Pitt’s offensive line recruiting was one of the more important positions in the class coming into 2017 and it continues to be so. The Panthers have made a point of addressing the group, with early commitments coming from New Jersey native and center Owen Drexel and local Upper St. Clair prospect Gabe Houy, who likely projects to tackle. Still, despite Pitt signing three offensive linemen in last year’s class (Williams was delayed by a year but still counts) and already holding two commits, their efforts are far from finished. Here’s where I view offensive line recruiting for Pitt moving forward:
As I said above, Pitt already holds commitments from Owen Drexel and Gabe Houy. We know for sure that Drexel is going to be an interior offensive lineman and very likely the offensive center of the future. There aren’t too many true center recruits, so landing one that you’re confident can play is always very nice. We’re pretty confident that Gabe Houy is going to be an offensive tackle. Depending on how some of the other numbers shake out in this class, there’s a possibility that Houy could play guard if he was asked to, but I view him as a tackle at the end of the day.
Both Drexel and Houy have been doing well this season. Drexel’s season will kick off in earnest this Friday when he takes on Passaic County (N.J.) Tech and good friend offensive tackle Carter Warren (more on him below), but he’s doing well in scrimmage. His father sent me clips of him getting the best of Rutgers LB commit Tyler Hayek and he looked good moving into the second level. Houy has been a key part of Upper St. Clair’s effective running game and he continues to look good. He’s probably not long enough to stay at tackle if he makes it to the pro ranks, but that doesn’t mean a thing for college and he has a nice frame physically. I hope to see him in person this fall.
Pitt also has two prospects committed at other positions who have a non-zero chance of playing offensive line in college. Both Pine-Richland tight end Grant Carrigan and Worthington Kilbourne defensive end Carson Van Lynn were offered and accepted as the positions I listed in front of their names, but both have spent more time in blocking capacities in high school than they have at their college positions. I think that they ultimately stick at tight end and defensive end, respectively, especially with Carrigan’s move out to wide receiver for Pine-Richland this week, but their positional versatility should be noted and I think it’s playing somewhat into Pitt’s recruiting strategy.
Carrigan is already 6-foot-7 and 250 pounds and while the general sentiment is that it would be difficult to see him carrying 300 pounds of weight due to his relatively narrow frame, some kids get in a college weight lifting program and just blow up. Pitt’s intention is definitely to keep him at tight end, but we’ve seen stranger things happen than a kid putting on weight when he gets to college. Van Lynn, similarly, is 6-foot-6 and probably weighs more than his listed 235. He’s played more offensive tackle than defensive end in college and wouldn’t be a stretch at all to see him be capable of playing offensive line if that’s what the coaches asked of him.
Because those two have the ability to possibly play offensive line if they were asked to, Pitt can afford to pick and choose a little more in their offensive line recruiting. Again, I don’t think that comes to pass, but it gives Pitt a safety blanket. They can have the attitude of "If we strike out on the guys we like the best, we have a cushion." That safety blanket is one factor in Pitt’s narrowing of the board, but not the only one.
So what's the biggest factor in the thinning of the herd, so to speak? Right now, Pitt is in very good position for quite a few of the prospects that they like the most. The names that have consistently appeared at or near the top of the board for Pitt for months now have maintained very serious interest in the Panthers.
Even when prospects who Pitt had serious involvement with fell off of the board by committing to other schools (Johnny Jordan to Maryland, Corey Graynor to Minnesota, Marcus Minor to Maryland, Seth Stewart to LSU, et al), Pitt really hasn’t reached to put out other offers. In fact, Anthony Mayes, a JUCO OT from Lackawanna, is pretty much the only guy to pick up an offer as of late and there’s no indication that that offer came because of Pitt missing on another target.
Pitt has even gone as far as to start dropping some targets off of their board. While they’re still searching for at least two more players on the offensive line in their ideal scenario, and they would likely take three if it was the right mix of players, the pool of players that those prospects could come from is increasingly small. Both Naasir Watkins and Mekhi Becton, offensive linemen who made the hot board a few weeks ago, told me that they’ve not had any contact from Pitt as of late.
So who’s still on the board? There are five names right now that are really the primary recruits for the Panthers on the offensive line.
