July was a quiet month for Pitt's recruiting efforts, especially compared to the flood of news and developments that came in June. Pitt landed seven of their eleven commits in the 2017 class in June, but landed zero in July and didn't really host many prospects of note. The coaching staff seemed to be working on preparing for the upcoming fall recruiting season and getting the team ready for the season ahead, knowing they have few remaining spots/targets to focus on in this class.
However, as August looms ahead, things seem prepared to change quickly. Two of Pitt's most important remaining targets will be announcing their decisions this week and it wouldn't be surprising to see Pat Narduzzi and his coaching staff start the month with a bang.
After a July visit - one of the few this past month - Alabama wide receiver Cameron O'Neil was blown away by what he saw in Pittsburgh. The 6-foot-2, 190-pound speedster holds offers from Pitt, Wisconsin, Illinois, Virginia, and several G5 schools. O'Neil has made no secret about his affinity for Pitt and what the Panthers have to offer, telling Chris that Pitt was his leader even before he made it up to campus.
Prior to his visit, O'Neil established a decision date of August 1st, hoping to wrap things up before the start of his senior season. After the homerun hit by the Pitt staff while O'Neil was on campus and his comparative lack of discussion and excitement around other schools on his offer sheet, I don't think there's too much intrigue surrounding this recruitment right now. O'Neil isn't being coy about how fond he is of Pitt and it seems like his plans for tomorrow are being telegraphed. I would be shocked if O'Neil chooses any school besides Pitt tomorrow.
While it may seem to be obvious that Pitt is on a strong track with at least one of the targets announcing this week, there's much more intrigue, confusion, and smoke around the other: Columbus (Ohio) St. Francis DeSales linebacker Brian Asamoah.
We've talked about Asamoah more than almost any other prospect on the site in this class, possibly with the exception of Kwantel Raines. The Ohio native has constantly kept Pitt at or near the top of his list since they offered in October of 2016. Other schools have come and gone over time, but Pitt has remained. B1G East foes Penn State and Michigan each had their day in the sun with Asamoah, but the parties eventually went their own way. West Virginia has worked to get Asamoah on campus at different times and made an impression. Notre Dame, Michigan State, Cincinnati and several other programs well-versed in recruiting the Columbus area have each contended as well, hoping to pull the explosive linebacker out of the Buckeye State.
The latest challenge (and currently the most worrisome) comes from one of the newer contenders on Asamoah's offer list, the Oklahoma Sooners. Asamoah made his first and only visit to Oklahoma this past weekend, July 29th, for an annual recruiting event the Sooners host centered around a barbecue in Memorial Stadium.
Immediately after his visit to Norman, Asamoah announced that he'd be publicly announcing a commitment to the school of his choice this week. He didn't specify a time or date that announcement would be coming, but the fact that he made the decision to announce this week coming straight out of that visit caused a bit of a stir.
Since announcing that he'd be committing this week, Asamoah hasn't granted any interview requests or spoken publicly, to my knowledge. I have exchanged a few texts with Asamoah and I'll be spending my day tomorrow at St. Francis DeSales watching practice, speaking with Brian in person, and the coaching staff of the Stallions as well. Keep an eye out for the content and updates I'll have coming out of my morning there. In the mean time, here's what I know and what I believe about this recruitment:
Asamoah's visit to Oklahoma was a huge success and by all accounts, it gave him a lot to think about. Oklahoma had been recruiting Asamoah for a while, but that's something that's picked up during Lincoln Riley's (brief) tenure as head coach, culminating in that visit to Norman. It's his first trip to go see OU and sources at Oklahoma seemed to think they did really well on the visit.
Oklahoma also hosted another linebacker during the weekend, a player a little closer to home in Texas standout DaShaun White. Interestingly enough, White also announced plans to make a commitment in the near future coming out of this trip - possibly as soon as this week, but definitely before the season. Texas A&M is likely Oklahoma's biggest competition for White, although schools like TCU and Oklahoma State remain in the mix.
I'm told the Sooners like both players, but it's unclear right now if they would have room for both kids at the outside linebacker spot. While White's likely not going to beat Asamoah to the spot on making a public announcement unless he hurries up and chooses OU in the next couple days, it's unclear what could happen behind closer doors. Likewise, things could go the other way. It's possible that the Sooners could use their relatively strong standing with both players to try to leverage a commitment out of one of them. I can say for certain that Asamoah did not make a commitment to the Oklahoma coaching staff, privately or otherwise, during his visit. I can say that they'd like to wrap up at least one of these two linebackers in the near future, although their competition for both won't be making things easy on Riley and his assistants.
