-- Just going over some numbers, thoughts, etc. for the recruiting class and how it can finish out.
-- Basically right now, Pitt is set to have 69 scholarship players return with a 16-man recruiting class committed. So that's 85, and obviously, Pitt is looking to shoot right past that with how the staff is recruiting right now. They are hosting a lot of prospects between this weekend and next week, so they obviously are pressing on, even with limited numbers. There are multiple ways attrition can occur, of course.
-- The first way Pitt could get additional space is the NFL Draft. Right now I'd say Patrick Jones, Jaylen Twyman, and Paris Ford are three guys that could leave. Not saying they will or should or whatever else, but if there are three underclassmen that would think about making the jump, it's those three. Having said that, all three could return. I think Twyman and Ford in particular could return and really help their draft stock with one more season in college.
-- Another way you could gain space is by players transferring. I won't name names or anything because it would be pure speculation on my part and that wouldn't be fair. But I think anyone could go up and down Pitt's roster and see some candidates. Pitt had one of the best retention rates in the country last year. The program just didn't lose any transfers, so they are probably due to lose some this year.
-- The third way Pitt could gain some more space is of course if they lose a current commitment. I think a lot of players in Pitt's class have gained attention nationally and we've seen pushes by other schools to try to pluck them away from Pitt. Tee Denson de-committed a while ago, but I think there are two other clear candidates on the commitment list that might not make it to Pitt. The first is Henry Parrish, he's been wavering since August. I think Pitt's done a good job to keep themselves right there, but obviously he's been thinking about other schools. The other candidate is Timothy Brown, and that will be more about Pitt deciding not to take him. We know about the charges, that's a fluid situation, but Pitt's stood by him for now.
-- So I think in a perfect world, Pitt retains the 16 commitments, and shoots to add 5-6 more in this signing period. That number could change depending on the type of attrition that happens either with the team or in recruiting. But I'll say my working number is six.
-- I think Pitt would like a QB, and Tate Rodemaker is obviously the guy. He's visiting this weekend, and is tentatively set for Northwestern next weekend and will decide and sign on December 18th between those two schools, Virginia Tech, maybe Baylor or staying with USF - which seems unlikely. If Pitt doesn't get Rodemaker, or feels shaky about where they stand with him, I'm guessing they will push to get a visit from Kade Renfro next weekend. He's a Texas QB that they've monitored for a few months and Whipple did see him last week. I think he's waiting to see what happens with Rodemaker, Florida State, and a few other schools before deciding what to do next weekend.
-- At Running Back, it surfaced Pitt had been checking on Top-50 RB Jalen Berger out of Don Bosco Prep in New Jersey. He's a really talented, versatile player, but he may opt to stay home and sort of be the face of Greg Schiano's rebuild at Rutgers. I don't think there's a ton of harm in trying to see what an uncommitted four-star is doing in New Jersey, and it looks like the staff thought the same thing. If Narduzzi goes and sees him next week, which he told Chris was a possibility, then there's some legitimate interest and that would make things more interesting.
-- At WR, Pitt's in the final 5 for Bryan Robinson. He's a really talented WR from Florida and he seems to be a big fan of Beatty and Partridge. Florida, Florida State, Alabama, and Maryland is a very, very formidable group to round out his top 5. I don't know if Pitt is pursuing another receiver, since the staff has to feel good about landing Barden, Addison, and Henningham. But Robinson is too good to turn away. I actually think Pitt's in decent shape with Robinson, which is surprising, but there's still 10 days for that to change.
-- Oh yea, tight end - everyone's favorite position. If you have kept up on the boards in recent weeks, Pitt's been all over the map looking for tight ends. Lucas Krull, a Florida graduate transfer is visiting right now. Pitt is supposed to be hosting official visits for Daniel Moraga, a JUCo and Noah Patty from Texas next week. Pitt also offered Allen Horace, a former Arkansas commit, and his recruitment could drag into February, but Pitt will be working on getting him to campus before he signs. Carter Boatwright is a name that's been around, along with a few more. So yea, lot of moving parts. In a perfect world, I think Pitt wants Krull and a high school kid, they need help for next year and they need to restock the position for the future. Landing two tight ends seems necessary.
