On Monday, Pitt RB coach Andre Powell hit the road to visit the schools of some top running back targets, and I think the picture at that position is becoming a little clearer.
In the morning, Powell went to St. Frances in Baltimore to check in on Joachim Bangda.
Bangda is a prospect we haven't talked a lot about, but we should. He's a four-star running back, ranked in the top 25 nationally at his position and No. 6 in the state of Maryland. His offer sheet also includes Alabama, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan State, Ohio State, Rutgers, Syracuse, UCLA, Virginia Tech and Wisconsin, but it sounds like Pitt is in the mix.
Bangda told me he talks to Powell regularly - Powell followed Monday's visit with a phone conversation Tuesday night - and he hopes to get on campus "sometime before the summer."
After Powell left Baltimore, he headed into Pennsylvania for Coatesville High School, where another running back we haven't talked about enough is located. That's Aaron Young.
Young is a three-star prospect, but I think he's underrated. He's got more than two dozen offers after averaging roughly 10 yards per carry last season, and he's got a penchant for getting yards after contact - which Powell has talked about a lot over the last few years.
Young stays pretty quiet about his recruitment, but the next step for Pitt is getting him on campus for a visit sometime soon. I would say he's one of Pitt's top targets at RB and possibly the No. 1 priority for the staff. That doesn't mean they don't like the other targets as much - obviously they like Bangda a lot, among others - but Young is a high priority.
Two other targets I would say are high on the list are Lew Nichols and Vincent Davis. Nichols got his offer from Pitt when he visited two weeks ago, and he'll likely be back on campus again in the next month or two. I would consider Pitt one of the top schools for him at this point.
Davis was at Pitt on Saturday for the Blue-Gold Game; we haven't heard much from him about that visit, but it's notable that he came into town on his own dime (as part of a trip that also included stops at Louisville, Kentucky and Miami-OH).
Davis is smaller than the other backs, so there's probably a chance Pitt could take two backs if they got Davis and one of the others. That might depend on how the chips fall. Here is his film:
And for comparison, here is film of Lew Nichols:
At this point, it looks like those four backs - Bangda, Young, Nichols and Davis - are the priorities. John Branham appeared to be high on the list, but he seems to have slipped this spring, and I'm not sure how hard Pitt is recruiting him at this point. Lexington Joseph and Knowledge McDaniel have had minimal contact with Pitt. And the other four and five-star prospects Pitt has offered appear to be looking elsewhere (although they're worth monitoring, since we know those things can change quickly and you never know who might show up for a June visit).
In the morning, Powell went to St. Frances in Baltimore to check in on Joachim Bangda.
Bangda is a prospect we haven't talked a lot about, but we should. He's a four-star running back, ranked in the top 25 nationally at his position and No. 6 in the state of Maryland. His offer sheet also includes Alabama, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan State, Ohio State, Rutgers, Syracuse, UCLA, Virginia Tech and Wisconsin, but it sounds like Pitt is in the mix.
Bangda told me he talks to Powell regularly - Powell followed Monday's visit with a phone conversation Tuesday night - and he hopes to get on campus "sometime before the summer."
After Powell left Baltimore, he headed into Pennsylvania for Coatesville High School, where another running back we haven't talked about enough is located. That's Aaron Young.
Young is a three-star prospect, but I think he's underrated. He's got more than two dozen offers after averaging roughly 10 yards per carry last season, and he's got a penchant for getting yards after contact - which Powell has talked about a lot over the last few years.
Young stays pretty quiet about his recruitment, but the next step for Pitt is getting him on campus for a visit sometime soon. I would say he's one of Pitt's top targets at RB and possibly the No. 1 priority for the staff. That doesn't mean they don't like the other targets as much - obviously they like Bangda a lot, among others - but Young is a high priority.
Two other targets I would say are high on the list are Lew Nichols and Vincent Davis. Nichols got his offer from Pitt when he visited two weeks ago, and he'll likely be back on campus again in the next month or two. I would consider Pitt one of the top schools for him at this point.
Davis was at Pitt on Saturday for the Blue-Gold Game; we haven't heard much from him about that visit, but it's notable that he came into town on his own dime (as part of a trip that also included stops at Louisville, Kentucky and Miami-OH).
Davis is smaller than the other backs, so there's probably a chance Pitt could take two backs if they got Davis and one of the others. That might depend on how the chips fall. Here is his film:
And for comparison, here is film of Lew Nichols:
At this point, it looks like those four backs - Bangda, Young, Nichols and Davis - are the priorities. John Branham appeared to be high on the list, but he seems to have slipped this spring, and I'm not sure how hard Pitt is recruiting him at this point. Lexington Joseph and Knowledge McDaniel have had minimal contact with Pitt. And the other four and five-star prospects Pitt has offered appear to be looking elsewhere (although they're worth monitoring, since we know those things can change quickly and you never know who might show up for a June visit).
