Pitt FB Recruiting
Name To Watch: Griffin Sestili
The talent level in the WPIAL’s Class of 2017 gets talked about a lot. I’m going to introduce you to someone else that will be getting plenty of attention.
Griffin Sestili is a TE for the North Allegheny Tigers. The last name might sound familiar to Pitt Panther football fans. His father, Chris, played for Pitt in the late 80’s.
Griffin Sestili (6-3, 235) is a 2-year starter for Art Walker and North Allegheny. Currently, he has one D-1 offer (Virginia) but that’s going to change soon.
“I’m hoping more are to come throughout the winter”, said Sestili. “I’ve formed very good relationships with schools like Penn State, Tennessee, Purdue, Virginia Tech and Boston College.”
Funny that Virginia is Sestili’s first offer is from Virginia because he reminds some people of a former Virginia TE Heath Miller. I asked Sestili to describe himself as a player.
“I’m a physical player that is willing to do anything for my team in order to win. Whether it’s playing special team, offense, defense, I’m willing to do whatever is asked of me”, said Sestili.
“I believe the best aspect of my game is my heart and physicality and fast motor that I bring. I try to finish every single block on every play and on defense, I try to make sure the other team knows when they get hit.”
Sestili got a great compliment from an assistant at Boston College by saying he reminded him of a young Mike Ditka.
As you can imagine, the recruiting process can be stressful for a 16-17 year old kid but Sestili is lucky to have a father that’s been thru it at the highest level.
Griffin tells me that his dad is constantly telling him to be patient and things will work out. His dad also is reminding him one important thing.
“His emphasis is about my approach to football”, said Sestili. “He wants me to practice as hard as I can every snap and work to finish every play during games.”
Next obvious question is, with his father being a former Pitt Panther, are they showing any interest right now?
“I haven’t had a lot of contact with Pitt. I have spoken with Coach Sims and I have also formed a good relationship with Coach Thatcher”, said Sestili. “We talk somewhat about my status with them but we mainly just talk about other things like basketball, school, family. We just have typical everyday conversations. I hope that within the next couple of weeks they become more involved and start to show interest.”
Sestili went on to say “it would be a dream to be a legacy following in my dad’s footsteps. But at the same time my parents continue to assure me that it is my choice and it’s where I feel like I fit best.”
Sestili will be playing basketball for the next couple of months so won’t be able to make any visits. But regardless of what happens, he’s grateful of this opportunity.
“I’m just thankful to be in this process, it’s really a dream come true.”
