Pitt FB Recruiting
Narduzzi Major Factor in Landing Stefano Millin
For the last couple of months Pitt has been looking to add a graduate transfer to their offensive line.
Yesterday, they got their man when Kent State’s Stefano Millin announced that he would be transferring to Pitt for the 2018 season.
Considering Millin has started 27 consecutive games for Kent State, his experience will help out as he will be expected to replace Brian O’Neill at left tackle.
Last night, PSN had a chance to talk to Millin about his decision to join Pitt and the factors that went into it.
Courtesy of Stefano Millin
“About the third week in December, I got a text from Coach Peterson, who said they were thinking Brian O’Neill would be entering the NFL Draft and two weeks later he did so then things really started picking up. I’ve always been interested in Pitt even when I was in high school,” said Millin.
In order to land Millin, Pat Narduzzi really had to do some recruiting because after deciding to transfer from Kent State, he gave Cincinnati a verbal commitment and wanted to stick with that decision.
“I planned on going to Cincinnati and actually closed down my recruiting. Then Pitt reached out obviously I re-considered big-time.”
”Coach Narduzzi is just a relentless guy and real passionate about what he does. When Pitt first reached out to me, I said no but Coach Narduzzi kept getting on the phone with me and was saying just come here for a visit and if you don’t like it, I’ll respect that and understand,” said Millin.
Prior to making a final decision, Millin wanted to come to Pittsburgh and make an official visit which he did last weekend. While here, one thing really stuck out to him.
“On any visit you go to, all coaches are going to talk about how they’re going to do this, this and this. At Pitt, it wasn’t about what we’re going to do, it was about what they’re doing right now. The expectation from everyone was to win an ACC Championship this year, not eventually or down the line. They fully intend to win their division and play in the ACC Championship game in Charlotte,” said Millin.
Although the job won’t be handed to him, the expectation is that come September, Millin will line up as the starting left tackle vs. Albany.
”None of the younger guys have any playing experience at all, that was real attractive to me, being their guy from day one.”
”Coach Watson and Coach Narduzzi both talked to me about although I’m a newcomer to the program, they’re expecting me and Alex Bookser to lead these guys. I know that I still have to prove myself to these guys. I’m not just going to step in and direct people from day one but hopefully they’ll see me in the weight room and on the field conditioning and they’ll see how serious I am. I want to earn everyone’s respect.”
