Tuesday was full of interesting visits for the Pitt coaches. Here’s a rundown of who they visited.
- The most interesting visit of the day (at least from what we’ve been able to track down) was in Florida. Or, put another way, at Florida, as Pitt offensive coordinator Mark Whipple was apparently in Gainesville to visit with Gators’ graduate transfer tight end Lucas Krull.
Krull didn’t produce much in two years at Florida, catching just nine passes since he transferred from a junior college. But there’s more to his story. For one thing, he spent his freshman year of college at Arkansas playing baseball. Then he went to Jefferson College and played baseball there for a year before deciding to pursue football.
Once he made that decision, a few colleges were interested. Kansas State (where his father went), Maryland, Missouri and SMU also reportedly offered him before he chose the Gators. But when he got to Gainesville, Krull was behind Kyle Pitts, who happens to be one of the best tight ends in the country.
So there might be some untapped potential with Krull. I’ve heard him described as a “big athlete who is fairly fluid,” and he was apparently a wide receiver in high school, so he has experience catching the ball. That seems to have caught the attention of Whipple and the Pitt staff, and we’ll see what comes of Tuesday’s visit.
- Krull isn’t the only player transferring out of Gainesville. Offensive lineman Chris Bleich is leaving the Gators, too, and he’s notable because he was recruited by Pitt out of high school (he graduated from Wyoming Valley in the class of 2018). So there’s some familiarity there, and I would expect Bleich to take a look at Pitt, probably in the form of an official visit.
That said, I think there’s a decent chance that Bleich and Krull both visit - possibly as soon as this weekend.
Pitt could certainly use some instant help at tight end, which Krull would provide, and it wouldn’t hurt to have another offensive lineman for two years (Bleich redshirted in 2018 and would likely have to sit out 2020 due to transfer eligibility rules).
- While Whipple was visiting a graduate transfer tight end on Tuesday, tight ends coach Tim Salem was in Texas to check on a few more prospects at the position. We confirmed two of those visits: Allen Horace from Crockett, and Bayne Tryon from Cy-Fair.
Horace is a former Arkansas commit who backed off his pledge in mid-November after Chad Morris was fired. Pitt got in contact pretty quickly after Horace decommitted, but Tuesday was the first time he met one of the coaches in person and he told Jim that the visit was “great.” Horace has an offer from Pitt and is planning to take an official visit, but he’s also looking at signing in February, so there’s plenty of time for things to develop.
Tryon, on the other hand, doesn’t have an offer from Pitt. He is committed to Tulsa, but on Tuesday he had a half-hour conversation with Salem covering, among other things, the likelihood that he would look at schools other than Tulsa. Like Horace, Tryon is planning to sign in February - primarily to see what options open up after the December Signing Day. For now, Tryon is among a group of tight ends vying for an offer from Pitt, but he hopes to get one and it sounds like he enjoyed his conversation with Salem.
- Pitt is also evaluating Noah Patty, a tight end from Texas who doesn’t have an offer but does plan to take an official visit to Pitt in two weeks, and Jackson Manning, a tight end from Florida. But the situation with tight ends right now isn’t all about unoffered prospects.
In addition to Horace, the Pitt staff is also still pursuing Carter Boatwright, a Florida State commit who has been exploring options since Willie Taggart got fired. Whipple was originally planning to visit Boatwright (and Manning) on Tuesday, but shifted those plans for his trip to see Krull. That doesn’t mean Boatwright is off the board, though; Whipple told Boatwright he would likely be back for a visit later in the week.
With all five visits left and FSU still coach-less, Boatwright probably isn’t going to sign in December, so Pitt has time to work on him.
- Also on the visit list for Tuesday:
Pat Narduzzi and Archie Collins visited Branson Taylor
Andre Powell visited Israel Abanikanda
Cory Sanders visited Derek Bermudez
Charlie Partridge and Chris Beatty visited Aydin Henningham
- The most interesting visit of the day (at least from what we’ve been able to track down) was in Florida. Or, put another way, at Florida, as Pitt offensive coordinator Mark Whipple was apparently in Gainesville to visit with Gators’ graduate transfer tight end Lucas Krull.
Krull didn’t produce much in two years at Florida, catching just nine passes since he transferred from a junior college. But there’s more to his story. For one thing, he spent his freshman year of college at Arkansas playing baseball. Then he went to Jefferson College and played baseball there for a year before deciding to pursue football.
Once he made that decision, a few colleges were interested. Kansas State (where his father went), Maryland, Missouri and SMU also reportedly offered him before he chose the Gators. But when he got to Gainesville, Krull was behind Kyle Pitts, who happens to be one of the best tight ends in the country.
So there might be some untapped potential with Krull. I’ve heard him described as a “big athlete who is fairly fluid,” and he was apparently a wide receiver in high school, so he has experience catching the ball. That seems to have caught the attention of Whipple and the Pitt staff, and we’ll see what comes of Tuesday’s visit.
- Krull isn’t the only player transferring out of Gainesville. Offensive lineman Chris Bleich is leaving the Gators, too, and he’s notable because he was recruited by Pitt out of high school (he graduated from Wyoming Valley in the class of 2018). So there’s some familiarity there, and I would expect Bleich to take a look at Pitt, probably in the form of an official visit.
That said, I think there’s a decent chance that Bleich and Krull both visit - possibly as soon as this weekend.
Pitt could certainly use some instant help at tight end, which Krull would provide, and it wouldn’t hurt to have another offensive lineman for two years (Bleich redshirted in 2018 and would likely have to sit out 2020 due to transfer eligibility rules).
- While Whipple was visiting a graduate transfer tight end on Tuesday, tight ends coach Tim Salem was in Texas to check on a few more prospects at the position. We confirmed two of those visits: Allen Horace from Crockett, and Bayne Tryon from Cy-Fair.
Horace is a former Arkansas commit who backed off his pledge in mid-November after Chad Morris was fired. Pitt got in contact pretty quickly after Horace decommitted, but Tuesday was the first time he met one of the coaches in person and he told Jim that the visit was “great.” Horace has an offer from Pitt and is planning to take an official visit, but he’s also looking at signing in February, so there’s plenty of time for things to develop.
Tryon, on the other hand, doesn’t have an offer from Pitt. He is committed to Tulsa, but on Tuesday he had a half-hour conversation with Salem covering, among other things, the likelihood that he would look at schools other than Tulsa. Like Horace, Tryon is planning to sign in February - primarily to see what options open up after the December Signing Day. For now, Tryon is among a group of tight ends vying for an offer from Pitt, but he hopes to get one and it sounds like he enjoyed his conversation with Salem.
- Pitt is also evaluating Noah Patty, a tight end from Texas who doesn’t have an offer but does plan to take an official visit to Pitt in two weeks, and Jackson Manning, a tight end from Florida. But the situation with tight ends right now isn’t all about unoffered prospects.
In addition to Horace, the Pitt staff is also still pursuing Carter Boatwright, a Florida State commit who has been exploring options since Willie Taggart got fired. Whipple was originally planning to visit Boatwright (and Manning) on Tuesday, but shifted those plans for his trip to see Krull. That doesn’t mean Boatwright is off the board, though; Whipple told Boatwright he would likely be back for a visit later in the week.
With all five visits left and FSU still coach-less, Boatwright probably isn’t going to sign in December, so Pitt has time to work on him.
- Also on the visit list for Tuesday:
Pat Narduzzi and Archie Collins visited Branson Taylor
Andre Powell visited Israel Abanikanda
Cory Sanders visited Derek Bermudez
Charlie Partridge and Chris Beatty visited Aydin Henningham
