I promised you guys that I would get some of my notes up from the Nike event in Cleveland on Sunday and I'm getting around to that now. I'm not going to do a top performers list or anything like that, but these are just some scattered notes I took throughout the day on the Pitt-relevant players in attendance.
QBs
I didn't spend as much time watching the quarterbacks as other positions, simply because Pitt didn't have many realistic options among those in attendance. Chase Wolf captured MVP at the position ahead of guys like Phil Jurkovec (ND), Dwan Mathis, Tadas Tatarunas (who visited Pitt in the fall but likely won't be offered), Brennan Armstrong (Minnesota), Troy Fisher, Riley Keller, Michael Lowery, Theo Day (MSU), and others. There were a ton of Division I kids in attendance, so winning the MVP was impressive. I liked his accuracy and he could place the football well. I do have concerns about Wolf's release point and his throwing motion in general, which will need to be worked on by a college coach. Still, he's a bright kid who sees the field well and makes accurate passes, which can account for a lot.
RBs
The two notable kids here for Pitt fans were Stevie Scott of Syracuse (N.Y.) and Raveion Hargrove of Dayton (Ohio). Hargrove is absolutely tailor-made for events like this and after winning MVP last year in Columbus, he showed up to defend his crown. Good luck catching the kid in space, because he's a speed demon and has great lateral agility. They did a cat-and-mouse drill where the linebacker has to run down a running back before they can get the first down or get to the sideline and Hargrove made a few guys look ridiculous in space.
Scott is a bigger back, so this really wasn't his bread and butter. Without the pads on, it's hard for a power back who runs downhill to shine in this sort of environment. Still, he looked good physically and it was nice to see the kid in person. He's every bit of 6-foot-2 and 220-plus pounds by my eye. He's not much of a pass-catcher or route-runner at this stage, but he passed the look test.
WRs
Wide receiver was pretty stacked, even with a guy like Rivals100 WR L'Chrisian Smith sitting out with an injury. The most notable player for Pitt fans was probably four-star Dayton (Ohio) Dunbar freak Joseph Scates, so told me that Pitt has been contacting him a ton since he decommitted from MSU and that he wants to visit campus soon. Scates is such an absurd athlete, just very quick and fast and really hard for DBs to keep pace with.
Cameron Phillips, a 2019 DB/WR from Westerville (Ohio) Central, visited Pitt recently and also picked up his first offer from Illinois. He's not too big and still needs to add some size, but he's a fluid athlete who can really run. Phillips captured the MVP award out of this position group and the future is very bright for him.
Jornell Manns is a 2018 WR from Mansfield (Ohio) who's been hearing a lot from Pitt and is hopeful for an offer. Penn State, Minnesota, WVU, Kentucky, and others have offered. He'll be a slot receiver in college, but he has really nice and can be a game-breaker in kick return settings.
Paul Woods of Buffalo (N.Y.) was a kid that I saw last summer and he's continued to impress me every step of the way. The 2018 WR has a pair of ACC offers, but he wants to add Pitt to that list. It's pretty close to home for him and they've started to send mail and contact, but haven't set up a visit or anything like that. He's tall and catches everything, absolute vacuums for hands. Not a real downfield burner, but he has enough speed to be a problem. Polished route-runner as well. One of my favorite under-the-radar recruits in this class.
A trio of 2018 Ohio kids impressed me at WR and they're all names to watch - Caleb Johnson of Trotwood-Madison (Ohio), Jalen Hooks of Warren (Ohio) Harding, and Xavier Johnson of Cincinnati (Ohio) Summit Country Day. C. Johnson has offers from Akron and Toledo, Hooks has an offer from Boston College, and X. Johnson has offers from Cincy, BGSU, Toledo, Ohio U, Akron, Kent State, and Miami (Ohio).
TEs
Keaton Upshaw is the big one here for you guys and he definitely impressed. There may not have been a player at the camp who looked more impressive physically walking around. Just everything you want out of a tight end from a frame standpoint. Every bit of 6-foot-7 and around 230 pounds. He caught everything that came his way, including through some contact, and ran pretty sharp routes. Upshaw's only downside right now is that he's just not much of a runner. He can do enough to create a window for his QB but I'm not sure he's a downfield threat with the way he moves right now.
