(Sorry this is posted a little later than usual)
Junior college targets, potential offers, commits and more - here's a rundown of where the Pitt coaches were recruiting on Wednesday and where they'll be today.
- The biggest visits of the day were in Kansas, where Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi was checking on two junior college standouts. The first name to know is running back Kevon Abrams, who spent some time with Narduzzi and offensive coordinator Shawn Watson.
Pitt slow-played most of its running back recruiting in this class, focusing mostly on Virginia three-star Cole Beck. When Beck committed to Virginia Tech, the coaches considered a few options (we'll get to one of those in a minute), and Abrams was one of those options. The more Narduzzi, Watson and running backs coach Andre Powell evaluated Abrams, the more they liked him, and he picked up an offer from Pitt earlier this month.
Powell visited Butler C.C. to see Abrams during Pitt's off week, but Wednesday was the first time Abrams got to meet Narduzzi and Watson, and the visit went well.
"It went great," Abrams told me Wednesday night. "They really want me there and to come play for them and get an education."
The tangible result of the visit was that Abrams scheduled an official visit to Pitt for next weekend (Dec. 8-10). At this point, that's his only scheduled official visit and will probably be the only one he takes before enrolling in a school in January. So all signs are pointing toward Pitt in this instance.
- Abrams wasn't the only recruit Narduzzi met with at Butler. He also spent some time with linebacker Will Honas, who has an offer from Pitt. Honas said he liked talking to Narduzzi and had a good conversation with him, but as of now, he hasn't scheduled an official visit. He will visit Kansas State this weekend and Iowa next weekend, so he's got one more weekend left for an additional visit; at this point, he's not sure if he'll take a visit that weekend.
Honas is from Wichita originally, and it seems like he's leaning toward staying in the Midwest. I think Honas got an offer from Pitt because they believed he could help them but also as a bit of insurance in case anything happens with Quintin Wirginis. Narduzzi said a few weeks ago that he expects Wirginis to return for his redshirt senior season and be Pitt's starting middle linebacker as long as he does what is expected of him (i.e., doesn't get in any more trouble). The coaches are optimistic that the best-case scenario will play out there; Honas would be good coverage in case it doesn't.
As long as Wirginis is healthy and eligible, Pitt should be good at middle linebacker for 2018 with him and Elias Reynolds (assuming Saleem Brightwell moves back to outside linebacker). They'll need to develop a backup to Reynolds for 2019 - Honas could have helped there - but they're generally in good shape.
- Defensive backs coach Renaldo Hill was in Georgia on Wednesday visiting Langston Hughes High School. Pitt has offered Telly Plummer at the school, but he is committed to Louisville and it sounds like Hill was there for another cornerback prospect. That would be Rashad Ajayi.
Ajayi is under the radar right now, holding a bunch of offers but only one from a Power Five school (Maryland). Still, it seems like he has caught the interest of the Pitt staff and hes a potential offer candidate. Keep his name in mind.
- Offensive line coach John Peterson was in-state on Wednesday. He spent the day in Scranton at Lackawanna C.C. to visit with Pitt commit Chase Brown. 2019 safety offer Jaquan Brisker is also at Lackawanna, and there are always a few Division I prospects there, so Peterson had plenty of guys to check in on.
- Receivers coach Kevin Sherman was in Alabama Wednesday to see Pitt commit Cameron O'Neil. O'Neil will make his official visit next weekend (Dec. 8-10). If you haven't seen O'Neil's senior highlights, here they are:
- On Thursday, Sherman will be in Florida to see a few more receivers - targets the Pitt staff hopes will join O'Neil on the commitment list. On that list is South Fort Myers three-star Jeshaun Jones, a versatile athlete who played a little bit of everything at his school. He's listed at 6'1", but he's explosive and fast, and you can see the appeal on his highlight film:
Jones told me he will have an in-home visit with Sherman tonight; as always, the goal is to get an official visit scheduled.
- I also expect Sherman to check in on Shocky Jaques-Louis. He's in Fort Myers like Jones, but he's at Dunbar High School, and he decommitted from Tennessee in the wake of Butch Jones' firing. Pitt is one of the schools he's been looking at since decommitting, and here again, Sherman will be looking to land an official visit.
- I'm also hearing that Andre Powell will be in Florida today to visit with Armwood running back Jerome Ford. Pitt offered two running backs after Cole Beck committed to Virginia Tech: Kevon Abrams and Ford. The competition is stiff for Ford and he has said that Alabama and South Florida are his top two schools, but we'll see if Powell can convince him to take a visit.
- As always, news will develop throughout the day, so stay tuned.
