Pitt FB Recruiting
Who Is Pitt Recruiting At Cornerback?
The cornerback position is something that has been talked about a lot this year with the Pitt football team. In order for the Panthers to have more success, Pat Narduzzi needs to get better play from that position.
The biggest way to get better play is to upgrade the talent level at the position. Last year’s recruiting class got them players like Damar Hamlin, Henry Miller, Phil Campbell, Therran Coleman and Bricen Garner and only Hamlin is playing this year.
The addition of players Coleman, Miller and Garner will no doubt have a positive impact on next year’s team.
Therran Coleman (16) Brashear (Photo credit: David Hague)
Although they have a commitment from 4-star safety Paris Ford, the Panthers don’t have any cornerback commitments in their Class of 2017, but are working to change that.
Despite being a finalist for him, Pitt lost out yesterday on Philadelphia cornerback Kenny Bennett, who gave a verbal commitment to Maryland. Bennett (6-2, 195) is a big, physical cornerback that the Pitt coaching staff liked. In fact, they were the first Power 5 school to offer him a scholarship.
Pitt was also involved with players Josiah Scott (Michigan State), Exree Loe (West Virginia) and Quentin Lake (UCLA) before they decided to commit elsewhere.
Photo courtesy of Josiah Scott
So who else is Coach Narduzzi and his staff recruiting at cornerback?
Obviously, the top cornerback and Pitt’s top overall prospect is Clairton’s Lamont Wade. Anyone that follows Pitt Recruiting knows of Wade’s talent level and what he’d mean to the program.
I’ve written this before and I’ll do so again, if Wade decides on Pitt, the Panthers starting cornerbacks next year will be Lamont Wade and Damar Hamlin. That would go a long way towards helping the play in the secondary.
Lamont Wade visiting Pitt – Photo courtesy of Lamont Wade
Other cornerbacks that Pitt continue to recruit are Ambry Thomas and Donovan Johnson, two 4-star players from Detroit, Michigan. Pitt are underdogs for both players but could get official visits from them. Johnson visited Pitt for their game vs. Penn State.
4-star CB Donovan Johnson (Photo credit: Mike Vukovcan)
Another player to keep an eye on is Florida cornerback Jeffrey Lubin. The Hollywood, Florida corner recently received an offer from Pitt and seems quite interested.
Also, Pitt secondary coach Renaldo Hill visited Miami cornerback Jamauri Laguerre last Friday. To this point, Pitt hasn’t offered him but that could change.
https://twitter.com/j_laguerre6/status/795738666144514052
One other local player to keep an eye on is Clairton athlete Noah Hamlin. Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi and defensive coordinator Josh Conklin have been evaluating Hamlin for the last month or so and have been impressed with him. I wouldn’t be surprised if they extend an offer very soon.
