Pitt's linebacker recruiting has been relatively simple now for about seven months, dating back to Albert Tucker's commitment at the end of June: go out and get four-star Nathan Proctor or wrap the class up. It looked like Pitt had been dealt a big blow when the Maryland standout committed to Virginia Tech at the Under Armour All-American Game on national television, the only school he had taken an official visit to prior to his commitment, but it's looking like that's not exactly the case anymore.
Todd Sibley talked to me after the Under Armour game and made some comments about how he didn't think Proctor really wanted to go to Virginia Tech based off of his body language and his facial expressions and stuff like that. I assumed he was just joking, knowing Todd's personality, but I spent the lion's share of my morning talking to a source close to Proctor's recruitment who said otherwise.
"Nate is extremely quiet and doesn't like the spotlight so he's unlike most high profile recruits. I think he likes Tech a lot but there was a lot of pressure on him to commit on national television," the source said, later adding in another quote that Proctor "looked miserable" compared to other kids.
Word came immediately after Proctor's decisions that he wasn't going to be done with the recruiting process despite the commitment and the source confirmed that today, stating that Proctor still plans to take his official visit to Pitt this weekend beginning on Friday, January 13th. The source went as far as to say that the real decision will be made in the coming weeks and days after his visit to Pitt.
"I believe Pitt is still very much in the game. I think he will have a tough decision to make after this weekend. His mother is very much involved in the decision process and she hasn't met Coach Narduzzi yet," the source explained. "I believe [Narduzzi] will have a very big impact on her."
Although coaches are limited in terms of how much contact they can have with prospects away from campus, it does seem a little odd for Narduzzi to have never been able to meet with Proctor's mother. He's a four-star prospect that had visited campus twice previously, once with a coach and once on a bus tour, and Narduzzi has yet to make an in-home visit (Rob Harley has).
There's been some talk that this visit to Pitt may be a courtesy visit to appease Proctor's head coach, who is a Pitt alum, but the source was adamant that that is not the case. While bad luck and unfortunate timing have prevented Proctor's family from meeting Narduzzi, that is not reflective of a lack of interest.
"For whatever the reason, his mom has never met any of the Pitt staff. [Henry E. Lackey head coach John Lush] took him on his visit and every time they came for a home visit she was out of town on business. So while I know on the outside it may look like a courtesy visit, there is a lot going on there," the source said, continuing on to explain exactly how important it will be for Pitt to sway the matriarch of the Proctor family:
"His mom is very thorough. They have visited over 15 schools during the last two years. There is a reason he hasn't taken many officials. If there are things she doesn't like, she moves on. She is all about authentic people and people that are concerned with her son on and off the field. That's why I knew from day one that Pitt had a legitimate shot."
This hardly means that Pitt is a shoe-in to flip the four-star from their ACC opponent. Virginia Tech is planning to fight tooth and nail to keep their top defensive commit, and arguably their top commit regardless of position, and there are some areas for Pitt to make up ground on their opponents in this recruitment.
"The only issue I think Pitt has is that Nate is really into the rabid fan base atmosphere which Pitt lacks due to not having a stadium on campus. I've always worried about that part. He loves the fact that [Henry E. Lackey High School] is a community school. But I think he and his family will get that feel when they are there at Pitt," the source explained. "He's already visited before and felt that. I think he is somewhat worried that Coach Narduzzi could continue to do well and leave, but that is the nature of college football nowadays. He likes the stability with (Virginia Tech's defensive coordinator) coach Bud Foster."
It goes without saying that Bud Foster is a Virginia institution. I'm a 22-year-old college graduate who's been working full time for nearly a year and Foster has been on staff at Virginia Tech since before my parents met each other.
That stability and the other factors that led to Proctor committing to Virginia Tech aren't going away, but Pitt is going to work to convince the four-star to change his mind. Pitt sources feel that the fact that the decision was rushed into and that Proctor still plans to continue taking this official visit means that they are very much in the game. They'll be hoping to utilize some of that doubt and uncertainty to their advantage.
"The smoother it goes this weekend, the more of a shot Pitt has. Like I said, they are private people. It's hard to find people like them in the recruiting world nowadays," the source said. "That is why the commitment on television was such a surprise. He looked miserable on there compared to the other kids."
Finally, Pitt's rival in State College is also looking likely to receive an official visit. The source felt that it was unlikely that Proctor would go through with a potential late official visit to Ole Miss that had been discussed, but felt that Penn State would probably be given one more chance on an official visit. The Nittany Lions had surged for him in the late fall/early winter but have faced some issues since that point.
"I've felt for the last few weeks that Penn State was a distant third choice. I just think he wasn't sure if [Penn State] was the best fit for him. Their defensive coordinator came to one of [Proctor's] games," the source said. "They are pretty high on him. It's true they wanted him to pull the trigger early and they were adamant that he needed to do that. He refused."
So with an Ole Miss visit looking unlikely and a Penn State visit looking probable, but not confirmed, with the Nittany Lions potentially running third, it looks like Proctor's recruitment could come down to how well Pitt can do this weekend. We've seen the impressive track record from Narduzzi and his staff on these late official visits and they'd love to keep their recruiting momentum going by flipping Proctor from their ACC foe. This is a major one to watch from this weekend through National Signing Day.