-- On the O-Line, Pitt is playing host to Florida graduate transfer Chris Bleich. He started 8 games for the Gators this year and was a nice recruit coming out of high school. Pitt liked him then, but his recruitment had a bunch of twists and turns. Bleich is solid, landing him would probably be it for the O-Line. If Pitt can't lock him down, I think they will explore O-Line options and extend that search into February. Zane Herring, a current FSU commit is a name to watch to see how he reacts to Norvell's hiring. I don't think Pitt needs to rush and land an O-Linemen by the 18th, and they can take their time and find one by the second signing.
-- On the D-Line, it's pretty much been Akheem Mesidor. He's a defensive end from Clearwater International by way of Canada. Pitt's had luck landing players there lately with Baldonado and Jared Wayne hailing from there. Mesidor has Pitt in his final 5 with Georgia Tech, Syracuse, UCLA, and WVU. He's visited all of those programs officially, so Pitt gets the last crack at him next weekend. He will sign the 18th.
-- It seems Pitt is done at LB with Solomon DeShields, Bangally Kamara, and AJ Roberts all committed.
-- In the secondary, Pitt's looked at a few different players but it did play host to Derek Bermudez last weekend for an official. He did not visit anywhere last weekend, and he could visit Ole Miss next weekend or maybe somewhere else - we'll see. I think Pitt's in decent shape for the former Florida State commit, but they do have to get through one more OV weekend to solidify that.
So in summary the ideal six or seven here would be:
Tate Rodemaker
Bryan Robinson
Lucas Krull
An additional TE
Chris Bleich or a different offensive linemen
Akheem Mesidor
Derek Bermudez
If that all happens, that would be a tremendous way to end the class.
-- Basically right now, Pitt is set to have 69 scholarship players return with a 16-man recruiting class committed. So that's 85, and obviously, Pitt is looking to shoot right past that with how the staff is recruiting right now. They are hosting a lot of prospects between this weekend and next week, so they obviously are pressing on, even with limited numbers. There are multiple ways attrition can occur, of course.
-- The first way Pitt could get additional space is the NFL Draft. Right now I'd say Patrick Jones, Jaylen Twyman, and Paris Ford are three guys that could leave. Not saying they will or should or whatever else, but if there are three underclassmen that would think about making the jump, it's those three. Having said that, all three could return. I think Twyman and Ford in particular could return and really help their draft stock with one more season in college.
-- Another way you could gain space is by players transferring. I won't name names or anything because it would be pure speculation on my part and that wouldn't be fair. But I think anyone could go up and down Pitt's roster and see some candidates. Pitt had one of the best retention rates in the country last year. The program just didn't lose any transfers, so they are probably due to lose some this year.
-- The third way Pitt could gain some more space is of course if they lose a current commitment. I think a lot of players in Pitt's class have gained attention nationally and we've seen pushes by other schools to try to pluck them away from Pitt. Tee Denson de-committed a while ago, but I think there are two other clear candidates on the commitment list that might not make it to Pitt. The first is Henry Parrish, he's been wavering since August. I think Pitt's done a good job to keep themselves right there, but obviously he's been thinking about other schools. The other candidate is Timothy Brown, and that will be more about Pitt deciding not to take him. We know about the charges, that's a fluid situation, but Pitt's stood by him for now.
-- So I think in a perfect world, Pitt retains the 16 commitments, and shoots to add 5-6 more in this signing period. That number could change depending on the type of attrition that happens either with the team or in recruiting. But I'll say my working number is six.
