Pitt FB Recruiting
Will Pitt Offer Central’s Fisher?
The 2016 Pitt football team will have plenty of former Central Catholic players led by freshman Damar Hamlin on the roster. I talked with a current member of Central Catholic’s team that would like the chance to be a future Pitt Panther.
Quarterback Troy Fisher (6-4, 200) is the leader of the Vikings offense and one of the WPIAL’s most talented players in the Class of 2018. To this point, Temple is the only D-1 school to offer Fisher but that will change and he’s hoping to add offer #2 this weekend.
Fisher told me this afternoon that he’ll be attending Pitt’s football camp tomorrow and is hoping to catch the eye of Pat Narduzzi and offensive coordinator Matt Canada.
Photo courtesy of Troy Fisher
“I’m pretty excited for the opportunity to go out and throw with other great quarterbacks, as well as throw to amazing receivers”, said Fisher. “It’s just a bonus that it happens to be close by and have other coaches watch me do what I love.”
“I’m hoping to show the coaches that I’m able to throw any ball that they want, even though we don’t show it a lot in games because of our great ground game. I think the coaches want to see someone who is a leader and can take charge on any field, regardless of camp, practice, or the actual game.”
When I asked Fisher to describe himself as a quarterback and his strengths, he said that he enjoys being under center and is comfortable staying in the pocket. He believes his biggest strength is reading defenses and making the right throw.
Photo courtesy of Troy Fisher
Over the last couple of seasons, the Pitt coaching staff has spent plenty of time roaming the halls of Central Catholic and because of that, Fisher has developed a relationship with the coaches.
“I’ve talked to a lot of the coaches starting from meeting Coach Harley before my sophomore season. I attended the camp last year and was able to work with Coach Chaney”, said Fisher. “It’s also been helpful having Brice, Damar and Rashad all commit, to bring them here on a regular basis.”
It goes without saying that an offer from Pitt would be huge for Fisher and his entire family, especially those with ties to the university.
Photo courtesy of Troy Fisher
“It would be a really cool thing to get an offer from my hometown team”, said Fisher. “My grandpa, his brother, and aunt all went to Pitt, so there is definitely a family connection to the school. I think what excites me the most about possibly playing at Pitt would be the ability to play in front of all the people who watched me grow up and develop as a player.”
As I mentioned, Temple is the only current offer that Fisher holds. However, the sophomore quarterback has been invited to a Stanford camp later this summer and is getting attention from plenty of Ivy League schools. I asked Fisher if he thinks he’s being “under recruited” right now and for being so young, he gave a very mature answer.
Photo courtesy of Troy Fisher
“I always hate to say under recruited because it’s my job to go out and perform, which no one has control over besides myself. I would say that I probably got my hopes up a little bit, but by the same token, as a team we did accomplish all of our goals, which included a state championship. I think this year will really be big for me as well as the team. It’s not my job to go out and prove every Friday why I deserve to get attention and more importantly win games as a team.”
// Header image: Troy Fisher – Photo courtesy of Troy Fisher