Todd Sibley talked to me after the Under Armour game and made some comments about how he didn't think Proctor really wanted to go to Virginia Tech based off of his body language and his facial expressions and stuff like that. I assumed he was just joking, knowing Todd's personality, but I spent the lion's share of my morning talking to a source close to Proctor's recruitment who said otherwise.
"Nate is extremely quiet and doesn't like the spotlight so he's unlike most high profile recruits. I think he likes Tech a lot but there was a lot of pressure on him to commit on national television," the source said, later adding in another quote that Proctor "looked miserable" compared to other kids.
Word came immediately after Proctor's decisions that he wasn't going to be done with the recruiting process despite the commitment and the source confirmed that today, stating that Proctor still plans to take his official visit to Pitt this weekend beginning on Friday, January 13th. The source went as far as to say that the real decision will be made in the coming weeks and days after his visit to Pitt.
"I believe Pitt is still very much in the game. I think he will have a tough decision to make after this weekend. His mother is very much involved in the decision process and she hasn't met Coach Narduzzi yet," the source explained. "I believe [Narduzzi] will have a very big impact on her."
Although coaches are limited in terms of how much contact they can have with prospects away from campus, it does seem a little odd for Narduzzi to have never been able to meet with Proctor's mother. He's a four-star prospect that had visited campus twice previously, once with a coach and once on a bus tour, and Narduzzi has yet to make an in-home visit (Rob Harley has).
There's been some talk that this visit to Pitt may be a courtesy visit to appease Proctor's head coach, who is a Pitt alum, but the source was adamant that that is not the case. While bad luck and unfortunate timing have prevented Proctor's family from meeting Narduzzi, that is not reflective of a lack of interest.
"For whatever the reason, his mom has never met any of the Pitt staff. [Henry E. Lackey head coach John Lush] took him on his visit and every time they came for a home visit she was out of town on business. So while I know on the outside it may look like a courtesy visit, there is a lot going on there," the source said, continuing on to explain exactly how important it will be for Pitt to sway the matriarch of the Proctor family:
"His mom is very thorough. They have visited over 15 schools during the last two years. There is a reason he hasn't taken many officials. If there are things she doesn't like, she moves on. She is all about authentic people and people that are concerned with her son on and off the field. That's why I knew from day one that Pitt had a legitimate shot."
This hardly means that Pitt is a shoe-in to flip the four-star from their ACC opponent. Virginia Tech is planning to fight tooth and nail to keep their top defensive commit, and arguably their top commit regardless of position, and there are some areas for Pitt to make up ground on their opponents in this recruitment.
"The only issue I think Pitt has is that Nate is really into the rabid fan base atmosphere which Pitt lacks due to not having a stadium on campus. I've always worried about that part. He loves the fact that [Henry E. Lackey High School] is a community school. But I think he and his family will get that feel when they are there at Pitt," the source explained. "He's already visited before and felt that. I think he is somewhat worried that Coach Narduzzi could continue to do well and leave, but that is the nature of college football nowadays. He likes the stability with (Virginia Tech's defensive coordinator) coach Bud Foster."
It goes without saying that Bud Foster is a Virginia institution. I'm a 22-year-old college graduate who's been working full time for nearly a year and Foster has been on staff at Virginia Tech since before my parents met each other.
That stability and the other factors that led to Proctor committing to Virginia Tech aren't going away, but Pitt is going to work to convince the four-star to change his mind. Pitt sources feel that the fact that the decision was rushed into and that Proctor still plans to continue taking this official visit means that they are very much in the game. They'll be hoping to utilize some of that doubt and uncertainty to their advantage.
"The smoother it goes this weekend, the more of a shot Pitt has. Like I said, they are private people. It's hard to find people like them in the recruiting world nowadays," the source said. "That is why the commitment on television was such a surprise. He looked miserable on there compared to the other kids."
Finally, Pitt's rival in State College is also looking likely to receive an official visit. The source felt that it was unlikely that Proctor would go through with a potential late official visit to Ole Miss that had been discussed, but felt that Penn State would probably be given one more chance on an official visit. The Nittany Lions had surged for him in the late fall/early winter but have faced some issues since that point.
"I've felt for the last few weeks that Penn State was a distant third choice. I just think he wasn't sure if [Penn State] was the best fit for him. Their defensive coordinator came to one of [Proctor's] games," the source said. "They are pretty high on him. It's true they wanted him to pull the trigger early and they were adamant that he needed to do that. He refused."
So with an Ole Miss visit looking unlikely and a Penn State visit looking probable, but not confirmed, with the Nittany Lions potentially running third, it looks like Proctor's recruitment could come down to how well Pitt can do this weekend. We've seen the impressive track record from Narduzzi and his staff on these late official visits and they'd love to keep their recruiting momentum going by flipping Proctor from their ACC foe. This is a major one to watch from this weekend through National Signing Day.
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