Lots to catch up on after a big official visit weekend and with another week of visits starting up. Here are a bunch of notes we’ve collected along the way:
- A few recruits entered the official visit weekend as possible or even likely commits, and Jason Pinnock was one of them. Increased interest and an offer from Pitt played a part in his decision to decommit from Boston College, and he spoke very highly of the Panthers over the last month.
While Pinnock had a lot of good things to say about the Pitt visit - check out Ryan’s interview with him - he did not commit. That wasn’t a terrible surprise; like a lot of recruits, he wanted to go home and think about it. But Pitt definitely made a strong impression on Pinnock, and a lot of people who were around him on the visit came away feeling like the Panthers are the leaders.
There are some interesting things to watch, though. Notre Dame is a factor, having shown quite a bit of interest in Pinnock as of late. The Irish have not offered him but have offered two other cornerback prospects in the last week or so, which would seem to indicate his position on ND’s board. But from what I hear, Brian Kelly is looking for a couple more defensive backs in this class, which means the door hasn’t completely closed on Pinnock and the Irish.
But Pinnock says that he wants to either have an offer or basically be promised an offer before he will visit a school; if he insists on that, it could affect his tentative plans to visit South Bend. Similarly, Purdue is apparently showing interest and he is considering using an official visit there this coming weekend. The Boilermakers have not offered, according to Pinnock, but again, he says he won’t visit unless he has an offer or the promise of an offer.
The potential wild card here is that Pat Narduzzi and Josh Conklin plan to visit Pinnock on Thursday. I don’t think it takes much guessing to imagine the thrust of that discussion: Narduzzi and Conklin will stress to Pinnock that they prioritize him and he is the No. 1 cornerback on their board, and they’ll stress those things in the hopes of him putting an end to his recruitment.
And they also have this card to play: they can tell Pinnock that they are working to bring in Verenzo Holmes for a visit this coming weekend, and if they offer Holmes, he will commit. Pinnock is their No. 1 target, but they can tell him there is only room for one cornerbacks, so if he wants the spot, he should take it.
That’s the strategy (as I see it). And the decommitment of Bryce Watts from Rutgers can be another angle to play in addition to Holmes. So Thursday will be an interesting day.
- With 12 recruits on official visits this weekend, there were plenty of voices chiming in on how effective the experience was with the five uncommitted targets. And those voices - plus other sources - tended to agree that three of the uncommitted targets seemed to be leaning pretty strongly to Pitt. One of the three was Pinnock. Another was Tyjuan Garbutt.
A four-star defensive end prospect who could play linebacker or even offense, Garbutt’s affinity for Pitt is nothing new. If you look at the articles we’ve written on him dating back to when he was first offered in June 2015, Garbutt has always been high on the Panthers - so much so that it was a bit of a surprise when he committed to Virginia Tech in February 2016.
But he backed off that commitment last summer shortly after visiting Pitt with his team for a seven-on-seven tournament (in a bit of timing that was not coincidental). Now Pitt and Virginia Tech are in a two-team battle for his services. Garbutt will visit VT next weekend; you can read about his Pitt visit here.
It does seem like Pitt did well with Garbutt; we’ll just have to see where things stand coming out of the VT visit.
- The third recruit who seemed to give the impression that he was leaning to Pitt was Nathan Proctor, the four-star linebacker who is committed to Virginia Tech. Ryan has given a lot of good background info on Proctor - and I think he has more to come - so I’ll leave that to him, but everyone who came into contact with Proctor over the weekend felt like his future was at Pitt.
- From what we were able to gather, the strongest “positive vibes” were around those three: Pinnock, Garbutt and Proctor. But I had at least one person tell me that they thought Kofi Wardlow also seemed to be feeling good about Pitt during the visit. He’s currently committed to Maryland, but Pitt obviously has his attention - hence the visit.
I haven’t gotten much back from Wardlow since his visit, so we’ll keep working on that.
- Speaking of defensive ends, there were some interesting developments on Sunday as two end targets - Stephon Zayas and Kevince Brown - decided to commit, with Zayas committing to UCF and Brown opting for NC State.
This is notable because both Zayas and Brown were planning to visit Pitt next weekend. But with things coming down to the wire and scholarships in short supply (even if they have 6-8 more to give), it sounds like the staff is tightening things up. To that end, it sounds like the coaches told Zayas and Brown that they don’t have room for them at this point (I think Noah Curtis was probably given the same message, and the academic concerns with Chrishawn Wilson will likely keep him from getting a scholarship as well).
So that leaves Garbutt, Wardlow, Zion Debose and Guy Thomas as the end targets still on the board. Things can always change, but that’s where they appear to stand right now.
