Pitt FB Recruiting
Will Local Prospect Get Offer From Pitt?
Over the last few years, the pipeline from Woodland Hills to the Pitt football program has been strong. Consider that the 2015 team had former Woodland Hills players Ejuan Price, Lafayette Pitts, Jevonte Pitts, Mike Caprara and KK Mosley-Smith on it.
A senior offensive lineman at Woodland Hills would like to add to that group.
OG/DT Amon Baldwin-Youngblood (6-3, 330) is a player that the Pitt football staff is evaluating and considering making an offer. Yesterday, Pitt OC Jim Chaney and RB Coach Andre Powell were at Woodland Hills visiting the senior lineman.
“We talked mostly about scholarships but primarily about life”, said Youngblood. “They wanna see a man grow not just a player. They coach football players but at the end of the day they’re mentoring human beings.”
“I love Pitt and they love me”, said Youngblood. “I can trust them. It’s not just about a game but about my future during and after football.”
So, is Pitt going to offer?
Youngblood told me, “they want to offer me but their waiting to validate and finalize everything. They are looking at me as a prospect for both offensive guard and defensive tackle. They are high on me as a recruit but they want to see me improve just one step further in the classroom to prove to them that I can work hard on and off the field.”
Youngblood tells me that he has offers form Robert Morris and Delaware State plus he’s hearing getting a lot of interest from ACC and Big 10 schools.
In the end, an offer from the hometown school would mean a lot more than you’d think to Youngblood.
“To come from a place like Pittsburgh, there’s a lot of pride behind that. And being from where I’m from (Braddock), pride is all we have. Braddock is a community, more so a family. When I walk outside, people always tell me how proud they are of me for doing so well and going to Pitt and playing at home would make the journey even more special not only to me but to the people around me”, said Youngblood.
The most interesting part of my interview with Youngblood was when he told me about the impact that Pat Narduzzi has had with Pitt football within the WPIAL. Listen to this.
“WPIAL players would look past Pitt as if they were a D2 or something. No one around here respected Pitt football. Now they have their own identity….Coach Duzz brought the family back into football”, said Youngblood. “He is behind his program 100%. He’s a good man not just a good coach. Duzz is a mentor a leader, he changed the way we see Pitt football.”
Youngblood is a kid that wants and just may get that chance to continue playing football in his hometown.
