It’s that time of year.
The contact period.
That means recruiting is kicking into high gear, and here’s the latest on what to watch for.
First, a quick reminder on what all the recruiting terms mean.
There are several periods in the annual recruiting calendar, each with its own definitions and restrictions on what coaches can and cannot do. The key distinction is when and where coaches can have in-person contact with recruits. To that end, there are three periods to know:
Dead period, quiet period and contact period.
In the dead period, coaches can’t have any in-person contact with recruits. In the quiet period, coaches and recruits can have in-person contact on-campus only. And in the contact period, coaches and recruits can have in-person contact on or off-campus.
The contact period is when things get really interesting. And the contact period starts today (Friday, Dec. 2). From now until Signing Day, which is Wednesday, Dec. 21, the Pitt coaches can visit each recruit once per week, and they’ll be on the road pretty much every day from now until then.
So the priorities at this point in the year are twofold (or maybe more, but there are two main ones): solidifying the commitments and landing a few more pieces to fill out the class.
Here’s what we’ve got confirmed so far for Pitt’s off-campus visits.
I said that coaches can visit each recruit once per week, but the head coach can only make one visit total, so Pat Narduzzi’s visits are particularly interesting, and he’s going to start his visits today with a trip to Washington, D.C., to meet with defensive tackle commit
Isaiah Neal. Neal is a playmaking defensive tackle and probably one of the top prospects in the class, making him a priority keep as Pitt moves toward Signing Day. Narduzzi will be joined today by defensive line coach Charlie Partridge and running backs coach Andre Powell, who recruits that area for Pitt.
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Safeties coach Cory Sanders will be in Florida for some key visits today. His main stop will be at Lakeland High School, where he’ll have a few things to accomplish. One - and maybe the main one - is visiting with
Shadarian Harrison. I’ve said a few times that I think Harrison is one of Pitt’s top commits - top-three and maybe even higher - and he’s a priority to hold onto at this point. Harrison has had a really good senior season, and it hasn’t gone unnoticed, as both Oregon and Florida State have been contacting him.
Harrison’s bigger priority at this point, though, is getting his academics in order. He is not a long shot to qualify, but he does need to improve a few things - things that are improvable, but he’s going to have to work at it.
So that stress has been occupying a lot of Harrison’s time, which may ultimately work out to Pitt’s benefit if it prevents him from taking visits to either of those schools. He’s taking the SAT this weekend, so he’ll at least be staying home for the next few days.
UPDATE: It sounds like Sanders will visit Harrison tomorrow (Saturday). On Friday night, he'll be local to watch recent offer
Cruce Brookins play with Steel Valley against Westinghouse in the state playoffs at West Mifflin.
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While he’s at Lakeland, Sanders is also going to check on offensive line prospect
Devin Vass. He’s committed to Kansas State but has maintained contact with the Pitt coaches and has expressed interest in visiting. I’m guessing that Sanders will be trying to gauge the sincerity of Vass’s interest: does he really want to look at Pitt or does he just want to take a visit? I think we’ll know the answer if Vass sets up an official visit in the next few days.
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Wide receivers coach Tiquan Underwood will also be in Florida today for a pretty important visit with
Lamar Seymore. The receiver commit is another one of the top prospects in the class and an impressive playmaker. Seymore and his Miami Central teammates have a playoff game against Lakewood tonight, and Underwood will be in attendance for that one as well as visiting the school during the day.
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Offensive line coach Dave Borbely and linebackers coach Ryan Manalac will be visiting commits today as well, and they’ll both be in Ohio. Borbely is going to Columbus to visit offensive line commit
Ryan Carretta, while Manalac will be in Cincinnati to visit linebacker commit
Rasheem Biles. Meanwhile, cornerbacks coach Archie Collins will be in Georgia to visit offensive line commit
BJ Williams.
On Saturday, Manalac and Narduzzi will be in Virginia for an important visit: they’ll be watching Pitt linebacker commit
Jordan Bass play in the state semifinals. That should be a good game - Bass’s Phoebus team is undefeated and should be playing for a state title next week - but the visit is more important than that. Bass is one of Pitt’s top overall commits and a really good linebacker prospect.
Bass is good enough that other schools have taken notice and are working on him, too. He and his father say all the right things about being committed to Pitt and telling other schools as much, but in 2022, nothing is done until the paper is signed (and sometimes not even then), so the Pitt coaches know they’re going to have to put in the work to keep Bass on board until Signing Day.
That starts tomorrow with Narduzzi and Manalac attending Bass’s game. If Phoebus wins tomorrow, they’ll play in the state title game the following weekend, which is notable because the playoffs will have eliminated two potential opportunities for official visits, leaving just one weekend before Signing Day. So I guess I’m saying you should root for Phoebus.
Narduzzi and Manalac will probably go back to Bass’s house tomorrow after the game, too. The contact period allows you to visit a recruit off-campus throughout the day, so you could see him in school, go to his team’s practice in the afternoon and then have dinner that night.
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Also tomorrow, Underwood will be back in Pennsylvania to visit receiver commit
Kenny Johnson.
Continued...
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