Hey everyone, as promised yesterday by Chris, I went down to the South Side today to check out Pitt's 7-on-7 team passing camp, where plenty of high school kids, coaches and parents got to see what it's like at Pitt's practice facility and the players got to compete against each other in front of the Pitt coaches. There were about 30 high school teams there, including Woodland Hills, Gateway, Seton-LaSalle, Pine-Richland, Steel Valley, Mars, Montour, North Hills, Plum, West Mifflin Thomas Jefferson, Indiana, Baldwin and out-of-state schools from Virginia, New Jersey and some others.
To me, the bigger story of the day than the camp itself was the private workout Chris mentioned, the one that was for some of Pitt's targets and prospective targets in the next couple recruiting classes. Just about every Pitt coach was there and they used half of the indoor practice field for the workout instead of 7-on-7 games for about an hour and a half with 13 (apparently) hand-picked prospects in attendance. We knew several of those who were attending this workout, but here are the guys who were definitely there: Tim and James Jackson from Allderdice (2016); 2017 recruits David Adams from Central Catholic, Kenny Robinson from University Prep, Ricky Squires from Penn Hills; Ohio prospects Chawntez Moss (RB) and Rodney Croom (DL); and the big one, Damar Hamlin (2016) of Central Catholic. Brashear's Therran Coleman (2016) was also there, but did not work out. There may have been a couple other Ohio kids, too.
Basically, the workout started with strength and conditioning coach Dave Andrews getting everybody warmed up, then became something of a combine for the players who were there as they were tested on their standing broad jump, shuttle drills, and the 40-yard dash. All the while, they were being pushed and encouraged by Pat Narduzzi and the other coaches, as offensive coordinator Jim Chaney made his rounds and talked to the parents who were there. They then broke into agility drills led mostly by linebackers coach Rob Harley and eventually position drills.
Throughout the entire workout, Narduzzi, Harley and Chaney in particular really seemed to use it as a chance to try to simulate what Pitt practices will be like under them if any of these players eventually choose Pitt. Afterward, it was all smiles as those coaches chatted it up with Hamlin, Robinson, Coleman, the Jackson twins and Squires. While it was a pretty rigorous workout with the coaches -- I even heard a couple of the players talking about how unexpectedly tough it was -- everyone seemed to leave in a good mood. Some of the recruits apparently went home, but some of the out-of-towners likely got a tour of the facilities and a number of others -- Hamlin, the Jacksons, Coleman, and Robinson, especially -- went over to the outdoor practice fields to watch teams like Woodland Hills and Seton-LaSalle in the 7-on-7 camp.
So yeah, while that Pitt recruiting-centric workout was going on indoors, some of the top prospects in the WPIAL were on display outside. One guy who stood out, unsurprisingly, was Seton-LaSalle's Paris Ford (2017), who wasn't only making plays left and right but also was the main attraction for many of his fellow local recruits looking on. The junior wide receiver/defensive back did most of his best work on the offensive side of the ball, skying for a perfectly-timed grab and high-pointing it in the corner of the end zone in the first game against Oil City. On Seton's next possession, he easily got behind the secondary pulled in an over-the-shoulder catch. Even on plays where the pass might have been intended for someone else but not caught and/or deflected, it seemed like Ford was coming in out of nowhere to pull it in.
Woodland Hills, of course, was also one of the teams most people were watching given its usual complement of standouts, most notably some guy wearing a Penn State wristband who I think is named Miles Sanders. I believe Penn Hills was supposed to participate in the camp, but they were crossed off the schedule and replaced by a second team from Woodland Hills, which had enough players there to split into an A and B unit.
Once he was finished putting the other recruits through the workout, Harley -- who seemingly was everywhere all morning/afternoon and is always interacting with somebody -- stood right behind the end zone to watch the Woodland Hills A team play a very game Steel Valley squad.
Beyond all the players Pitt is looking at and vice versa, someone who really stood out in this setting was Gateway receiver Aidan Howard (2016). He's already committed to Virginia, but I figured it was worth a mention with the ACC connection and because every time I looked over at that field, he was catching a pass.
