On Monday during the Latrobe offseason conditioning program, two-way 2019 Wildcats lineman Trent Holler noticed during a break that he had a message from Pitt defensive line coach Charlie Partridge.
After asking permission to make a phone call, Holler got back to Partridge, who handed the phone to Pat Narduzzi to give Holler the good news: he had a full scholarship offer to Pitt.
Holler, 6-foot-2 and 282 pounds, attended Pitt’s camp on June 2, and anticipated working out as a center. But he was shifted over to defensive line during the camp and Partridge and Narduzzi apparently liked what they saw.
“I met Coach Partridge and they all say said they watched my film the night before, which I was kind of surprised, because I had never heard anything from them,” Holler said. “Since I came in as a center, I was working with the O-Line all day. I didn’t do one defensive drill. They put me in one-on-ones, and I did something really good, I guess, that caught their eye. Coach Narduzzi came over and said, ‘put him back up there again.’”
Pitt continued to work out Holler as a defensive lineman, and that’s the way they’re recruiting him. Most of his 15 offers have come as a center.
“Whatever the school wants me to, I’ll play anything,” he said. “If they want to put me at tight end, I’ll play tight end.”
Not only was the offer from Pitt a hometown honor, it was Holler’s first Power Five offer, making the moment doubly special.
“It put a big smile on my face,” Holler said. “Being from the WPIAL, it’s a special thing. Watching Pitt, watching them every Saturday, going to some of their games. Now they’re extending an offer to you. It’s just amazing.”
Holler said he still considers his recruitment to be wide open. He has offers to Ball State, Cincinnati, Connecticut, Ohio and a slew of FCS schools. This Thursday, he’s heading to Michigan State, a school that hasn’t offered him yet, but has been in close contact. He said he doesn’t have a specific timeline for when he’d like to commit.
