The Pitt coaches have a handful of key visits lined up today as they head toward their second official visit weekend of the 2018 cycle. Here’s a look at where they’ve been and where they’ll be.
- With Pitt looking to potentially add two more receivers to the 2018 class, Kevin Sherman has been a busy man. So far this week, he checked in on receiver commit Cameron O’Neil and Milledgeville (Ga.) three-star Jatavious Harris - both of those visits were on Tuesday; I always forget that it’s relatively easy to get from Alabama to Georgia - and he’s got a pair of big visits today.
Sherman will be in Florida to visit Shocky Jacques-Louis and Jeshaun Jones. Both of those Fort Myers receivers visited Pitt last weekend and both had positive reactions to the trip. Pitt seems to be in strong position with Jacques-Louis, who says his top three schools are Pitt, Kentucky and Ohio State, but it seems like the Panthers and Wildcats are the frontrunners.
Jones really liked his visit, too, but a recent offer from Nebraska has caught his interest.
- Speaking of receivers, it looks like Rondale Moore, the Texas commit from Louisville, isn’t on the board for Pitt anymore. I’m not sure if that’s a result of Pitt feel confident about getting one or two of the group of Harris, Jones and Jacques-Louis or just a decision to put efforts elsewhere.
- That said, I do think Pitt is still interested in Jairus Brents, the four-star cornerback from Kentucky who is close with Moore. The coaches haven’t visited him this week, but he’s among the cornerback prospects they’re pursuing as they work to finish the class.
- Speaking of corners, there are a few targets getting attention from Pitt. On Wednesday, defensive coordinator Josh Conklin, defensive line coach Charlie Partridge and defensive backs coach Renaldo Hill were in Fort Lauderdale to visit Cardinal Gibbons High School. Part of that visit was for Pitt commit Marquis Williams, but the other part was for his teammate, cornerback Ron Hardge.
Hardge is committed to Illinois, but he’s listening to what Pitt has to say. He doesn’t plan to sign in the early signing period - that in itself is a good sign for Pitt: a committed target who is delaying his signing - and he said after Wednesday’s visit that he’s looking to take an official visit to Pitt the weekend of Jan. 19-21.
- The pursuit of cornerbacks continues today, though, when Conklin and Partridge will go to Oxbridge Academy in West Palm Beach to see Iowa State commit V’Lique Carter. Pitt offered Carter last Saturday; the news caught him off-guard, so initially he wasn’t sure if he would take an official visit. As with Hardge’s visit yesterday, which led to an official visit, I suspect Conklin and Partridge will work to get a date set up with Carter during today’s visit.
- The other new offer at cornerback is Rashad Ajayi, a prospect from Georgia who was offered last Thursday. He’ll be on campus in two weeks for an official visit. Pitt seems to want one more cornerback in the class; it’s too early for me to say that Ajayi - or Carter or Brents or Hardge - has the right of first refusal, but at this point, Ajayi looks to be the first one to get on campus, so we’ll see what happens from there.
- As the contact period has moved into its second week, a few have asked if Pitt really needs another corner in the class. They’ve got commitments from Williams and Judson Tallandier, plus they took two in last year’s class; is three this year overkill?
I don’t think it is. I think Tallandier has the size to potentially move to safety - the coaches brought this up with him on his official visit as a possible move down the road - and he’s big enough to make a few Henry Miller comparisons (he’s not quite as tall as Miller, but he’s close enough that it’s a fair precedent to consider). If Tallandier moves and Malik Henderson does, in fact, leave the team this offseason, then adding two more corners in the class makes sense.
Plus, I think if you look at the overall trends in defensive recruiting the last few years, it’s clear that this staff wants depth, depth, depth. They want to have the numbers to rotate players at just about every position. For example, when Chase Pine and Elias Reynolds made some strides during the season, the coaches worked them in at linebacker - a rotation I think will only increase in 2018. The staff would like to be able to do that everywhere, from the line to the linebackers and the secondary. So getting some more corners makes sense in that regard.
- Nigel Bethel is one other option at cornerback. He got an offer on Wednesday, and we’re working to track down some more details on him.
- On the defensive line, Tyler Bentley is certainly a top target, and he looks like he’s leaning to Pitt after his official visit last weekend. That said, he’s taking a visit to Louisville this weekend, so we’ll see what comes from that.
- Also on the defensive line, I think Pitt is still in contact with Jarrett Jackson, the three-star defensive end from Palm Beach Gardens. Jackson is currently committed to Louisville, but he’s the nephew of former Pitt great Rickey Jackson and could be looking at taking an official visit.
- And then there’s the linebacker position, where the staff would probably like to get one more recruit in addition to Wendell Davis. I think there are a couple options there, including Illinois commit Khalan Tolson, Kentucky commit DeAndre Square and recent UCLA decommit Kolin Demens, among others. The next step is seeing which guys get on campus for official visits.
- I posted earlier this week that Pitt is no longer recruiting JUCO running back Kevon Abrams, but that doesn’t mean the staff isn’t looking at any other running backs. Two high school standouts - Jerome Ford and Mychale Salahuddin - are still on the radar, with official visits as real possibilities for both. I think there are other backs Pitt is looking at, but we’re still trying to confirm some names.
