I was clicking around this morning just looking at some current recruiting class and some past ones, and thinking about some guys that have surprised me in good ways, and also in bad ways and what exactly my perceptions were about each of these guys. So, when you look at these guys, are they living up to your initial hope, or have they failed to meet what you expected? Here are some general thoughts from me.
Quarterback
Kenny Pickett has been the No. 1 guy for a while now, and I also had pretty high hopes for him and for the most part I think he's getting better as a player and there's still some good football to come from him. That late recruiting surge by UNC suggested to me he was a solid prospect. Then I saw him in the spring game and I was sitting in the stands with some friends, and he made one throw or scramble and I was convinced he was really good. So from that point forward I thought he was the real deal and his play at the end of 2017 only enforced that to me. The 2018 season, however, changed all of our views I think. He wasn't sharp and made a lot of bad reads/mistakes and I think he's showing a lot of progress this year compared to last. I don't think he'll stock will ever be as high following Miami in '17, but he's a solid player and should help them win a good amount of football games this year and next season.
Haven't seen enough from Patti yet to have a real strong opinion, but he's going to mature and be better. For getting one start this year, I thought he handled the moment just fine. From my initial thoughts of him, he's a little more mobile than I realized - I'll say that.
Running Back
I was always a little higher on AJ Davis than Todd Sibley and I still am. Davis has been banged up and been running behind a line with four new starters, but he's done some nice things this year in the passing game. Admittedly, he's not as good as I expected he would be, but I would always figure he would be Pitt's top back for a year or two throughout his career, and I think that's what he is.
Sibley is weird for me. He was an OSU commit for a while, but he didn't have a crazy offer sheet. He was really productive playing a good level of Ohio football, so I always figured something was there talent wise. As a recruit, I thought he'd be a good contributor. Heading into this season, I was a little unsure if he would be a big help, so he's actually been a bit better than I expected. He has run the ball well the past two games.
I never thought Vincent Davis would play this year based on his size. I was never overly impressed with him as a recruit either. He's much better on both fronts for me. I was basically dead wrong on both accounts, and he could be the best player in the 2019 class when it's all said and done. I never thought V'lique Carter would be a RB, so surprise No. 1 there. And I knew he could make plays this year, and I think he's starting to develop a role. I'd say any sort of third and 5+ he should be on the field since he can catch and he's a good pass blocker for his size.
Wide Receiver
-- As a recruit, I don't really remember Mack. As a transfer, I figured he'd be a help. But being an addition to the Biletnikoff watch list? Never expected that. He was solid last year, and really good this year. Narduzzi and his staff have done a nice job identifying helpful transfers and this was a great find.
-- I was always pretty high on Maurice Ffrench. Thought he was an under-ranked recruit. I thought he would be a good playmaker last year and this year, and he's been just that. He's not the complete player some hoped he would have been this year, but he's been solid and will do some big things for this team in the second half.
-- I was never overly high on DBJ as a recruit, and we've always heard he was doing big things in practice but it never translated to the games. He's made a couple nice catches this year, and I think he's poised for a bigger role next year.
-- Aaron Mathews turned out to be a lot better than I expected as a recruit. He's turned himself into a solid all around player. I think he's underused and has been his whole career, but I didn't expect a ton out of him coming into Pitt and I was wrong.
-- I really liked Shocky as a recruit, and I still like him moving forward. Narduzzi and Beatty both admitted recently he hasn't been 100% all year, so I expect to see more touches for him the rest of this year and he could be the go-to-guy next year.
-- I pretty much figured Jared Wayne wouldn't even see the field this year - wrong again. He looks like he could be a solid contributor in his career.
Tight End
https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2015/nakia-griffin-6305
https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2015/will-gragg-8467
Pitt didn't recruit either of the tight ends out of high school. But based off of my expectations heading into their Pitt careers, both are about doing what I thought they could do. Neither looked to be a focal point of the offense, but they can make a few plays each game to keep defenses honest. So that's what they have brought to the table, and I think that's all anyone really expected.
Left Tackle
https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2017/carter-warren-433
https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2017/carson-van-lynn-6502
I thought Warren was a good recruiting win. I figured he would need a little bit of development, which is what happened, and once it started to become apparent he locked down the LT job in the spring - I thought Pitt would be in good hands here for a couple of years. Warren is having some growing pains, but he could be a really good player if he continues to develop.
Van Lynn always looked like a DE to me, but he's been able to contribute some last year and this year, and should push for a job next year. He's probably a bit better than I expected when he committed.
Left Guard
https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2016/bryce-hargrove-4602
https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2016/brandon-ford-1112#school-interests
Neither left guard wowed me as recruits, but Hargrove looks like a solid player and was able to develop a role last year and looks poised to be a two-year starter. Book is still out for me on Ford.
Center
https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2016/jimmy-morrissey-10938
https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2017/owen-drexel-11023
Uh yea, walk-on center four year starter. I had no idea Morrissey would be this good. He's not good for a walk-on, he's a good ACC starting offensive linemen.
I wasn't super high on Drexel, but just from hearing things it sounds like he's done a nice job, but he's stuck behind a good player for now.
Right Guard
https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2017/gabe-houy-1967
https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2018/jake-kradel-181424
I thought highly of both of these guys as recruits. I still think they have promising careers ahead, particularly Kradel. He's going to be a starter next year IMO, and should hold it down for three years.
Right Tackle
https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2015/nolan-ulizio-4098
https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2017/jerry-drake-11401
I always thought Ulizio would play guard and Houy would be the tackle, so my initial thoughts here were off. From the player standpoint, he's about what I expected for a graduate transfer linemen.
