I talked about the offensive line recruiting in today's rundown:
https://pittsburgh.rivals.com/news/rundown-the-new-commit-remaining-targets-and-more
But I wanted to go a little deeper on that spot, because my take on things has shifted a bit in recent days/weeks. There was a time when I considered these two recruits to be the top targets:
Hubbard, of course, is a four-star prospect in western Pa. and Boateng visited Pitt during the big weekend in June. And as far as I could tell, those guys were two key pieces in the plans at OL recruiting.
Now, I'm not so sure. I think the staff likes both guys and obviously offered both, so the interest is high, but I don't think they're necessarily at the top of the list. Instead, it seems like some of the other targets we've discussed are a bit higher, like these prospects:
I expect the coaches to work to get those guys on campus as soon as they can (that's a limited time frame since the dead period starts on Wednesday, so it's either today, tomorrow or not until September). In the meantime, Boateng will be taking at least one more official visit in the fall, and I think the coaches are content to let him do so. As for Hubbard, he'll be announcing his commitment on Sept. 1; Pitt is in his final four with Mississippi State, Syracuse and Virginia, and my guess is that he'll commit to Virginia.
As I said in that rundown, we should probably keep the possibility of a position move in mind when discussing Jason Collier and Bryce Nelms since both guys could play offensive tackle, and that versatility changes, from my view, the way Pitt's OL recruiting looks right now. If you consider those guys as potential tackles, then instead of having no OL commitments, Pitt kind of has two - and that puts a little less pressure on grabbing a bunch of guys.
Rather than needing to land four, maybe the coaches can hone in a little more on a handful of top targets for two or maybe three spots. I think that changes the look of things at that position.
https://pittsburgh.rivals.com/news/rundown-the-new-commit-remaining-targets-and-more
But I wanted to go a little deeper on that spot, because my take on things has shifted a bit in recent days/weeks. There was a time when I considered these two recruits to be the top targets:
Hubbard, of course, is a four-star prospect in western Pa. and Boateng visited Pitt during the big weekend in June. And as far as I could tell, those guys were two key pieces in the plans at OL recruiting.
Now, I'm not so sure. I think the staff likes both guys and obviously offered both, so the interest is high, but I don't think they're necessarily at the top of the list. Instead, it seems like some of the other targets we've discussed are a bit higher, like these prospects:
I expect the coaches to work to get those guys on campus as soon as they can (that's a limited time frame since the dead period starts on Wednesday, so it's either today, tomorrow or not until September). In the meantime, Boateng will be taking at least one more official visit in the fall, and I think the coaches are content to let him do so. As for Hubbard, he'll be announcing his commitment on Sept. 1; Pitt is in his final four with Mississippi State, Syracuse and Virginia, and my guess is that he'll commit to Virginia.
As I said in that rundown, we should probably keep the possibility of a position move in mind when discussing Jason Collier and Bryce Nelms since both guys could play offensive tackle, and that versatility changes, from my view, the way Pitt's OL recruiting looks right now. If you consider those guys as potential tackles, then instead of having no OL commitments, Pitt kind of has two - and that puts a little less pressure on grabbing a bunch of guys.
Rather than needing to land four, maybe the coaches can hone in a little more on a handful of top targets for two or maybe three spots. I think that changes the look of things at that position.