That's all I've got from Saturday's festivities, but I plan to be there again tomorrow for Day 2 of Pitt's camp, which is when Aaron Mathews, Lamont Wade and Clairton are expected to jump into the mix.
To me, the bigger story of the day than the camp itself was the private workout Chris mentioned, the one that was for some of Pitt's targets and prospective targets in the next couple recruiting classes. Just about every Pitt coach was there and they used half of the indoor practice field for the workout instead of 7-on-7 games for about an hour and a half with 13 (apparently) hand-picked prospects in attendance. We knew several of those who were attending this workout, but here are the guys who were definitely there: Tim and James Jackson from Allderdice (2016); 2017 recruits David Adams from Central Catholic, Kenny Robinson from University Prep, Ricky Squires from Penn Hills; Ohio prospects Chawntez Moss (RB) and Rodney Croom (DL); and the big one, Damar Hamlin (2016) of Central Catholic. Brashear's Therran Coleman (2016) was also there, but did not work out. There may have been a couple other Ohio kids, too.
Basically, the workout started with strength and conditioning coach Dave Andrews getting everybody warmed up, then became something of a combine for the players who were there as they were tested on their standing broad jump, shuttle drills, and the 40-yard dash. All the while, they were being pushed and encouraged by Pat Narduzzi and the other coaches, as offensive coordinator Jim Chaney made his rounds and talked to the parents who were there. They then broke into agility drills led mostly by linebackers coach Rob Harley and eventually position drills.
Throughout the entire workout, Narduzzi, Harley and Chaney in particular really seemed to use it as a chance to try to simulate what Pitt practices will be like under them if any of these players eventually choose Pitt. Afterward, it was all smiles as those coaches chatted it up with Hamlin, Robinson, Coleman, the Jackson twins and Squires. While it was a pretty rigorous workout with the coaches -- I even heard a couple of the players talking about how unexpectedly tough it was -- everyone seemed to leave in a good mood. Some of the recruits apparently went home, but some of the out-of-towners likely got a tour of the facilities and a number of others -- Hamlin, the Jacksons, Coleman, and Robinson, especially -- went over to the outdoor practice fields to watch teams like Woodland Hills and Seton-LaSalle in the 7-on-7 camp.
So yeah, while that Pitt recruiting-centric workout was going on indoors, some of the top prospects in the WPIAL were on display outside. One guy who stood out, unsurprisingly, was Seton-LaSalle's Paris Ford (2017), who wasn't only making plays left and right but also was the main attraction for many of his fellow local recruits looking on. The junior wide receiver/defensive back did most of his best work on the offensive side of the ball, skying for a perfectly-timed grab and high-pointing it in the corner of the end zone in the first game against Oil City. On Seton's next possession, he easily got behind the secondary pulled in an over-the-shoulder catch. Even on plays where the pass might have been intended for someone else but not caught and/or deflected, it seemed like Ford was coming in out of nowhere to pull it in.
Woodland Hills, of course, was also one of the teams most people were watching given its usual complement of standouts, most notably some guy wearing a Penn State wristband who I think is named Miles Sanders. I believe Penn Hills was supposed to participate in the camp, but they were crossed off the schedule and replaced by a second team from Woodland Hills, which had enough players there to split into an A and B unit.
Once he was finished putting the other recruits through the workout, Harley -- who seemingly was everywhere all morning/afternoon and is always interacting with somebody -- stood right behind the end zone to watch the Woodland Hills A team play a very game Steel Valley squad.
Beyond all the players Pitt is looking at and vice versa, someone who really stood out in this setting was Gateway receiver Aidan Howard (2016). He's already committed to Virginia, but I figured it was worth a mention with the ACC connection and because every time I looked over at that field, he was catching a pass.
That's all I've got from Saturday's festivities, but I plan to be there again tomorrow for Day 2 of Pitt's camp, which is when Aaron Mathews, Lamont Wade and Clairton are expected to jump into the mix.
