Five-star Clairton (Pa.) defensive back Lamont Wade, perhaps the top cornerback in the country, was down at Pitt's campus once again on Monday for the start of Pitt's fall football training camp. Wade is a local prospect and has been a frequent visitor to Pitt throughout his recruitment and that doesn't look to change any time soon.
"[Lamont] wanted to get down there before the season started and to see how Pitt's practice was," Wade's father, Carlton, told Panther-Lair.com.
While any opportunity for college recruits to visit the campuses of the schools recruiting them is valuable, practices in particular give future Division I football players the chance to see how different position coaches, head coaches, and coordinators interact with their roster. You can learn plenty by sitting in a film room and breaking down tape or going over academic meetings or exploring facilities and locker rooms, but few opportunities beat the chance to see how a coach operates on a practice field with only his players and his colleagues around him. So how did the practice visit go for Wade?
"It was exciting," said Wade's father. "He was watching the [defensive backs] and see his former teammate Aaron Mathews (a 2016 Clairton Bears alum and Pitt Panthers signee, after flipping from Penn State) playing for Pitt."
It goes without saying that Wade is rooting for his former teammate as he strapped on the pads for Pitt for the first time and the family hopes that Mathews work throughout the summer and fall, adding muscle and refining technique, gives him a chance to see the field for early playing time.
Lamont also had the chance to interact with the coaches for Pitt, including the head honcho. The Wade's have had the chance to sit down with Pitt's coaches are more than one occasion and the hope for Pitt fans is that increased familiarity with the hometown program and coaches will increase Pitt's odds to land the local five-star. Pitt is battling against schools like Penn State (thought by many to be the leader), Ohio State, Tennessee, and Alabama, but they're right in the thick of things.
"Yes, [Lamont] was with coach Narduzzi and a couple of the other coaches. He tried on the new jerseys and took a couple pictures with them," Wade said. (Picture 1 and Picture 2)
Wade will spend the fall and summer focusing on a handful of items in his recruitment. Obviously, helping the Clairton Bears to capture a state title in his senior season is at the forefront of his mind, but Lamont is also juggling a recruitment that features many of the top programs in college football. His "elite eight" list of final schools included Pitt, Penn State, Ohio State, Alabama, Tennessee, West Virginia, Mississippi State, and UCLA and Wade will work to set up five official visits before announcing a commitment in December. Expect Pitt to remain a factor throughout this recruitment.
"[Lamont] wanted to get down there before the season started and to see how Pitt's practice was," Wade's father, Carlton, told Panther-Lair.com.
While any opportunity for college recruits to visit the campuses of the schools recruiting them is valuable, practices in particular give future Division I football players the chance to see how different position coaches, head coaches, and coordinators interact with their roster. You can learn plenty by sitting in a film room and breaking down tape or going over academic meetings or exploring facilities and locker rooms, but few opportunities beat the chance to see how a coach operates on a practice field with only his players and his colleagues around him. So how did the practice visit go for Wade?
"It was exciting," said Wade's father. "He was watching the [defensive backs] and see his former teammate Aaron Mathews (a 2016 Clairton Bears alum and Pitt Panthers signee, after flipping from Penn State) playing for Pitt."
It goes without saying that Wade is rooting for his former teammate as he strapped on the pads for Pitt for the first time and the family hopes that Mathews work throughout the summer and fall, adding muscle and refining technique, gives him a chance to see the field for early playing time.
Lamont also had the chance to interact with the coaches for Pitt, including the head honcho. The Wade's have had the chance to sit down with Pitt's coaches are more than one occasion and the hope for Pitt fans is that increased familiarity with the hometown program and coaches will increase Pitt's odds to land the local five-star. Pitt is battling against schools like Penn State (thought by many to be the leader), Ohio State, Tennessee, and Alabama, but they're right in the thick of things.
"Yes, [Lamont] was with coach Narduzzi and a couple of the other coaches. He tried on the new jerseys and took a couple pictures with them," Wade said. (Picture 1 and Picture 2)
Wade will spend the fall and summer focusing on a handful of items in his recruitment. Obviously, helping the Clairton Bears to capture a state title in his senior season is at the forefront of his mind, but Lamont is also juggling a recruitment that features many of the top programs in college football. His "elite eight" list of final schools included Pitt, Penn State, Ohio State, Alabama, Tennessee, West Virginia, Mississippi State, and UCLA and Wade will work to set up five official visits before announcing a commitment in December. Expect Pitt to remain a factor throughout this recruitment.
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