I don't think Asamoah's decision to announce a commitment this week is related to Oklahoma pressuring him into potentially losing a spot. He's been told by schools in the past that he'd be at risk of losing his spot if he didn't commit and he's always resisted that sort of pressure and stuck to his own timeline. I don't think he'd suddenly change that policy after visiting a school for the first time, it just doesn't strike me as fitting Brian's character or his approach to his recruitment.
Oklahoma obviously does have a very strong appeal. It's a winning football program, one of the most storied in college football, with a national brand. Playing in a pass-happy conference like the Big 12 allows Brian to do his thing on the field and show off his strengths, which are largely about playing in space and making an impact in the open field.
Still, there's little doubting that Asamoah's longest-running and strongest relationships in the recruiting process remain at Pitt. Pat Narduzzi, Rob Harley, John Peterson, and the rest of the Pitt coaching staff have stayed on top of Asamoah for a long time. He's been to campus on several occasions, visiting for camps, games, a junior day, and other offseason tours. He likely knows the campus as well as any recruit is going to at this point. The Pitt recruits have grown close with Asamoah and many of them are happy to tell you that they think he's going to join them in the Panthers' recruiting class.
There are reasons to be concerned about Oklahoma and it will almost certainly be a two-team decision whenever Asamoah announces this week, but I haven't heard enough yet to make me flip my pick away from Pitt. The mutual interest between Pitt and Asamoah has been tremendous for months and that stayed strong despite multiple visits to schools like Penn State and Michigan. It would seemingly buck the trend if just one visit to Oklahoma was enough to entirely shake up his recruitment when these other powerhouse programs, even closer to home, couldn't knock Pitt out of the race.
I think when you look at Asamoah's priorities and what he's stated as being important to him in recruiting, it would be surprising if the Sooners passed up Pitt. Still, I'm going to continue working on this throughout the coming days and I'll continue to gather info until I have more concrete answers. For now, I'll be sticking with my prediction of Asamoah to Pitt. Keep an eye out for my discussions with him tomorrow after that morning practice, hopefully he'll continue to shed more light on the situation.
However, as August looms ahead, things seem prepared to change quickly. Two of Pitt's most important remaining targets will be announcing their decisions this week and it wouldn't be surprising to see Pat Narduzzi and his coaching staff start the month with a bang.
After a July visit - one of the few this past month - Alabama wide receiver Cameron O'Neil was blown away by what he saw in Pittsburgh. The 6-foot-2, 190-pound speedster holds offers from Pitt, Wisconsin, Illinois, Virginia, and several G5 schools. O'Neil has made no secret about his affinity for Pitt and what the Panthers have to offer, telling Chris that Pitt was his leader even before he made it up to campus.
Prior to his visit, O'Neil established a decision date of August 1st, hoping to wrap things up before the start of his senior season. After the homerun hit by the Pitt staff while O'Neil was on campus and his comparative lack of discussion and excitement around other schools on his offer sheet, I don't think there's too much intrigue surrounding this recruitment right now. O'Neil isn't being coy about how fond he is of Pitt and it seems like his plans for tomorrow are being telegraphed. I would be shocked if O'Neil chooses any school besides Pitt tomorrow.
While it may seem to be obvious that Pitt is on a strong track with at least one of the targets announcing this week, there's much more intrigue, confusion, and smoke around the other: Columbus (Ohio) St. Francis DeSales linebacker Brian Asamoah.
We've talked about Asamoah more than almost any other prospect on the site in this class, possibly with the exception of Kwantel Raines. The Ohio native has constantly kept Pitt at or near the top of his list since they offered in October of 2016. Other schools have come and gone over time, but Pitt has remained. B1G East foes Penn State and Michigan each had their day in the sun with Asamoah, but the parties eventually went their own way. West Virginia has worked to get Asamoah on campus at different times and made an impression. Notre Dame, Michigan State, Cincinnati and several other programs well-versed in recruiting the Columbus area have each contended as well, hoping to pull the explosive linebacker out of the Buckeye State.
