Hey all, I know updates have been coming in quickly and heads have been turning at a lot of the targets down in Florida that have emerged in recent weeks, but I wanted to make sure that one of Pitt's top targets didn't get lost in that shuffle. 2017 Massillon (Ohio) offensive tackle Thayer Munford has been one of Pitt's most high-priority recruits for the last six months or so with the big-bodied lineman drawing offers from Pitt, Alabama, Tennessee, Michigan State, Penn State, Kentucky, and others. In this update, I'm going to discuss where the schools that have offered Munford fit into things, where his recruitment has been trending, what outside offer could change thing, and where his official visit schedule is looking to take him.
Recently, a lot of my discussion around Munford has centered around some other schools and how they're impacting Pitt's chances. In that sense, he continues to remain in somewhat of a holding pattern. Like many other Ohio prospects, Munford is waiting on the opportunity to earn an Ohio State offer. Unlike many other Ohio prospects, he has a realistic chance of doing so.
Munford's interest in and interest from Ohio State hinges on a pair of camp visits over the summer in June and July, respectively. Munford had worked out for Ohio State in the past when he was younger, but the Cincinnati-area native looked like a totally different player going into his senior year. Munford had thoroughly reshaped his body and added plenty of lean muscle while cutting baby fat. He looked and athletic and has the potential to be a true tackle at the college level, be it left or right. Greg Studrawa, Ohio State's offensive line coach, has been a huge fan of Munford inside the Columbus program and has been the biggest proponent of offering him. Ohio State doesn't like to let talented Ohioans get away at positions of need if they can avoid it. So what's been their hold up on offering with all of these other big programs offering Munford?
The Buckeyes have been focusing their recruiting efforts on the prospects who plan to enroll early at the colleges of their choice going into the dead period, which is just a week away. At offensive line, that means they've been swinging for the fences on Tennessee's Mr. Football, offensive tackle Trey Smith. Trey will announce at 4:30 P.M. this afternoon. If he picks Ohio State, that will be the end of Munford's chances for an Ohio State offer. If he picks Tennessee, which I expect him to, then Thayer is still in the game for an offer from the Buckeyes. If they offer, he's almost certainky going to end up in Columbus. Trey picking Tennessee does not guarantee an offer for Thayer, but it increases the likelihood. Ohio State is still in a numbers crunch with limited spots regardless of Trey Smith, but Munford may well carve a spot as they head towards the finish.
If Ohio State doesn't offer, Pitt is still contending with a number of other schools. Notably, the schools I would characterize as the lead contenders for Munford (in addition to Pitt) are Kentucky, Iowa State, Tennessee, and Michigan State.
Munford has already taken official visits to Iowa State (November 18) and Kentucky (Decmber 2) this fall and also took unofficial visits to Penn State, Michigan State, and Tennessee. Michigan State offered Munford while he was in East Lansing on that trip in early November.
I spoke with Munford's high school head coach at Massillon Washington, Nate Moore, last night to go over where things stand with his star player. Munford is a quiet kid who doesn't do many interviews unless you're in person with him and even that isn't a guarantee. Coach Moore is also Munford's legal guardian and has handled large parts of his recruitment. He is part of the family and has been the go-to on much of this information surrounding Munford's recruitment.
Munford has three remaining official visits and Moore confirmed to me that the usual suspects are fighting for the final trips: Pitt, Tennessee, Michigan State, and Ohio State. There haven't been any notable new suitors and things are starting to narrow down here to this final group. Moore also added that he "doesn't think" that Thayer will be taking any official visits prior to the dead period, which begins on December 12th. That means that Munford's visits will all be coming in January ahead of National Signing Day.
That decision gives Munford the option to wait and see how things shake out with an offer from Ohio State and whether or not Tennessee will have room in the class. It also allows him to re-evaluate options once he sees early enrollee situations for most of these schools and depth charts following NFL declarations, etc.
John Peterson has been working this one for Pitt and the sense I get here is that the Panthers are going to secure an official visit. I think that Pitt and Ohio State are the two schools that I feel comfortable projecting to receive an official from Munford, while Tennessee and Sparty are somewhat less likely. I don't know for sure that Pitt will get one, but Munford has remained in contact with the staff for months and I don't see any reason for that to change going forward.
What has changed, in my opinion, is where Pitt stands relative to some of their competitors in this recruitment. Munford's official visit to Kentucky, coupled with his frequent contact from Wildcats' assistant and ace Ohio recruiter Vince Marrow, seems to have placed UK in a really advantageous position. Kentucky has really made Munford a priority and worked hard to establish critical relationships and trust with him, to the point where they would be my pick for his eventual destination if Ohio State doesn't offer.
Conversely, I wouldn't worry about Michigan State as a significant threat. I'm told that the impression Munford got in East Lansing didn't really stack up to his expectations and that he didn't click with the coaching staff in the same way he did at other schools he's considering. Michigan State has a very specific brand and kind of coach and the "fired up, pissed off, chip on your shoulder" thing they do exhaustively doesn't work for every recruit. Sparty is hardly out of the recruitment, but they don't appear to be as a serious of a contender as Kentucky, Pitt, or Ohio State.
Tennessee is a bit of a wildcard and they're in somewhat of a holding pattern here on Trey Smith. There has been uncertainty around Butch Jones in Knoxville and talks that there could be staff changes made to help alleviate some of the pressure on Butch. Whispers are coming out that recruits have been a bit uneasy lately when hearing from Tennessee and that they're acting a bit panicky and desperate in recruiting, to a certain extent. Those are rumors obviously and no recruit that I speak to has said that directly, but plenty of people close to them have expressed that sentiment.
