2019 TE Nikolas Ognenovic Talks Pitt Offer

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The tight end is a position that Pitt will be looking to address for their Class of 2019.

Position coach Tim Salem has some promising young talent with Chris Clark, Tyler Sear, Charles Reeves and Grant Carrigan but because they use so many multi-tight end formations, they need to keep recruiting that position.

The Panthers recently offered a tight end from Florida that would be a great addition for the future.

Nikolas Ognenovic from Cardinal Gibbons High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida is the latest tight to get an offer from Pitt. Ognenovic (6-foot-6, 235-pounds) holds offers from Boston College, Kentucky, Rutgers, Syracuse, South Florida and Central Michigan.

Cardinal Gibbons is a place that Pitt’s recruited well and hopes to continue that with Ognenovic.

Pittsburgh Sports Now caught up with Ognenovic to talk Pitt and his recruitment.

“I’ve primarily had most of my contact with tight ends coach Tim Salem. We’ve talked on the phone and kept in touch. I felt like the offer would be coming eventually but I thought they might want to watch me in spring a bit,” said Ognenovic.

“Coach texted me and said we want you and we need you. We love throwing to big targets and you’re exactly what we need.”

Ognenovic immediately had interest in bit and it had to do with more than the football program.

“I really like the academics there. I want to study engineering in college and they have a great program. I was talking with Coach Partridge the other day and he said the academics there are unbelievable.”

Since getting the interest from Pitt, Ognenovic has looked into the football side as well and believes Shawn Watson’s offensive scheme would be a good fit for his skill set.

“I like the two tight end formations that they run. I love that they run 2 and 3 sets and they pass to the tight ends a lot,” said Ognenovic.

Courtesy of Mark Spaeder (@spaederpics)

I asked Ognenovic to give PSN a scouting report on his game.

“I’m 6-foot-6, 235 pounds, I run a 4.8 and want to get that down to a 4.6 soon. I have a 33-inch vertical and want to get to 37-inches. I have good hands but believe I can get better. When our offense gets to the redzone, you can line me up anywhere and just throw the ball up. A 6-foot-1 cornerback isn’t going to have the same opportunity as me to go up and get the ball.”

Next up, what are some factors that will be important when it comes to picking a school?

”Obviously academics are big. As far as football, I want to go to a school that’s going to use their tight end in the passing game and not just as an extra lineman. Location doesn’t matter to me because it’s about falling in love with the school and you’ve got to feel the relationship with the coaches,” said Ognenovic.

Good news for Pitt is that Ognenovic plans on making a visit to Pittsburgh. Aside from making upcoming trips to Auburn, Syracuse, Boston College and Kentucky, he plans on coming to Pittsburgh for a spring practice.