The latest challenge (and currently the most worrisome) comes from one of the newer contenders on Asamoah's offer list, the Oklahoma Sooners. Asamoah made his first and only visit to Oklahoma this past weekend, July 29th, for an annual recruiting event the Sooners host centered around a barbecue in Memorial Stadium.
Immediately after his visit to Norman, Asamoah announced that he'd be publicly announcing a commitment to the school of his choice this week. He didn't specify a time or date that announcement would be coming, but the fact that he made the decision to announce this week coming straight out of that visit caused a bit of a stir.
Since announcing that he'd be committing this week, Asamoah hasn't granted any interview requests or spoken publicly, to my knowledge. I have exchanged a few texts with Asamoah and I'll be spending my day tomorrow at St. Francis DeSales watching practice, speaking with Brian in person, and the coaching staff of the Stallions as well. Keep an eye out for the content and updates I'll have coming out of my morning there. In the mean time, here's what I know and what I believe about this recruitment:
Asamoah's visit to Oklahoma was a huge success and by all accounts, it gave him a lot to think about. Oklahoma had been recruiting Asamoah for a while, but that's something that's picked up during Lincoln Riley's (brief) tenure as head coach, culminating in that visit to Norman. It's his first trip to go see OU and sources at Oklahoma seemed to think they did really well on the visit.
Oklahoma also hosted another linebacker during the weekend, a player a little closer to home in Texas standout DaShaun White. Interestingly enough, White also announced plans to make a commitment in the near future coming out of this trip - possibly as soon as this week, but definitely before the season. Texas A&M is likely Oklahoma's biggest competition for White, although schools like TCU and Oklahoma State remain in the mix.
I'm told the Sooners like both players, but it's unclear right now if they would have room for both kids at the outside linebacker spot. While White's likely not going to beat Asamoah to the spot on making a public announcement unless he hurries up and chooses OU in the next couple days, it's unclear what could happen behind closer doors. Likewise, things could go the other way. It's possible that the Sooners could use their relatively strong standing with both players to try to leverage a commitment out of one of them. I can say for certain that Asamoah did not make a commitment to the Oklahoma coaching staff, privately or otherwise, during his visit. I can say that they'd like to wrap up at least one of these two linebackers in the near future, although their competition for both won't be making things easy on Riley and his assistants.
I don't think Asamoah's decision to announce a commitment this week is related to Oklahoma pressuring him into potentially losing a spot. He's been told by schools in the past that he'd be at risk of losing his spot if he didn't commit and he's always resisted that sort of pressure and stuck to his own timeline. I don't think he'd suddenly change that policy after visiting a school for the first time, it just doesn't strike me as fitting Brian's character or his approach to his recruitment.
Oklahoma obviously does have a very strong appeal. It's a winning football program, one of the most storied in college football, with a national brand. Playing in a pass-happy conference like the Big 12 allows Brian to do his thing on the field and show off his strengths, which are largely about playing in space and making an impact in the open field.
Still, there's little doubting that Asamoah's longest-running and strongest relationships in the recruiting process remain at Pitt. Pat Narduzzi, Rob Harley, John Peterson, and the rest of the Pitt coaching staff have stayed on top of Asamoah for a long time. He's been to campus on several occasions, visiting for camps, games, a junior day, and other offseason tours. He likely knows the campus as well as any recruit is going to at this point. The Pitt recruits have grown close with Asamoah and many of them are happy to tell you that they think he's going to join them in the Panthers' recruiting class.
There are reasons to be concerned about Oklahoma and it will almost certainly be a two-team decision whenever Asamoah announces this week, but I haven't heard enough yet to make me flip my pick away from Pitt. The mutual interest between Pitt and Asamoah has been tremendous for months and that stayed strong despite multiple visits to schools like Penn State and Michigan. It would seemingly buck the trend if just one visit to Oklahoma was enough to entirely shake up his recruitment when these other powerhouse programs, even closer to home, couldn't knock Pitt out of the race.
I think when you look at Asamoah's priorities and what he's stated as being important to him in recruiting, it would be surprising if the Sooners passed up Pitt. Still, I'm going to continue working on this throughout the coming days and I'll continue to gather info until I have more concrete answers. For now, I'll be sticking with my prediction of Asamoah to Pitt. Keep an eye out for my discussions with him tomorrow after that morning practice, hopefully he'll continue to shed more light on the situation.
