and cost money. With Barth back, not sure that's a good way to go.
Quit pissing and moaning…. Gavin Bartholomew had offers from Buffalo, Albany, Bowling Green and Army… And the lunch ladies liked him too….
