The Pitt coaches had another busy week on the road. Here's a look at some of the more notable visits we confirmed this week.
MONDAY
Jaylen Twyman
Lamont Wade
Kofi Wardlow
Jason Pinnock
Tyler Sear
Gabe Houy
Kenny Pickett
Paris Ford
- The week got off to a strong start on Monday with a couple defensive line targets, a potential cornerback target and one of the top overall recruits on the board.
That last one was an important one, as Rob Harley and Renaldo Hill went to Clairton for a school and home visit with five-star cornerback Lamont Wade. At the time, things were pointing to Wade taking an official visit to Pitt this weekend after the Bears’ appearance in the PIAA state championship game on Friday, but on Wednesday night, he tweeted that he’d be watching a UCLA basketball game this weekend - seeming to imply that he’d be at UCLA for a visit.
Turns out, that wasn’t just an implication; Wade is visiting UCLA this weekend. It’s possible that he doesn’t need to see any more from Pitt, but the chances of him picking Pitt under these circumstances seem to be low (although Aaron Mathews did commit to Pitt and sign with the Panthers without having taken an official visit, so it’s not completely without precedent).
For those who don’t care to drag things out more than they already have been, the end is in sight, as Wade plans to announce his commitment on Dec. 17. We’ll see what happens that day.
- Running backs coach Andre Powell and defensive line coach Tom Sims had a pair of big visits with Sims’ position group on Monday when they visited Washington D.C. defensive linemen Jaylen Twyman and Kofi Wardlow.
Twyman will visit Pitt this weekend and, as of the last time we checked in with him, he didn’t have any more visits planned. More could be scheduled for January, but at this point, Pitt seems to be in good shape with its top remaining defensive tackle target.
Wardlow won’t visit Pitt until January, and the Panthers have some competition, including Virginia Tech, Maryland (where he’s visiting this weekend) and Michigan State (where he visited last weekend). He likes Pitt a lot, but this one will be a battle for Powell, Sims and the rest of the staff.
- We mostly stick to offered recruits in these rundowns, but Jason Pinnock is worth keeping an eye on. Defensive coordinator Josh Conklin watched him play in the state semifinals Monday night and told Pinnock that he thinks he is offer-worthy; he just needs head coach Pat Narduzzi to sign off on the offer. Usually that rationale is offered to buy time with a recruit while other dominoes fall, but I do think Pitt likes Pinnock, who is committed to Boston College, quite a bit.
As of Thursday night, Conklin hadn’t given Pinnock a final word on an offer, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see something happen on that front in the next few days.
- Pitt coaches also visited a quartet of commits on Monday: Steel Valley safety Paris Ford was visited by Harley and Hill, Neshannock tight end Tyler Sear got a visit from Tim Salem, Upper St. Clair offensive lineman Gabe Houy spent time with John Peterson and Ocean Township (NJ) quarterback Kenny Pickett got a visit from Pat Narduzzi. Pickett will take his official visit this weekend in advance of his January enrollment.
Ford was the topic of much discussion this week about the possibility that he might take an official visit to Michigan this weekend. Given Steel Valley’s state championship game on Saturday, making that visit will be tough, but the likelihood remains that he will probably take a visit or two. Obviously that’s something to watch, but everyone I’ve talked to is still confident that he’ll end up at Pitt.
Sometimes, this is what recruits do - and they’re doing it more and more. In just a short glance, I found three Alabama commits who are taking other official visits, including one kid who is visiting both Auburn and Florida in the next four days.
Every program that recruits at a high level has to deal with commits taking other visits, and as Pitt works to recruit at a higher level, those situations will probably become even more frequent. Even last year, three Pitt commits - Therran Coleman, Henry Miller and Chase Pine (twice) - took official visits to other schools and all three still signed with the Panthers.
MONDAY
Jaylen Twyman
Lamont Wade
Kofi Wardlow
Jason Pinnock
Tyler Sear
Gabe Houy
Kenny Pickett
Paris Ford
- The week got off to a strong start on Monday with a couple defensive line targets, a potential cornerback target and one of the top overall recruits on the board.
That last one was an important one, as Rob Harley and Renaldo Hill went to Clairton for a school and home visit with five-star cornerback Lamont Wade. At the time, things were pointing to Wade taking an official visit to Pitt this weekend after the Bears’ appearance in the PIAA state championship game on Friday, but on Wednesday night, he tweeted that he’d be watching a UCLA basketball game this weekend - seeming to imply that he’d be at UCLA for a visit.
Turns out, that wasn’t just an implication; Wade is visiting UCLA this weekend. It’s possible that he doesn’t need to see any more from Pitt, but the chances of him picking Pitt under these circumstances seem to be low (although Aaron Mathews did commit to Pitt and sign with the Panthers without having taken an official visit, so it’s not completely without precedent).
For those who don’t care to drag things out more than they already have been, the end is in sight, as Wade plans to announce his commitment on Dec. 17. We’ll see what happens that day.
- Running backs coach Andre Powell and defensive line coach Tom Sims had a pair of big visits with Sims’ position group on Monday when they visited Washington D.C. defensive linemen Jaylen Twyman and Kofi Wardlow.
Twyman will visit Pitt this weekend and, as of the last time we checked in with him, he didn’t have any more visits planned. More could be scheduled for January, but at this point, Pitt seems to be in good shape with its top remaining defensive tackle target.
Wardlow won’t visit Pitt until January, and the Panthers have some competition, including Virginia Tech, Maryland (where he’s visiting this weekend) and Michigan State (where he visited last weekend). He likes Pitt a lot, but this one will be a battle for Powell, Sims and the rest of the staff.
- We mostly stick to offered recruits in these rundowns, but Jason Pinnock is worth keeping an eye on. Defensive coordinator Josh Conklin watched him play in the state semifinals Monday night and told Pinnock that he thinks he is offer-worthy; he just needs head coach Pat Narduzzi to sign off on the offer. Usually that rationale is offered to buy time with a recruit while other dominoes fall, but I do think Pitt likes Pinnock, who is committed to Boston College, quite a bit.
As of Thursday night, Conklin hadn’t given Pinnock a final word on an offer, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see something happen on that front in the next few days.
- Pitt coaches also visited a quartet of commits on Monday: Steel Valley safety Paris Ford was visited by Harley and Hill, Neshannock tight end Tyler Sear got a visit from Tim Salem, Upper St. Clair offensive lineman Gabe Houy spent time with John Peterson and Ocean Township (NJ) quarterback Kenny Pickett got a visit from Pat Narduzzi. Pickett will take his official visit this weekend in advance of his January enrollment.
Ford was the topic of much discussion this week about the possibility that he might take an official visit to Michigan this weekend. Given Steel Valley’s state championship game on Saturday, making that visit will be tough, but the likelihood remains that he will probably take a visit or two. Obviously that’s something to watch, but everyone I’ve talked to is still confident that he’ll end up at Pitt.
Sometimes, this is what recruits do - and they’re doing it more and more. In just a short glance, I found three Alabama commits who are taking other official visits, including one kid who is visiting both Auburn and Florida in the next four days.
Every program that recruits at a high level has to deal with commits taking other visits, and as Pitt works to recruit at a higher level, those situations will probably become even more frequent. Even last year, three Pitt commits - Therran Coleman, Henry Miller and Chase Pine (twice) - took official visits to other schools and all three still signed with the Panthers.