There's a long while to go here with Munford and he'll likely place recruiting somewhat on the backburner over Christmas break while he waits for the Army/Under Armour game commitments from his fellow recruits and sees where things are at for his top schools at that point in time. If Pitt is going to get an official visit, and I think they will, it's going to come in mid to late January. We'll keep you posted as he picks things back up coming out of the dead period.
Recently, a lot of my discussion around Munford has centered around some other schools and how they're impacting Pitt's chances. In that sense, he continues to remain in somewhat of a holding pattern. Like many other Ohio prospects, Munford is waiting on the opportunity to earn an Ohio State offer. Unlike many other Ohio prospects, he has a realistic chance of doing so.
Munford's interest in and interest from Ohio State hinges on a pair of camp visits over the summer in June and July, respectively. Munford had worked out for Ohio State in the past when he was younger, but the Cincinnati-area native looked like a totally different player going into his senior year. Munford had thoroughly reshaped his body and added plenty of lean muscle while cutting baby fat. He looked and athletic and has the potential to be a true tackle at the college level, be it left or right. Greg Studrawa, Ohio State's offensive line coach, has been a huge fan of Munford inside the Columbus program and has been the biggest proponent of offering him. Ohio State doesn't like to let talented Ohioans get away at positions of need if they can avoid it. So what's been their hold up on offering with all of these other big programs offering Munford?
The Buckeyes have been focusing their recruiting efforts on the prospects who plan to enroll early at the colleges of their choice going into the dead period, which is just a week away. At offensive line, that means they've been swinging for the fences on Tennessee's Mr. Football, offensive tackle Trey Smith. Trey will announce at 4:30 P.M. this afternoon. If he picks Ohio State, that will be the end of Munford's chances for an Ohio State offer. If he picks Tennessee, which I expect him to, then Thayer is still in the game for an offer from the Buckeyes. If they offer, he's almost certainky going to end up in Columbus. Trey picking Tennessee does not guarantee an offer for Thayer, but it increases the likelihood. Ohio State is still in a numbers crunch with limited spots regardless of Trey Smith, but Munford may well carve a spot as they head towards the finish.
If Ohio State doesn't offer, Pitt is still contending with a number of other schools. Notably, the schools I would characterize as the lead contenders for Munford (in addition to Pitt) are Kentucky, Iowa State, Tennessee, and Michigan State.
Munford has already taken official visits to Iowa State (November 18) and Kentucky (Decmber 2) this fall and also took unofficial visits to Penn State, Michigan State, and Tennessee. Michigan State offered Munford while he was in East Lansing on that trip in early November.
I spoke with Munford's high school head coach at Massillon Washington, Nate Moore, last night to go over where things stand with his star player. Munford is a quiet kid who doesn't do many interviews unless you're in person with him and even that isn't a guarantee. Coach Moore is also Munford's legal guardian and has handled large parts of his recruitment. He is part of the family and has been the go-to on much of this information surrounding Munford's recruitment.
Munford has three remaining official visits and Moore confirmed to me that the usual suspects are fighting for the final trips: Pitt, Tennessee, Michigan State, and Ohio State. There haven't been any notable new suitors and things are starting to narrow down here to this final group. Moore also added that he "doesn't think" that Thayer will be taking any official visits prior to the dead period, which begins on December 12th. That means that Munford's visits will all be coming in January ahead of National Signing Day.
That decision gives Munford the option to wait and see how things shake out with an offer from Ohio State and whether or not Tennessee will have room in the class. It also allows him to re-evaluate options once he sees early enrollee situations for most of these schools and depth charts following NFL declarations, etc.
John Peterson has been working this one for Pitt and the sense I get here is that the Panthers are going to secure an official visit. I think that Pitt and Ohio State are the two schools that I feel comfortable projecting to receive an official from Munford, while Tennessee and Sparty are somewhat less likely. I don't know for sure that Pitt will get one, but Munford has remained in contact with the staff for months and I don't see any reason for that to change going forward.
What has changed, in my opinion, is where Pitt stands relative to some of their competitors in this recruitment. Munford's official visit to Kentucky, coupled with his frequent contact from Wildcats' assistant and ace Ohio recruiter Vince Marrow, seems to have placed UK in a really advantageous position. Kentucky has really made Munford a priority and worked hard to establish critical relationships and trust with him, to the point where they would be my pick for his eventual destination if Ohio State doesn't offer.
Conversely, I wouldn't worry about Michigan State as a significant threat. I'm told that the impression Munford got in East Lansing didn't really stack up to his expectations and that he didn't click with the coaching staff in the same way he did at other schools he's considering. Michigan State has a very specific brand and kind of coach and the "fired up, pissed off, chip on your shoulder" thing they do exhaustively doesn't work for every recruit. Sparty is hardly out of the recruitment, but they don't appear to be as a serious of a contender as Kentucky, Pitt, or Ohio State.
Tennessee is a bit of a wildcard and they're in somewhat of a holding pattern here on Trey Smith. There has been uncertainty around Butch Jones in Knoxville and talks that there could be staff changes made to help alleviate some of the pressure on Butch. Whispers are coming out that recruits have been a bit uneasy lately when hearing from Tennessee and that they're acting a bit panicky and desperate in recruiting, to a certain extent. Those are rumors obviously and no recruit that I speak to has said that directly, but plenty of people close to them have expressed that sentiment.
There's a long while to go here with Munford and he'll likely place recruiting somewhat on the backburner over Christmas break while he waits for the Army/Under Armour game commitments from his fellow recruits and sees where things are at for his top schools at that point in time. If Pitt is going to get an official visit, and I think they will, it's going to come in mid to late January. We'll keep you posted as he picks things back up coming out of the dead period.
