Pitt FB Recruiting
3-Star Athlete Jeffrey Blake Talks to PSN About His Official Visit to Pitt
Jeffrey Blake is likely a relatively new name to Pitt football fans but he’s someone that’s been on the Pitt coaches’ radar for a long time.
Over the weekend, the 3-star athlete from Georgia made an official visit to Pitt and left with high impressions of what he saw and heard.
Blake (6’4″, 230) is a tight end/defensive end from Norcross, Georgia and is technically committed to Vanderbilt but they won’t be the team that he eventually signs with.
After wrapping up his visit this morning, Pittsburgh Sports Now had a chance to talk with Blake to get his thoughts on the weekend and if he saw enough from Pitt to consider signing with them in the future.
Courtesy of Jeffrey Blake
“The Pitt coaches have been in contact with me since probably last spring,” said Blake. “I’ve talked primarily with Coach Salem. He came to my spring practices and has been to my school a lot. I’ve developed a good connection with him.”
While he’s listed as a tight end, his future college position isn’t set in stone.
“Recently, I’ve been looking to play on the defensive side of the ball so that’s why I didn’t sign with Vanderbilt. Pitt sees me as someone that can play tight end, defensive end or maybe even linebacker. They told me that they’re recruiting me as an athlete right now. I would say that I’m leaning towards defense right now but we’ll see.”
Aside from Aliquippa’s MJ Devonshire, Blake was the only player visiting this weekend that wasn’t currently committed to Pitt. While Devonshire has been to Pitt plenty of times, this was the first time for Blake and he left very impressed.
“This was my first time every in Pittsburgh and actually in Pennsylvania too,” said Blake. “It was really neat coming in and I really liked the coaching staff. I spoke immediately with Coach Narduzzi when I got there and learned a lot about the Pitt program. He talked to me about how he sees me as a football player and that they’d find the best fit for me. If I come in, they’d try me out on defense, at tight end and see what fits best for me.
Courtesy of Jeffrey Blake
Also, the facilities are just great and I love the fact that the Pittsburgh Steelers practice right next to them. That’s really cool. My host for the weekend was quarterback Kenny Pickett and he kind of introduced me to all the players and I really liked them.”
As I previously mentioned, Blake is technically committed to Vanderbilt but the reality is that he’s open to any school and is giving Pitt serious consideration.
“To he honest with you, I don’t think Vanderbilt is really an option anymore. I haven’t been in contact with them since Signing Day. I’ve taken three official visits now, Minnesota and Boston College. I might still take a visit to Syracuse but we’ll see how things work out,” said Blake.
Does Pitt have a shot at Blake?
“Yes sir, definitely.”
Great Salem has been in contact. Probably chatted him up about all the blocking opportunities and minimum pass targets that Pitt can offer to him.