Pitt FB Recruiting
Nakia Griffin-Stewart Recaps His Weekend Visit to Pitt
Pat Narduzzi spent the weekend hosting Rutgers graduate transfer tight end Nakia Griffin-Stewart and things went well.
Griffin-Stewart left this morning without giving a commitment but all signs still point to him eventually becoming a member of the Pitt team for the upcoming season.
Pittsburgh Sports Now caught up with Griffin-Stewart as he wrapped up his first ever visit to the city of Pittsburgh.
“I enjoyed my weekend a lot and I felt it went extremely well,” said Griffin-Stewart. “Pittsburgh is not what I expected in a positive way. I left with a very good taste of the city and I enjoyed it from the minute I touched down to the minute I left.”
“I’m so used to New York city and it was a little bit of a culture shock experience because of how crazy Manhattan is. I was surprised by the diversity and the vibe from the people in the city. It was overall a really good experience. I’ve never been to Pittsburgh before, so it was new to me and I enjoyed it a lot. I liked all the bridges so that things are divided. I liked all the different parts, the South Side, Oakland and things like that. So, I like how it’s not just one college town, it’s a real city with real people and you’ve got to get around to go places and I enjoyed that aspect of it.
Courtesy of Nakia Griffin-Stewart
Aside from it being his first time in Pittsburgh, it was also Griffin-Stewart’s first time spent at the Pitt facilities and being around the entire staff and some players. It sounds like that also turned out to be a good experience.
“The coaching staff I felt were very genuine, very welcoming and showed a lot of hospitality” said Griffin-Stewart. “Coach Narduzzi, we’ve been in contact for maybe about three weeks now, and he’s been the same guy ever since. He’s recruited me hard but hasn’t given me a high school recruiting pitch, he’s talking to me like a grown man and explaining to me things that he can help me with and how he believes I can help the team. Coach Salem, one word to describe him is energy man. He has a true passion for what he’s doing and I appreciate that. Those two are the ones I spent the majority of the time with.”
The other person Griffin-Stewart spent time with was quarterback Kenny Pickett, who he had nothing but good things to say about.
Courtesy of Nakia Griffin-Stewart
“Kenny was my host for the weekend. He’s like the man around the city. We went out one night and a ton of people recognized him. Kenny is just a real genuine dude. He is a great guy and seems like he’d be a great teammate. He has the keys to the team and I feel like he’s going to run that team the way it should be run. His maturity level is beyond his years. Honestly, I feel like he’s the future of Pitt football. From the way he carries himself, from the way all the coaches respect him and he shows the coaches respect back. He’s a true professional.”
From everything he said, Griffin-Stewart really likes Pitt and could eventually join them. I asked him what’s next for him as far as any other visits and when will he make a final decision?
“I don’t have any other visits scheduled after today,” said Griffin-Stewart. “I had a great time at Pitt, the next step is to get my mother to come down and visit. She didn’t make the trip this weekend, it was just me and my step-father. Obviously, I’m going to stay in touch with Coach Narduzzi and Coach Salem all the time. I’ll try and make my way down there when spring practice begins with the rest of my family and go from there.”
“I definitely left with a very good impression of the University of Pittsburgh with this trip.”