I really was high on Drake Jr. as a recruit, but nothing has happened here yet, though there's still time to make it happen next year with Ulizio being a senior.
Quarterback
Kenny Pickett has been the No. 1 guy for a while now, and I also had pretty high hopes for him and for the most part I think he's getting better as a player and there's still some good football to come from him. That late recruiting surge by UNC suggested to me he was a solid prospect. Then I saw him in the spring game and I was sitting in the stands with some friends, and he made one throw or scramble and I was convinced he was really good. So from that point forward I thought he was the real deal and his play at the end of 2017 only enforced that to me. The 2018 season, however, changed all of our views I think. He wasn't sharp and made a lot of bad reads/mistakes and I think he's showing a lot of progress this year compared to last. I don't think he'll stock will ever be as high following Miami in '17, but he's a solid player and should help them win a good amount of football games this year and next season.
Haven't seen enough from Patti yet to have a real strong opinion, but he's going to mature and be better. For getting one start this year, I thought he handled the moment just fine. From my initial thoughts of him, he's a little more mobile than I realized - I'll say that.
Running Back
I was always a little higher on AJ Davis than Todd Sibley and I still am. Davis has been banged up and been running behind a line with four new starters, but he's done some nice things this year in the passing game. Admittedly, he's not as good as I expected he would be, but I would always figure he would be Pitt's top back for a year or two throughout his career, and I think that's what he is.
Sibley is weird for me. He was an OSU commit for a while, but he didn't have a crazy offer sheet. He was really productive playing a good level of Ohio football, so I always figured something was there talent wise. As a recruit, I thought he'd be a good contributor. Heading into this season, I was a little unsure if he would be a big help, so he's actually been a bit better than I expected. He has run the ball well the past two games.
I never thought Vincent Davis would play this year based on his size. I was never overly impressed with him as a recruit either. He's much better on both fronts for me. I was basically dead wrong on both accounts, and he could be the best player in the 2019 class when it's all said and done. I never thought V'lique Carter would be a RB, so surprise No. 1 there. And I knew he could make plays this year, and I think he's starting to develop a role. I'd say any sort of third and 5+ he should be on the field since he can catch and he's a good pass blocker for his size.
Wide Receiver
-- As a recruit, I don't really remember Mack. As a transfer, I figured he'd be a help. But being an addition to the Biletnikoff watch list? Never expected that. He was solid last year, and really good this year. Narduzzi and his staff have done a nice job identifying helpful transfers and this was a great find.
-- I was always pretty high on Maurice Ffrench. Thought he was an under-ranked recruit. I thought he would be a good playmaker last year and this year, and he's been just that. He's not the complete player some hoped he would have been this year, but he's been solid and will do some big things for this team in the second half.
-- I was never overly high on DBJ as a recruit, and we've always heard he was doing big things in practice but it never translated to the games. He's made a couple nice catches this year, and I think he's poised for a bigger role next year.
-- Aaron Mathews turned out to be a lot better than I expected as a recruit. He's turned himself into a solid all around player. I think he's underused and has been his whole career, but I didn't expect a ton out of him coming into Pitt and I was wrong.
-- I really liked Shocky as a recruit, and I still like him moving forward. Narduzzi and Beatty both admitted recently he hasn't been 100% all year, so I expect to see more touches for him the rest of this year and he could be the go-to-guy next year.
-- I pretty much figured Jared Wayne wouldn't even see the field this year - wrong again. He looks like he could be a solid contributor in his career.
Tight End
https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2015/nakia-griffin-6305
https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2015/will-gragg-8467
Pitt didn't recruit either of the tight ends out of high school. But based off of my expectations heading into their Pitt careers, both are about doing what I thought they could do. Neither looked to be a focal point of the offense, but they can make a few plays each game to keep defenses honest. So that's what they have brought to the table, and I think that's all anyone really expected.
Left Tackle
https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2017/carter-warren-433
https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2017/carson-van-lynn-6502
I thought Warren was a good recruiting win. I figured he would need a little bit of development, which is what happened, and once it started to become apparent he locked down the LT job in the spring - I thought Pitt would be in good hands here for a couple of years. Warren is having some growing pains, but he could be a really good player if he continues to develop.
Van Lynn always looked like a DE to me, but he's been able to contribute some last year and this year, and should push for a job next year. He's probably a bit better than I expected when he committed.
Left Guard
https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2016/bryce-hargrove-4602
https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2016/brandon-ford-1112#school-interests
Neither left guard wowed me as recruits, but Hargrove looks like a solid player and was able to develop a role last year and looks poised to be a two-year starter. Book is still out for me on Ford.
Center
https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2016/jimmy-morrissey-10938
https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2017/owen-drexel-11023
Uh yea, walk-on center four year starter. I had no idea Morrissey would be this good. He's not good for a walk-on, he's a good ACC starting offensive linemen.
I wasn't super high on Drexel, but just from hearing things it sounds like he's done a nice job, but he's stuck behind a good player for now.
Right Guard
https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2017/gabe-houy-1967
https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2018/jake-kradel-181424
I thought highly of both of these guys as recruits. I still think they have promising careers ahead, particularly Kradel. He's going to be a starter next year IMO, and should hold it down for three years.
Right Tackle
https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2015/nolan-ulizio-4098
https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2017/jerry-drake-11401
I always thought Ulizio would play guard and Houy would be the tackle, so my initial thoughts here were off. From the player standpoint, he's about what I expected for a graduate transfer linemen.
I really was high on Drake Jr. as a recruit, but nothing has happened here yet, though there's still time to make it happen next year with Ulizio being a senior.