- A few recruits entered the official visit weekend as possible or even likely commits, and Jason Pinnock was one of them. Increased interest and an offer from Pitt played a part in his decision to decommit from Boston College, and he spoke very highly of the Panthers over the last month.
While Pinnock had a lot of good things to say about the Pitt visit - check out Ryan’s interview with him - he did not commit. That wasn’t a terrible surprise; like a lot of recruits, he wanted to go home and think about it. But Pitt definitely made a strong impression on Pinnock, and a lot of people who were around him on the visit came away feeling like the Panthers are the leaders.
There are some interesting things to watch, though. Notre Dame is a factor, having shown quite a bit of interest in Pinnock as of late. The Irish have not offered him but have offered two other cornerback prospects in the last week or so, which would seem to indicate his position on ND’s board. But from what I hear, Brian Kelly is looking for a couple more defensive backs in this class, which means the door hasn’t completely closed on Pinnock and the Irish.
But Pinnock says that he wants to either have an offer or basically be promised an offer before he will visit a school; if he insists on that, it could affect his tentative plans to visit South Bend. Similarly, Purdue is apparently showing interest and he is considering using an official visit there this coming weekend. The Boilermakers have not offered, according to Pinnock, but again, he says he won’t visit unless he has an offer or the promise of an offer.
The potential wild card here is that Pat Narduzzi and Josh Conklin plan to visit Pinnock on Thursday. I don’t think it takes much guessing to imagine the thrust of that discussion: Narduzzi and Conklin will stress to Pinnock that they prioritize him and he is the No. 1 cornerback on their board, and they’ll stress those things in the hopes of him putting an end to his recruitment.
And they also have this card to play: they can tell Pinnock that they are working to bring in Verenzo Holmes for a visit this coming weekend, and if they offer Holmes, he will commit. Pinnock is their No. 1 target, but they can tell him there is only room for one cornerbacks, so if he wants the spot, he should take it.
That’s the strategy (as I see it). And the decommitment of Bryce Watts from Rutgers can be another angle to play in addition to Holmes. So Thursday will be an interesting day.
- With 12 recruits on official visits this weekend, there were plenty of voices chiming in on how effective the experience was with the five uncommitted targets. And those voices - plus other sources - tended to agree that three of the uncommitted targets seemed to be leaning pretty strongly to Pitt. One of the three was Pinnock. Another was Tyjuan Garbutt.
A four-star defensive end prospect who could play linebacker or even offense, Garbutt’s affinity for Pitt is nothing new. If you look at the articles we’ve written on him dating back to when he was first offered in June 2015, Garbutt has always been high on the Panthers - so much so that it was a bit of a surprise when he committed to Virginia Tech in February 2016.
But he backed off that commitment last summer shortly after visiting Pitt with his team for a seven-on-seven tournament (in a bit of timing that was not coincidental). Now Pitt and Virginia Tech are in a two-team battle for his services. Garbutt will visit VT next weekend; you can read about his Pitt visit here.
It does seem like Pitt did well with Garbutt; we’ll just have to see where things stand coming out of the VT visit.
- The third recruit who seemed to give the impression that he was leaning to Pitt was Nathan Proctor, the four-star linebacker who is committed to Virginia Tech. Ryan has given a lot of good background info on Proctor - and I think he has more to come - so I’ll leave that to him, but everyone who came into contact with Proctor over the weekend felt like his future was at Pitt.
- From what we were able to gather, the strongest “positive vibes” were around those three: Pinnock, Garbutt and Proctor. But I had at least one person tell me that they thought Kofi Wardlow also seemed to be feeling good about Pitt during the visit. He’s currently committed to Maryland, but Pitt obviously has his attention - hence the visit.
I haven’t gotten much back from Wardlow since his visit, so we’ll keep working on that.
- Speaking of defensive ends, there were some interesting developments on Sunday as two end targets - Stephon Zayas and Kevince Brown - decided to commit, with Zayas committing to UCF and Brown opting for NC State.
This is notable because both Zayas and Brown were planning to visit Pitt next weekend. But with things coming down to the wire and scholarships in short supply (even if they have 6-8 more to give), it sounds like the staff is tightening things up. To that end, it sounds like the coaches told Zayas and Brown that they don’t have room for them at this point (I think Noah Curtis was probably given the same message, and the academic concerns with Chrishawn Wilson will likely keep him from getting a scholarship as well).
So that leaves Garbutt, Wardlow, Zion Debose and Guy Thomas as the end targets still on the board. Things can always change, but that’s where they appear to stand right now.
