Pitt has been hot since mid-May, adding recruits seemingly left and right and picking up big commitments in a small class. The most recent addition was JUCO OT Chase Brown, who committed to the Panthers on Monday afternoon. However, it doesn't seem like Brown will be the last pick-up of this month for Pitt and Pat Narduzzi and his staff seem set to continue their roll through the summer. While I was gone for a few days at Bonnaroo (feel free to @ me about that, it was amazing), I've hit the ground running since returning and there have been a number of interesting storylines to track. Let's get going:
Brooklyn Bomber and Other Receiver Thoughts
Last night, Panther-Lair user @genooo spotted an interesting uptick in Pitt buzz around 2018 Brooklyn (N.Y.) Erasmus Hall wide receiver Sean Ryan. I was a little confused, as Pitt hadn't been overly aggressive in recruiting Brooklyn or in pursuing wide receivers, but I did some digging and it looks like an interesting situation to monitor. Here's what I've learned and what to watch moving forward on the 6-foot-2, 180-pound receiver:
It was reported (erroneously) that Ryan would be visiting Pitt this weekend. He will not, but he will be working out for Pitt coaches at the Rutgers satellite camp on June 17th that we've discussed in the past. Ryan has some pretty nice offers - Nebraska, Maryland, Rutgers, Purdue, Boston College, Syracuse, and others - but recent developments in his recruitment have led to him hoping to add Pitt to his repertoire.
Ryan was all set to commit to Nebraska earlier this month and wrap up his recruitment without too much drama, but sources shared that the Huskers pulled his offer at the 11th hour. Nebraska holds two commitments at wide receiver - California Rivals250 standouts Manuel Allen and Eric Fuller - but that was never discussed as a problem between Ryan and the Nebraska staff until he discussed the idea of committing.
Nebraska was essentially the only option that Ryan was willing to leave the northeast for from what I've gathered and with the Huskers off the table, he's looking to stay closer to home. People inside Ryan's inner circle feel that Pitt is the best combination of an athletic opportunity and academic powerhouse available to him anywhere in the range he's looking at and he badly wants to offer. To boot, Erasmus Hall head coach Danny Landberg is a huge fan of Pat Narduzzi and the Pitt coaching staff, I've been told. Landberg has had dozens of P5 coaches walk through his halls, but few have impressed him more than Narduzzi and his assistants.
If Ryan is capable of earning that offer this coming Saturday in Piscataway (or shortly after, after the Pitt coaches meet to discuss), I've been told to expect a commitment from the New York wide receiver to Pitt in very short order. One of my sources "has 95% confidence" that he would commit to Pitt if he got the offer. Maybe not right on the spot, but within a short period of time. If he does not earn the offer, I would expect Ryan to end up playing for Boston College.
The biggest question here is whether or not Pitt will choose to offer Ryan. They're graduating just one receiver (Jester Weah) in 2018 and in a small class (almost certainly under 20 players total), Pitt can choose to be very selective. We've seen very little buzz around receivers connected to Pitt in this 2018 class and there's good reason for that. I mean, here's the list of targets as it stands right now, in my eyes:
Maryland teammates and receivers Randy Fields and Alvontray Foster picked up early offers from Pitt and have gone quiet since, with virtually no buzz or visit plans. Georgia's Zach Williams told me he's talked with Tim Salem and hopes to visit eventually, but has no concrete plans. Philadelphia (Pa.)'s Donathan McCants is in the same boat. Rivals250 Floridian Dominick Watt has retweeted some pro-Pitt stuff, but that's about it. Cadarius Gaskin, another Florida Pitt target, says he wants to visit and has talked with teammates Jason Mercier and Kenih Lovely about playing at Pitt.
That's just about your entire offer list of targets still in play and talking with Pitt, by my estimation. You have some non-offered guys that also bear watching. We talked a bit about Virginia receiver Brian Cobbs, who worked out with Pitt on June 4th and badly wants to add an offer from the Panthers (with a ticking clock, as he seems set to commit to Maryland if Pitt, VT, or PSU don't shake things up). Julian Major is a local kid with a lot of P5 offers, but he didn't camp at Pitt at all this summer and there doesn't really seem to be mutual interest at this stage.
So if Pitt wants to offer and add a receiver, Ryan could very well be the guy. He's a bigger receiver and not necessarily a big playmaker at the position as much as he is a technician and a chains-mover. The comparison that was given to me from someone within the Erasmus Hall program was Michael Thomas, a current New Orleans Saint and former teammate of Erasmus Hall product Curtis Samuel during their shared time at OSU.
I'm not willing to pencil Ryan in the class yet, although I know others have. I certainly am watching closely however and will be monitoring this closely through the weekend.
Finally, landing Ryan and getting a bigger foot in the door could be a great thing. It's probably the best program in New York City and has five prospects with P5 offers in this 2018 graduating class alone, including Ryan and Rivals250 OL/DL Matthew Jones. Really good group and program here for Pitt to break into in the Big Apple.
No News is Good News on Zubovic
I know I've expressed this opinion what feels like a million times over the last couple months, but Pitt is going to get Blake Zubovic. Zubovic, a local kid from Belle Vernon (Pa.), has not yet finalized a date for a planned final visit to Michigan State or locked in a confirmed decision date. I've heard rumors about June 20th and I've heard rumors about today, but none of that has been confirmed by Blake himself. This is not a situation where I *know* that Zubovic is in at Pitt (and I wouldn't tell you if I did), but I really could not be more confident at this point. All signs point towards Pitt landing a big local commitment within the next couple weeks.
