After spending half the day with him, it appears as though the Pitt football program really would like to add Clearwater (FL) defensive end Habakkuk Baldonado to their 2018 Recruiting Class.
Yesterday, we spoke with Baldonado and got his impression of Pitt and his visit to Pittsburgh.
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Now, we’re going to get more insight on him as we had a chance to talk with Clearwater Academy Head Coach Jesse Chinchar.
Baldonado has only played one year of high school football so I asked Chinchar about the potential upside in his star defensive end and if he could be a diamond in the rough.
“Yes, I think so. Anytime you’ve only played one year in the states and only have been in a weight program for one year, your upside is that much higher. He hasn’t even touched his potential yet,” said Chinchar.
Taking that into consideration, it makes it even that more impressive that Baldonado has received more than 13 scholarships, including ones from Pitt, Michigan State and Nebraska.
Courtesy of Habakkuk Baldonado
“He only has one year of film and schools are still that interested in him. Imagine if he had four years of film and four years of a weight room. In my opinion, he’d be a 30-plus offer player.”
“Whatever program gets him is going to get a tremendous pass rusher. It’s pretty rare to find a player of his size and to have that sort of speed coming off of the edge. His combination of length and speed isn’t found too often. Plus, someone is getting a very intelligent kid, he wants to study mechanical engineering and has known that his whole life. He’s just mature beyond his years. Combining all those factors, I think he’s going to be a special player in college,” said Chinchar.
Baldonado wasn’t the only person that spent time with Pat Narduzzi and Rob Harley yesterday. Chinchar did as well and came away quite impressed.
Courtesy of Habakkuk Baldonado
“It was awesome and very impressive. I think Coach Narduzzi and his program is something that’s on the rise. I think they’re in the process of building something special there. The vibe yesterday was great and they really, really like him. They spent nearly seven hours with him and I think he really liked what they were selling as well. Both sides seem to fit really well as far as personalities go and they really seemed to like each other.”