Wearing ACC championship ring, Pat Narduzzi puts first bricks in Pitt’s 2023 recruiting class
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Pat Narduzzi can’t say what he thinks about his grand recruiting haul last weekend — NCAA rules keep a lock on his public remarks until players actually sign — but it’s safe to assume he went home and bragged to his wife and children.
Only if he swore them to silence.
For the first time in his nine recruiting cycles at Pitt, Narduzzi is building a recruiting class with an ACC championship ring on his finger. Six 2023 prospects verbally committed in 24 hours from Friday to Saturday night, bringing the total number of pledges to eight.
All of a sudden, Pitt’s class (perhaps only a third of what it eventually will become in terms of quantity) was ranked 23rd in the nation by Rivals.com — a 70.5% improvement over the 78th-ranked two-man class he took into the weekend.
Those schools ranked ahead of Pitt include three from the ACC — No. 11 Louisville, No. 12 Wake Forest and No. 17 Clemson — plus No. 4 Penn State and No. 19 West Virginia.
“Anytime you land six commitments from players you actually want in a 24-hour period, that’s an impressive feat,” said college football recruiting analyst Todderick Hunt of the (Newark, N.J.) Star-Ledger and NJ.com. “Those are great days for a program.”
Of course, keeping a recruiting class intact is no small feat, especially today with a bounty of name, image and likeness riches crisscrossing the U.S.
“In 2022, there are lot of challenges in keeping these players committed, especially when talking about out-of-state kids,” Hunt said. “And even more specifically from SEC country that just by nature and by the benefit of the doubt get a lot of offers and lot of opportunities. They got all that coaching traffic coming through.”
Five of the eight pledges are from Georgia, Florida and Tennessee, with one each from Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland. There are none with local roots.
But the 24-man class of 2017 that produced New Jersey’s Kenny Pickett and seven other starters on an ACC championship team had only two WPIAL players contribute to the title: offensive lineman Gabe Houy of Upper St. Clair and reserve tight end Grant Carrigan of Pine-Richland.
The eight current pledges carry an average of 19 scholarship offers: from New Jersey wide receiver Zion Fowler’s eight to Snellville, Ga., defensive back Brice Pollock’s 28. Hendersonville, Tenn., quarterback Kenny Minchey has 17, including offers from Michigan State, Tennessee and West Virginia. He committed April 30.
The moment that changed the rest of his life….. #H2P baby???????? @IsaiahNeal99 pic.twitter.com/tjbq5hxtBq
— Tina “Ghost Ma” Neal (@TiTithatsme) June 6, 2022
Each one is rated a 3-star by Rivals, but defensive tackle Isaiah Neal of Baltimore, wide receiver Kenny Johnson of Dallastown (Pa.) High School, defensive end Antonio Camon of Tampa, Fla., and Pollock have 5.7 rankings, one-tenth below a four-star.
As everyone learned during Jordan Addison’s transfer saga, college football teams never have enough wide receivers.
Pitt has two in its ’23 class, with Johnson joining Fowler over the weekend. Johnson has the second-highest Rivals rating among Pennsylvania wide receivers, behind Laurel Highlands’ Rodney Gallagher, who committed to West Virginia.
Dallastown coach Levi Murphy said Johnson became a priority for Pitt when Narduzzi hired wide receivers coach Tiquan Underwood from Rutgers.
“That’s when Kenny’s recruiting kind of picked up with Pittsburgh,” Murphy said. “When (Underwood) got there, it was a priority that they recruit Kenny.
“Kenny and I drove out to Heinz Field (in the spring) and saw them practice. He was really impressed with the place.
“He knew that was the right place for him. It felt like a family, and I can see why after having been out there with him that day.”
Murphy said he’s eager to see how Johnson’s skills at 6-foot-1, 185 pounds, translate to the college game after he enters Pitt’s weight room.
“You look at him, and he just looks like a man-child,” he said. “When you have a conversation with him and you shake his hand, it’s tough to believe you’re talking to a high school student. He has the ability to flip a switch and know that it’s a serious conversation, and you feel like you’re talking to a man as opposed to a high school boy.”
Murphy said Johnson is a fierce competitor who is impressive when competing with a defensive back for a 50/50 ball.
“His athletic abilities put him in a position to go get it, but he’s got that sense — kind of blood in the water — when the ball’s in the air he’s going to come down with it.”
Johnson also runs sprints on Dallastown’s track team. In basketball, he went from 10th man in his only season to recording a double-double in a York County playoff game.
Hunt has kept a close eye on Fowler, who plays at St. Peter’s (N.J.) Prep and committed to Pitt last October.
“Fowler’s explosive. He’s a very seasoned route runner. He’s highly competitive,” Hunt said.
“Anytime you see him, he’s always got that chip on his shoulder. I think he’s a guy who felt like he should have been recruited more highly. He’s always channeled that into pushing himself to work harder.”
Pitt tight ends coach Tim Salem did much of the heavy lifting in Fowler’s recruiting. Hunt said Salem has built a strong reputation in New Jersey.
“He’s certainly a likeable guy, willing to travel,” Hunt said. “Some coaches don’t necessarily want to extend that border, even if that’s kind of their responsibility, their territory. They’ll purposefully go light on those areas to not have to travel that far. But Tim will go anywhere there’s talent.”