-- I think Pitt would like a QB, and Tate Rodemaker is obviously the guy. He's visiting this weekend, and is tentatively set for Northwestern next weekend and will decide and sign on December 18th between those two schools, Virginia Tech, maybe Baylor or staying with USF - which seems unlikely. If Pitt doesn't get Rodemaker, or feels shaky about where they stand with him, I'm guessing they will push to get a visit from Kade Renfro next weekend. He's a Texas QB that they've monitored for a few months and Whipple did see him last week. I think he's waiting to see what happens with Rodemaker, Florida State, and a few other schools before deciding what to do next weekend.
-- At Running Back, it surfaced Pitt had been checking on Top-50 RB Jalen Berger out of Don Bosco Prep in New Jersey. He's a really talented, versatile player, but he may opt to stay home and sort of be the face of Greg Schiano's rebuild at Rutgers. I don't think there's a ton of harm in trying to see what an uncommitted four-star is doing in New Jersey, and it looks like the staff thought the same thing. If Narduzzi goes and sees him next week, which he told Chris was a possibility, then there's some legitimate interest and that would make things more interesting.
-- At WR, Pitt's in the final 5 for Bryan Robinson. He's a really talented WR from Florida and he seems to be a big fan of Beatty and Partridge. Florida, Florida State, Alabama, and Maryland is a very, very formidable group to round out his top 5. I don't know if Pitt is pursuing another receiver, since the staff has to feel good about landing Barden, Addison, and Henningham. But Robinson is too good to turn away. I actually think Pitt's in decent shape with Robinson, which is surprising, but there's still 10 days for that to change.
-- Oh yea, tight end - everyone's favorite position. If you have kept up on the boards in recent weeks, Pitt's been all over the map looking for tight ends. Lucas Krull, a Florida graduate transfer is visiting right now. Pitt is supposed to be hosting official visits for Daniel Moraga, a JUCo and Noah Patty from Texas next week. Pitt also offered Allen Horace, a former Arkansas commit, and his recruitment could drag into February, but Pitt will be working on getting him to campus before he signs. Carter Boatwright is a name that's been around, along with a few more. So yea, lot of moving parts. In a perfect world, I think Pitt wants Krull and a high school kid, they need help for next year and they need to restock the position for the future. Landing two tight ends seems necessary.
-- On the O-Line, Pitt is playing host to Florida graduate transfer Chris Bleich. He started 8 games for the Gators this year and was a nice recruit coming out of high school. Pitt liked him then, but his recruitment had a bunch of twists and turns. Bleich is solid, landing him would probably be it for the O-Line. If Pitt can't lock him down, I think they will explore O-Line options and extend that search into February. Zane Herring, a current FSU commit is a name to watch to see how he reacts to Norvell's hiring. I don't think Pitt needs to rush and land an O-Linemen by the 18th, and they can take their time and find one by the second signing.
-- On the D-Line, it's pretty much been Akheem Mesidor. He's a defensive end from Clearwater International by way of Canada. Pitt's had luck landing players there lately with Baldonado and Jared Wayne hailing from there. Mesidor has Pitt in his final 5 with Georgia Tech, Syracuse, UCLA, and WVU. He's visited all of those programs officially, so Pitt gets the last crack at him next weekend. He will sign the 18th.
-- It seems Pitt is done at LB with Solomon DeShields, Bangally Kamara, and AJ Roberts all committed.
-- In the secondary, Pitt's looked at a few different players but it did play host to Derek Bermudez last weekend for an official. He did not visit anywhere last weekend, and he could visit Ole Miss next weekend or maybe somewhere else - we'll see. I think Pitt's in decent shape for the former Florida State commit, but they do have to get through one more OV weekend to solidify that.
So in summary the ideal six or seven here would be:
Tate Rodemaker
Bryan Robinson
Lucas Krull
An additional TE
Chris Bleich or a different offensive linemen
Akheem Mesidor
Derek Bermudez
If that all happens, that would be a tremendous way to end the class.
Last edited:
