We posted last week about UTSA center C.J. James visiting Pitt this week. Here's the latest on where that stands:
- James is still set to visit Pitt on Thursday. He visited Arizona over the weekend and is visiting South Carolina today. Pitt will be his final visit.
- Those three schools are the top options for James, but he has heard from a lot of schools since he went into the portal on Dec. 30. I've been told that a number of schools from the SEC and Big Ten reached out, but in the interest of time, James narrowed his focus to the schools that interested him the most - Arizona, South Carolina and Pitt.
- James is arguably the top center available in the portal. He started 47 games over the last four years (at Abilene Christian, New Mexico and UTSA) and allowed a total of 55 pressures, according to Pro Football Focus. 18 of those pressures came in 2022; in the other three seasons, he allowed 37 pressures in 36 starts. This past season, he started 13 games and allowed 12 pressures.
- It's worth noting that several schools - SEC and Big Ten - specifically tried to get James to cancel his Pitt visit in order to visit their schools, but he declined. Pitt very much has his interest.
- A big part of the appeal is location. James is a native of Massachusetts, and after spending the last four years in Texas and New Mexico, he's looking to get closer to home. Obviously, Pitt is the closest.
- The timeline is pretty tight here, and I would expect James to pick a school fairly quickly after his visit to Pitt - or during his visit, if he feels like Pitt is the best option. It certainly seems like the Panthers are in good shape.
- James is still set to visit Pitt on Thursday. He visited Arizona over the weekend and is visiting South Carolina today. Pitt will be his final visit.
- Those three schools are the top options for James, but he has heard from a lot of schools since he went into the portal on Dec. 30. I've been told that a number of schools from the SEC and Big Ten reached out, but in the interest of time, James narrowed his focus to the schools that interested him the most - Arizona, South Carolina and Pitt.
- James is arguably the top center available in the portal. He started 47 games over the last four years (at Abilene Christian, New Mexico and UTSA) and allowed a total of 55 pressures, according to Pro Football Focus. 18 of those pressures came in 2022; in the other three seasons, he allowed 37 pressures in 36 starts. This past season, he started 13 games and allowed 12 pressures.
- It's worth noting that several schools - SEC and Big Ten - specifically tried to get James to cancel his Pitt visit in order to visit their schools, but he declined. Pitt very much has his interest.
- A big part of the appeal is location. James is a native of Massachusetts, and after spending the last four years in Texas and New Mexico, he's looking to get closer to home. Obviously, Pitt is the closest.
- The timeline is pretty tight here, and I would expect James to pick a school fairly quickly after his visit to Pitt - or during his visit, if he feels like Pitt is the best option. It certainly seems like the Panthers are in good shape.