Brooklyn Bomber and Other Receiver Thoughts
Last night, Panther-Lair user @genooo spotted an interesting uptick in Pitt buzz around 2018 Brooklyn (N.Y.) Erasmus Hall wide receiver Sean Ryan. I was a little confused, as Pitt hadn't been overly aggressive in recruiting Brooklyn or in pursuing wide receivers, but I did some digging and it looks like an interesting situation to monitor. Here's what I've learned and what to watch moving forward on the 6-foot-2, 180-pound receiver:
It was reported (erroneously) that Ryan would be visiting Pitt this weekend. He will not, but he will be working out for Pitt coaches at the Rutgers satellite camp on June 17th that we've discussed in the past. Ryan has some pretty nice offers - Nebraska, Maryland, Rutgers, Purdue, Boston College, Syracuse, and others - but recent developments in his recruitment have led to him hoping to add Pitt to his repertoire.
Ryan was all set to commit to Nebraska earlier this month and wrap up his recruitment without too much drama, but sources shared that the Huskers pulled his offer at the 11th hour. Nebraska holds two commitments at wide receiver - California Rivals250 standouts Manuel Allen and Eric Fuller - but that was never discussed as a problem between Ryan and the Nebraska staff until he discussed the idea of committing.
Nebraska was essentially the only option that Ryan was willing to leave the northeast for from what I've gathered and with the Huskers off the table, he's looking to stay closer to home. People inside Ryan's inner circle feel that Pitt is the best combination of an athletic opportunity and academic powerhouse available to him anywhere in the range he's looking at and he badly wants to offer. To boot, Erasmus Hall head coach Danny Landberg is a huge fan of Pat Narduzzi and the Pitt coaching staff, I've been told. Landberg has had dozens of P5 coaches walk through his halls, but few have impressed him more than Narduzzi and his assistants.
If Ryan is capable of earning that offer this coming Saturday in Piscataway (or shortly after, after the Pitt coaches meet to discuss), I've been told to expect a commitment from the New York wide receiver to Pitt in very short order. One of my sources "has 95% confidence" that he would commit to Pitt if he got the offer. Maybe not right on the spot, but within a short period of time. If he does not earn the offer, I would expect Ryan to end up playing for Boston College.
The biggest question here is whether or not Pitt will choose to offer Ryan. They're graduating just one receiver (Jester Weah) in 2018 and in a small class (almost certainly under 20 players total), Pitt can choose to be very selective. We've seen very little buzz around receivers connected to Pitt in this 2018 class and there's good reason for that. I mean, here's the list of targets as it stands right now, in my eyes:
Maryland teammates and receivers Randy Fields and Alvontray Foster picked up early offers from Pitt and have gone quiet since, with virtually no buzz or visit plans. Georgia's Zach Williams told me he's talked with Tim Salem and hopes to visit eventually, but has no concrete plans. Philadelphia (Pa.)'s Donathan McCants is in the same boat. Rivals250 Floridian Dominick Watt has retweeted some pro-Pitt stuff, but that's about it. Cadarius Gaskin, another Florida Pitt target, says he wants to visit and has talked with teammates Jason Mercier and Kenih Lovely about playing at Pitt.
That's just about your entire offer list of targets still in play and talking with Pitt, by my estimation. You have some non-offered guys that also bear watching. We talked a bit about Virginia receiver Brian Cobbs, who worked out with Pitt on June 4th and badly wants to add an offer from the Panthers (with a ticking clock, as he seems set to commit to Maryland if Pitt, VT, or PSU don't shake things up). Julian Major is a local kid with a lot of P5 offers, but he didn't camp at Pitt at all this summer and there doesn't really seem to be mutual interest at this stage.
So if Pitt wants to offer and add a receiver, Ryan could very well be the guy. He's a bigger receiver and not necessarily a big playmaker at the position as much as he is a technician and a chains-mover. The comparison that was given to me from someone within the Erasmus Hall program was Michael Thomas, a current New Orleans Saint and former teammate of Erasmus Hall product Curtis Samuel during their shared time at OSU.
I'm not willing to pencil Ryan in the class yet, although I know others have. I certainly am watching closely however and will be monitoring this closely through the weekend.
Finally, landing Ryan and getting a bigger foot in the door could be a great thing. It's probably the best program in New York City and has five prospects with P5 offers in this 2018 graduating class alone, including Ryan and Rivals250 OL/DL Matthew Jones. Really good group and program here for Pitt to break into in the Big Apple.
No News is Good News on Zubovic
I know I've expressed this opinion what feels like a million times over the last couple months, but Pitt is going to get Blake Zubovic. Zubovic, a local kid from Belle Vernon (Pa.), has not yet finalized a date for a planned final visit to Michigan State or locked in a confirmed decision date. I've heard rumors about June 20th and I've heard rumors about today, but none of that has been confirmed by Blake himself. This is not a situation where I *know* that Zubovic is in at Pitt (and I wouldn't tell you if I did), but I really could not be more confident at this point. All signs point towards Pitt landing a big local commitment within the next couple weeks.