Junior college targets, potential offers, commits and more - here's a rundown of where the Pitt coaches were recruiting on Wednesday and where they'll be today.
- The biggest visits of the day were in Kansas, where Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi was checking on two junior college standouts. The first name to know is running back Kevon Abrams, who spent some time with Narduzzi and offensive coordinator Shawn Watson.
Pitt slow-played most of its running back recruiting in this class, focusing mostly on Virginia three-star Cole Beck. When Beck committed to Virginia Tech, the coaches considered a few options (we'll get to one of those in a minute), and Abrams was one of those options. The more Narduzzi, Watson and running backs coach Andre Powell evaluated Abrams, the more they liked him, and he picked up an offer from Pitt earlier this month.
Powell visited Butler C.C. to see Abrams during Pitt's off week, but Wednesday was the first time Abrams got to meet Narduzzi and Watson, and the visit went well.
"It went great," Abrams told me Wednesday night. "They really want me there and to come play for them and get an education."
The tangible result of the visit was that Abrams scheduled an official visit to Pitt for next weekend (Dec. 8-10). At this point, that's his only scheduled official visit and will probably be the only one he takes before enrolling in a school in January. So all signs are pointing toward Pitt in this instance.
- Abrams wasn't the only recruit Narduzzi met with at Butler. He also spent some time with linebacker Will Honas, who has an offer from Pitt. Honas said he liked talking to Narduzzi and had a good conversation with him, but as of now, he hasn't scheduled an official visit. He will visit Kansas State this weekend and Iowa next weekend, so he's got one more weekend left for an additional visit; at this point, he's not sure if he'll take a visit that weekend.
Honas is from Wichita originally, and it seems like he's leaning toward staying in the Midwest. I think Honas got an offer from Pitt because they believed he could help them but also as a bit of insurance in case anything happens with Quintin Wirginis. Narduzzi said a few weeks ago that he expects Wirginis to return for his redshirt senior season and be Pitt's starting middle linebacker as long as he does what is expected of him (i.e., doesn't get in any more trouble). The coaches are optimistic that the best-case scenario will play out there; Honas would be good coverage in case it doesn't.
As long as Wirginis is healthy and eligible, Pitt should be good at middle linebacker for 2018 with him and Elias Reynolds (assuming Saleem Brightwell moves back to outside linebacker). They'll need to develop a backup to Reynolds for 2019 - Honas could have helped there - but they're generally in good shape.
- Defensive backs coach Renaldo Hill was in Georgia on Wednesday visiting Langston Hughes High School. Pitt has offered Telly Plummer at the school, but he is committed to Louisville and it sounds like Hill was there for another cornerback prospect. That would be Rashad Ajayi.
Ajayi is under the radar right now, holding a bunch of offers but only one from a Power Five school (Maryland). Still, it seems like he has caught the interest of the Pitt staff and hes a potential offer candidate. Keep his name in mind.
- Offensive line coach John Peterson was in-state on Wednesday. He spent the day in Scranton at Lackawanna C.C. to visit with Pitt commit Chase Brown. 2019 safety offer Jaquan Brisker is also at Lackawanna, and there are always a few Division I prospects there, so Peterson had plenty of guys to check in on.
- Receivers coach Kevin Sherman was in Alabama Wednesday to see Pitt commit Cameron O'Neil. O'Neil will make his official visit next weekend (Dec. 8-10). If you haven't seen O'Neil's senior highlights, here they are:
- On Thursday, Sherman will be in Florida to see a few more receivers - targets the Pitt staff hopes will join O'Neil on the commitment list. On that list is South Fort Myers three-star Jeshaun Jones, a versatile athlete who played a little bit of everything at his school. He's listed at 6'1", but he's explosive and fast, and you can see the appeal on his highlight film:
Jones told me he will have an in-home visit with Sherman tonight; as always, the goal is to get an official visit scheduled.
- I also expect Sherman to check in on Shocky Jaques-Louis. He's in Fort Myers like Jones, but he's at Dunbar High School, and he decommitted from Tennessee in the wake of Butch Jones' firing. Pitt is one of the schools he's been looking at since decommitting, and here again, Sherman will be looking to land an official visit.
- I'm also hearing that Andre Powell will be in Florida today to visit with Armwood running back Jerome Ford. Pitt offered two running backs after Cole Beck committed to Virginia Tech: Kevon Abrams and Ford. The competition is stiff for Ford and he has said that Alabama and South Florida are his top two schools, but we'll see if Powell can convince him to take a visit.
- As always, news will develop throughout the day, so stay tuned.