Massillon (Ohio) offensive tackle Thayer Munford had a dominant offseason that saw him show out and earn offers from Alabama and Tennessee, among others, while also impressing the in-state Ohio State Buckeyes at their camp. Munford has been held out from this high school season due to a transfer-related ruling on his eligibility, but he is among the very best offensive linemen in the state of Ohio. He won’t be visiting Pitt this weekend (he plans to stay in Massillon, not taking another visit) but there may not be another school with a better chance at Munford than the Panthers. His relationships with Pitt are “super fantastic” and he’s been to campus multiple times.
There are a pair of New Jersey natives in Josh Fedd-Jackson of Montvale St. Joseph and Carter Warren of Passaic Tech who are also at the very top of the board.
Fedd-Jackson is a guard and a true road-grader inside who has Pitt trailing only North Carolina in his recruitment. He described Pitt commit Owen Drexel as his best bud and Pitt is going to very much in the thick of that one. He has a game on Saturday and told me that he’s disappointed he can’t attend the Pitt game, because he’s very interested in the school. He’s not as big of a priority as Munford or Warren at this point and is a definite inside prospect, but he’s one of the main guys to keep an eye on.
Carter Warren is a true offensive tackle and Pitt seems to be surging here. He made a visit very recently to campus and could make a return trip as soon as this weekend for the Penn State game with Drexel. That’s not set in stone, but it’s been discussed and Pitt definitely has his eye, alongside Rutgers and Maryland. Warren would give them a nice tackle body to go with Houy and (ideally, if Pitt has their druthers) Munford, with (again, ideally from Pitt’s perspective) Fedd-Jackson and Drexel on the inside. If the Panthers could land those five, they would almost certainly take all five.
The other two big – and I mean literally big – offensive line targets right now are Jerry Drake and Connor Robbins. Drake and Robbins are 6-foot-7, 300 pounds and 6-foot-8, 290 pounds respectively, so those two have size for days. Their physical frames are very impressive and they’re natural fits at offensive tackle. Robbins has already confirmed that Pitt is one of his three planned official visits, alongside Memphis and Missouri. Drake seems to be interested in Pitt, but isn’t overly talkative in interviews.
These are essentially the top five guys for the two to three spots that are remaining at offensive line. Things could change and perhaps Anthony Mayes or others could emerge as more serious targets, but the overwhelming likelihood is that the offensive line recruiting class is filled out from this list. It’s early to make a call like this – six months before signing day, nearly to the day – but Pitt doesn’t seem to be fading for any of these prospects and if they can pull off these victories, they won’t need to look beyond them.
As I said above, Pitt already holds commitments from Owen Drexel and Gabe Houy. We know for sure that Drexel is going to be an interior offensive lineman and very likely the offensive center of the future. There aren’t too many true center recruits, so landing one that you’re confident can play is always very nice. We’re pretty confident that Gabe Houy is going to be an offensive tackle. Depending on how some of the other numbers shake out in this class, there’s a possibility that Houy could play guard if he was asked to, but I view him as a tackle at the end of the day.
Both Drexel and Houy have been doing well this season. Drexel’s season will kick off in earnest this Friday when he takes on Passaic County (N.J.) Tech and good friend offensive tackle Carter Warren (more on him below), but he’s doing well in scrimmage. His father sent me clips of him getting the best of Rutgers LB commit Tyler Hayek and he looked good moving into the second level. Houy has been a key part of Upper St. Clair’s effective running game and he continues to look good. He’s probably not long enough to stay at tackle if he makes it to the pro ranks, but that doesn’t mean a thing for college and he has a nice frame physically. I hope to see him in person this fall.
Pitt also has two prospects committed at other positions who have a non-zero chance of playing offensive line in college. Both Pine-Richland tight end Grant Carrigan and Worthington Kilbourne defensive end Carson Van Lynn were offered and accepted as the positions I listed in front of their names, but both have spent more time in blocking capacities in high school than they have at their college positions. I think that they ultimately stick at tight end and defensive end, respectively, especially with Carrigan’s move out to wide receiver for Pine-Richland this week, but their positional versatility should be noted and I think it’s playing somewhat into Pitt’s recruiting strategy.
Carrigan is already 6-foot-7 and 250 pounds and while the general sentiment is that it would be difficult to see him carrying 300 pounds of weight due to his relatively narrow frame, some kids get in a college weight lifting program and just blow up. Pitt’s intention is definitely to keep him at tight end, but we’ve seen stranger things happen than a kid putting on weight when he gets to college. Van Lynn, similarly, is 6-foot-6 and probably weighs more than his listed 235. He’s played more offensive tackle than defensive end in college and wouldn’t be a stretch at all to see him be capable of playing offensive line if that’s what the coaches asked of him.