- With Pitt looking to potentially add two more receivers to the 2018 class, Kevin Sherman has been a busy man. So far this week, he checked in on receiver commit Cameron O’Neil and Milledgeville (Ga.) three-star Jatavious Harris - both of those visits were on Tuesday; I always forget that it’s relatively easy to get from Alabama to Georgia - and he’s got a pair of big visits today.
Sherman will be in Florida to visit Shocky Jacques-Louis and Jeshaun Jones. Both of those Fort Myers receivers visited Pitt last weekend and both had positive reactions to the trip. Pitt seems to be in strong position with Jacques-Louis, who says his top three schools are Pitt, Kentucky and Ohio State, but it seems like the Panthers and Wildcats are the frontrunners.
Jones really liked his visit, too, but a recent offer from Nebraska has caught his interest.
- Speaking of receivers, it looks like Rondale Moore, the Texas commit from Louisville, isn’t on the board for Pitt anymore. I’m not sure if that’s a result of Pitt feel confident about getting one or two of the group of Harris, Jones and Jacques-Louis or just a decision to put efforts elsewhere.
- That said, I do think Pitt is still interested in Jairus Brents, the four-star cornerback from Kentucky who is close with Moore. The coaches haven’t visited him this week, but he’s among the cornerback prospects they’re pursuing as they work to finish the class.
- Speaking of corners, there are a few targets getting attention from Pitt. On Wednesday, defensive coordinator Josh Conklin, defensive line coach Charlie Partridge and defensive backs coach Renaldo Hill were in Fort Lauderdale to visit Cardinal Gibbons High School. Part of that visit was for Pitt commit Marquis Williams, but the other part was for his teammate, cornerback Ron Hardge.
Hardge is committed to Illinois, but he’s listening to what Pitt has to say. He doesn’t plan to sign in the early signing period - that in itself is a good sign for Pitt: a committed target who is delaying his signing - and he said after Wednesday’s visit that he’s looking to take an official visit to Pitt the weekend of Jan. 19-21.
- The pursuit of cornerbacks continues today, though, when Conklin and Partridge will go to Oxbridge Academy in West Palm Beach to see Iowa State commit V’Lique Carter. Pitt offered Carter last Saturday; the news caught him off-guard, so initially he wasn’t sure if he would take an official visit. As with Hardge’s visit yesterday, which led to an official visit, I suspect Conklin and Partridge will work to get a date set up with Carter during today’s visit.
- The other new offer at cornerback is Rashad Ajayi, a prospect from Georgia who was offered last Thursday. He’ll be on campus in two weeks for an official visit. Pitt seems to want one more cornerback in the class; it’s too early for me to say that Ajayi - or Carter or Brents or Hardge - has the right of first refusal, but at this point, Ajayi looks to be the first one to get on campus, so we’ll see what happens from there.
- As the contact period has moved into its second week, a few have asked if Pitt really needs another corner in the class. They’ve got commitments from Williams and Judson Tallandier, plus they took two in last year’s class; is three this year overkill?
I don’t think it is. I think Tallandier has the size to potentially move to safety - the coaches brought this up with him on his official visit as a possible move down the road - and he’s big enough to make a few Henry Miller comparisons (he’s not quite as tall as Miller, but he’s close enough that it’s a fair precedent to consider). If Tallandier moves and Malik Henderson does, in fact, leave the team this offseason, then adding two more corners in the class makes sense.
Plus, I think if you look at the overall trends in defensive recruiting the last few years, it’s clear that this staff wants depth, depth, depth. They want to have the numbers to rotate players at just about every position. For example, when Chase Pine and Elias Reynolds made some strides during the season, the coaches worked them in at linebacker - a rotation I think will only increase in 2018. The staff would like to be able to do that everywhere, from the line to the linebackers and the secondary. So getting some more corners makes sense in that regard.
- Nigel Bethel is one other option at cornerback. He got an offer on Wednesday, and we’re working to track down some more details on him.
- On the defensive line, Tyler Bentley is certainly a top target, and he looks like he’s leaning to Pitt after his official visit last weekend. That said, he’s taking a visit to Louisville this weekend, so we’ll see what comes from that.
- Also on the defensive line, I think Pitt is still in contact with Jarrett Jackson, the three-star defensive end from Palm Beach Gardens. Jackson is currently committed to Louisville, but he’s the nephew of former Pitt great Rickey Jackson and could be looking at taking an official visit.
- And then there’s the linebacker position, where the staff would probably like to get one more recruit in addition to Wendell Davis. I think there are a couple options there, including Illinois commit Khalan Tolson, Kentucky commit DeAndre Square and recent UCLA decommit Kolin Demens, among others. The next step is seeing which guys get on campus for official visits.
- I posted earlier this week that Pitt is no longer recruiting JUCO running back Kevon Abrams, but that doesn’t mean the staff isn’t looking at any other running backs. Two high school standouts - Jerome Ford and Mychale Salahuddin - are still on the radar, with official visits as real possibilities for both. I think there are other backs Pitt is looking at, but we’re still trying to confirm some names.
