Pitt held its final prospect camp of the summer today. Here are a few guys who stood out.
Jackson was the best quarterback in the camp today, and he was that impressive despite only being 15. Age notwithstanding, Jackson was really sharp and he earned an offer from his performance. That's really notable because Jakhari Williams, who visited Pitt on Thursday, has been more or less the No. 1 QB on the 2024 board for Pitt; now that Jackson has an offer - a real, committable offer - things could get interesting. Also of note: Jackson works with former Pitt QB Rod Rutherford, who has been telling him a lot about Pitt and was a big part of the reason Jackson came to Pitt's camp today.
You can tell by Gooden's rating why he is of interest. Add in the fact that he's in the class of 2023, and things get even more interesting. But perhaps the most interesting thing to me - other than Gooden being at the camp - was that he worked exclusively at outside linebacker. He's a defensive end prospect in the Rivals database and looks to be every bit of the 6'4" we list him at. But he's also very thin and would need to add a good bit of weight to play on the defensive line. So I'm not sure where Gooden fits; he seems to be a bit of a 'tweener - his highlight film shows him standing up a lot, but he rushes the passer as a 3-4 OLB - and while he looked fine playing outside linebacker in the seven-on-seven drills, I just don't know if that's going to be his future position or not.
Marshall really impressed me throughout the camp. He worked as hard as anyone during linebacker drills and seemed to move really well. He worked at middle linebacker during seven-on-sevens and did a good job in coverage, and his highlight film is even more fun to watch since he's a big hitter. He's currently committed to Kent State and given the state of Pitt's linebacker recruiting, which we've discussed quite a bit, I'm guessing there probably won't be anything happening with Pitt. But Marshall is a name to keep in mind as the recruiting process unfolds; if things break certain ways with decommitments and the like, maybe he'll get another look from the coaches.
Pitt offered Waseem last March and hosted him for a visit this spring, but I have gotten the impression that he was a bit lower on the board than some other targets and might need to work to secure his spot, which could be why he was at today's camp (as opposed to taking an official visit). He played well despite appearing to get hurt at one point during seven-on-sevens, but he's not big, and given that Pitt has what appears to be three receivers already committed (Kenny Johnson, Zion Fowler, Lamar Seymore), I'm not sure the staff will be pressed to move on Waseem just quite yet.
We'll have more in a bit, but those guys were notable, for different reasons.
Jackson was the best quarterback in the camp today, and he was that impressive despite only being 15. Age notwithstanding, Jackson was really sharp and he earned an offer from his performance. That's really notable because Jakhari Williams, who visited Pitt on Thursday, has been more or less the No. 1 QB on the 2024 board for Pitt; now that Jackson has an offer - a real, committable offer - things could get interesting. Also of note: Jackson works with former Pitt QB Rod Rutherford, who has been telling him a lot about Pitt and was a big part of the reason Jackson came to Pitt's camp today.
You can tell by Gooden's rating why he is of interest. Add in the fact that he's in the class of 2023, and things get even more interesting. But perhaps the most interesting thing to me - other than Gooden being at the camp - was that he worked exclusively at outside linebacker. He's a defensive end prospect in the Rivals database and looks to be every bit of the 6'4" we list him at. But he's also very thin and would need to add a good bit of weight to play on the defensive line. So I'm not sure where Gooden fits; he seems to be a bit of a 'tweener - his highlight film shows him standing up a lot, but he rushes the passer as a 3-4 OLB - and while he looked fine playing outside linebacker in the seven-on-seven drills, I just don't know if that's going to be his future position or not.
Marshall really impressed me throughout the camp. He worked as hard as anyone during linebacker drills and seemed to move really well. He worked at middle linebacker during seven-on-sevens and did a good job in coverage, and his highlight film is even more fun to watch since he's a big hitter. He's currently committed to Kent State and given the state of Pitt's linebacker recruiting, which we've discussed quite a bit, I'm guessing there probably won't be anything happening with Pitt. But Marshall is a name to keep in mind as the recruiting process unfolds; if things break certain ways with decommitments and the like, maybe he'll get another look from the coaches.
Pitt offered Waseem last March and hosted him for a visit this spring, but I have gotten the impression that he was a bit lower on the board than some other targets and might need to work to secure his spot, which could be why he was at today's camp (as opposed to taking an official visit). He played well despite appearing to get hurt at one point during seven-on-sevens, but he's not big, and given that Pitt has what appears to be three receivers already committed (Kenny Johnson, Zion Fowler, Lamar Seymore), I'm not sure the staff will be pressed to move on Waseem just quite yet.
We'll have more in a bit, but those guys were notable, for different reasons.