OLs
The offensive line was another stacked position group, just absolutely full of guys with Division I offers. Some of the most notable for Pitt include Darian Kinnard, Jake Kradel, and Juice Scruggs, although others will doubtlessly emerge.
I'll have a story with Kinnard later this afternoon, but Pitt is very seriously involved there and he's reciprocating interest. He blew me away at camp and I didn't expect him to be able to move his feet as well he did at 6-foot-7 and 335 pounds. He has a great initial bunch, great footwork, and an ideal frame with long arms. He's also one of those kids that you can tell is naturally strong and hasn't truly hit the weight room hard yet, so he's only going to get more powerful. He rag-dolled a couple guys on Sunday.
Jake Kradel had a pretty good day as well, although he looked a bit different than I expected him to. Kradel has definitely added some weight throughout the offseason and looked like he was pushing over three bills. You can tell that he's still getting used to the center position and some of those kids who are quicker off the snap gave him trouble, but he won way more than he lost. When he locks onto a kid, they're not getting past him. He's tenacious and anchors very well. I still think he's at his best in the run blocking aspect of the game.
Juice Scruggs is a four-star from Erie (Pa.) who has Penn State and Ohio State at the top, seemingly with an edge for the Buckeyes, but Pitt is still in the mix as well and may be the third or fourth team there. Scruggs was really lean at 265 pounds and you can tell that he's going to add a lot of weight to his frame, but he moved really well. He was essentially the opposite of Kradel, where he dropped into his stance so quick that those quick DTs didn't trouble him at all. Kids who could out-muscle him could knock him off balance though, and he'll need to hit the weight room.
Finally, Tyrone Sampson of Michigan is a 2018 stud and maybe the best center in the country. He doesn't have as many offers as he should right now, but said that he wants to hear from Pitt and would be very interested in visiting if they showed him some love. He's available for the taking when Pitt does their annual Detroit foray. He got his invite to The Opening on Sunday, as did Jackson Carman.
QBs
I didn't spend as much time watching the quarterbacks as other positions, simply because Pitt didn't have many realistic options among those in attendance. Chase Wolf captured MVP at the position ahead of guys like Phil Jurkovec (ND), Dwan Mathis, Tadas Tatarunas (who visited Pitt in the fall but likely won't be offered), Brennan Armstrong (Minnesota), Troy Fisher, Riley Keller, Michael Lowery, Theo Day (MSU), and others. There were a ton of Division I kids in attendance, so winning the MVP was impressive. I liked his accuracy and he could place the football well. I do have concerns about Wolf's release point and his throwing motion in general, which will need to be worked on by a college coach. Still, he's a bright kid who sees the field well and makes accurate passes, which can account for a lot.
RBs
The two notable kids here for Pitt fans were Stevie Scott of Syracuse (N.Y.) and Raveion Hargrove of Dayton (Ohio). Hargrove is absolutely tailor-made for events like this and after winning MVP last year in Columbus, he showed up to defend his crown. Good luck catching the kid in space, because he's a speed demon and has great lateral agility. They did a cat-and-mouse drill where the linebacker has to run down a running back before they can get the first down or get to the sideline and Hargrove made a few guys look ridiculous in space.
Scott is a bigger back, so this really wasn't his bread and butter. Without the pads on, it's hard for a power back who runs downhill to shine in this sort of environment. Still, he looked good physically and it was nice to see the kid in person. He's every bit of 6-foot-2 and 220-plus pounds by my eye. He's not much of a pass-catcher or route-runner at this stage, but he passed the look test.
WRs
Wide receiver was pretty stacked, even with a guy like Rivals100 WR L'Chrisian Smith sitting out with an injury. The most notable player for Pitt fans was probably four-star Dayton (Ohio) Dunbar freak Joseph Scates, so told me that Pitt has been contacting him a ton since he decommitted from MSU and that he wants to visit campus soon. Scates is such an absurd athlete, just very quick and fast and really hard for DBs to keep pace with.