Because those two have the ability to possibly play offensive line if they were asked to, Pitt can afford to pick and choose a little more in their offensive line recruiting. Again, I don’t think that comes to pass, but it gives Pitt a safety blanket. They can have the attitude of "If we strike out on the guys we like the best, we have a cushion." That safety blanket is one factor in Pitt’s narrowing of the board, but not the only one.
So what's the biggest factor in the thinning of the herd, so to speak? Right now, Pitt is in very good position for quite a few of the prospects that they like the most. The names that have consistently appeared at or near the top of the board for Pitt for months now have maintained very serious interest in the Panthers.
Even when prospects who Pitt had serious involvement with fell off of the board by committing to other schools (Johnny Jordan to Maryland, Corey Graynor to Minnesota, Marcus Minor to Maryland, Seth Stewart to LSU, et al), Pitt really hasn’t reached to put out other offers. In fact, Anthony Mayes, a JUCO OT from Lackawanna, is pretty much the only guy to pick up an offer as of late and there’s no indication that that offer came because of Pitt missing on another target.
Pitt has even gone as far as to start dropping some targets off of their board. While they’re still searching for at least two more players on the offensive line in their ideal scenario, and they would likely take three if it was the right mix of players, the pool of players that those prospects could come from is increasingly small. Both Naasir Watkins and Mekhi Becton, offensive linemen who made the hot board a few weeks ago, told me that they’ve not had any contact from Pitt as of late.
So who’s still on the board? There are five names right now that are really the primary recruits for the Panthers on the offensive line.
Massillon (Ohio) offensive tackle Thayer Munford had a dominant offseason that saw him show out and earn offers from Alabama and Tennessee, among others, while also impressing the in-state Ohio State Buckeyes at their camp. Munford has been held out from this high school season due to a transfer-related ruling on his eligibility, but he is among the very best offensive linemen in the state of Ohio. He won’t be visiting Pitt this weekend (he plans to stay in Massillon, not taking another visit) but there may not be another school with a better chance at Munford than the Panthers. His relationships with Pitt are “super fantastic” and he’s been to campus multiple times.
There are a pair of New Jersey natives in Josh Fedd-Jackson of Montvale St. Joseph and Carter Warren of Passaic Tech who are also at the very top of the board.
Fedd-Jackson is a guard and a true road-grader inside who has Pitt trailing only North Carolina in his recruitment. He described Pitt commit Owen Drexel as his best bud and Pitt is going to very much in the thick of that one. He has a game on Saturday and told me that he’s disappointed he can’t attend the Pitt game, because he’s very interested in the school. He’s not as big of a priority as Munford or Warren at this point and is a definite inside prospect, but he’s one of the main guys to keep an eye on.
Carter Warren is a true offensive tackle and Pitt seems to be surging here. He made a visit very recently to campus and could make a return trip as soon as this weekend for the Penn State game with Drexel. That’s not set in stone, but it’s been discussed and Pitt definitely has his eye, alongside Rutgers and Maryland. Warren would give them a nice tackle body to go with Houy and (ideally, if Pitt has their druthers) Munford, with (again, ideally from Pitt’s perspective) Fedd-Jackson and Drexel on the inside. If the Panthers could land those five, they would almost certainly take all five.
The other two big – and I mean literally big – offensive line targets right now are Jerry Drake and Connor Robbins. Drake and Robbins are 6-foot-7, 300 pounds and 6-foot-8, 290 pounds respectively, so those two have size for days. Their physical frames are very impressive and they’re natural fits at offensive tackle. Robbins has already confirmed that Pitt is one of his three planned official visits, alongside Memphis and Missouri. Drake seems to be interested in Pitt, but isn’t overly talkative in interviews.
These are essentially the top five guys for the two to three spots that are remaining at offensive line. Things could change and perhaps Anthony Mayes or others could emerge as more serious targets, but the overwhelming likelihood is that the offensive line recruiting class is filled out from this list. It’s early to make a call like this – six months before signing day, nearly to the day – but Pitt doesn’t seem to be fading for any of these prospects and if they can pull off these victories, they won’t need to look beyond them.