Cameron Phillips, a 2019 DB/WR from Westerville (Ohio) Central, visited Pitt recently and also picked up his first offer from Illinois. He's not too big and still needs to add some size, but he's a fluid athlete who can really run. Phillips captured the MVP award out of this position group and the future is very bright for him.
Jornell Manns is a 2018 WR from Mansfield (Ohio) who's been hearing a lot from Pitt and is hopeful for an offer. Penn State, Minnesota, WVU, Kentucky, and others have offered. He'll be a slot receiver in college, but he has really nice and can be a game-breaker in kick return settings.
Paul Woods of Buffalo (N.Y.) was a kid that I saw last summer and he's continued to impress me every step of the way. The 2018 WR has a pair of ACC offers, but he wants to add Pitt to that list. It's pretty close to home for him and they've started to send mail and contact, but haven't set up a visit or anything like that. He's tall and catches everything, absolute vacuums for hands. Not a real downfield burner, but he has enough speed to be a problem. Polished route-runner as well. One of my favorite under-the-radar recruits in this class.
A trio of 2018 Ohio kids impressed me at WR and they're all names to watch - Caleb Johnson of Trotwood-Madison (Ohio), Jalen Hooks of Warren (Ohio) Harding, and Xavier Johnson of Cincinnati (Ohio) Summit Country Day. C. Johnson has offers from Akron and Toledo, Hooks has an offer from Boston College, and X. Johnson has offers from Cincy, BGSU, Toledo, Ohio U, Akron, Kent State, and Miami (Ohio).
TEs
Keaton Upshaw is the big one here for you guys and he definitely impressed. There may not have been a player at the camp who looked more impressive physically walking around. Just everything you want out of a tight end from a frame standpoint. Every bit of 6-foot-7 and around 230 pounds. He caught everything that came his way, including through some contact, and ran pretty sharp routes. Upshaw's only downside right now is that he's just not much of a runner. He can do enough to create a window for his QB but I'm not sure he's a downfield threat with the way he moves right now.
OLs
The offensive line was another stacked position group, just absolutely full of guys with Division I offers. Some of the most notable for Pitt include Darian Kinnard, Jake Kradel, and Juice Scruggs, although others will doubtlessly emerge.
I'll have a story with Kinnard later this afternoon, but Pitt is very seriously involved there and he's reciprocating interest. He blew me away at camp and I didn't expect him to be able to move his feet as well he did at 6-foot-7 and 335 pounds. He has a great initial bunch, great footwork, and an ideal frame with long arms. He's also one of those kids that you can tell is naturally strong and hasn't truly hit the weight room hard yet, so he's only going to get more powerful. He rag-dolled a couple guys on Sunday.
Jake Kradel had a pretty good day as well, although he looked a bit different than I expected him to. Kradel has definitely added some weight throughout the offseason and looked like he was pushing over three bills. You can tell that he's still getting used to the center position and some of those kids who are quicker off the snap gave him trouble, but he won way more than he lost. When he locks onto a kid, they're not getting past him. He's tenacious and anchors very well. I still think he's at his best in the run blocking aspect of the game.
Juice Scruggs is a four-star from Erie (Pa.) who has Penn State and Ohio State at the top, seemingly with an edge for the Buckeyes, but Pitt is still in the mix as well and may be the third or fourth team there. Scruggs was really lean at 265 pounds and you can tell that he's going to add a lot of weight to his frame, but he moved really well. He was essentially the opposite of Kradel, where he dropped into his stance so quick that those quick DTs didn't trouble him at all. Kids who could out-muscle him could knock him off balance though, and he'll need to hit the weight room.
Finally, Tyrone Sampson of Michigan is a 2018 stud and maybe the best center in the country. He doesn't have as many offers as he should right now, but said that he wants to hear from Pitt and would be very interested in visiting if they showed him some love. He's available for the taking when Pitt does their annual Detroit foray. He got his invite to The Opening on Sunday, as did Jackson Carman.
