Former North Catholic LB Nikhai Hill-Green Excited to Get Offer from Pitt

The topic of how meaningful is an offer from the “hometown” school is something that’s talked about on a yearly basis–especially when it deals with Pitt.

For some it’s a huge deal and for others, while nice in reality, it’s just another Power Five offer.

This morning, Pitt offered a former local product and I can tell you the offer was a special one that meant a lot to him.

Former North Catholic and current St. Frances Academy 4-star linebacker Nikhai Hill-Green found out that he’d finally received the news that he’d earned an offer from Pitt.

“I’ve been talking with my position coach Coach Harley and also have been texting with Coach Narduzzi,” said Hill-Green. “Coach Harley and I were talking on the phone and he was like ‘we watched your film and we’ve seen you grow’. My sophomore year, I went to their summer camp and he coached me. Then last year, my team and I went to their passing camp and at the time, he told me I did well. Now, he said him and all the coaches they all agreed that I fit their style of play and that I can be the next great Pitt Panther linebacker.”

“Getting this offer is a dream come true. I grew up going to Pitt games and I’ve been on Pitt campus all the time. Paris Ford, Damar Hamlin, Bricen Garner, I’m related to but Pitt is home to me. For them to offer me, I really never thought that I would be good enough to go to Pitt. I looked up to them and their players as heroes and now that I have a chance to go there, it’s just amazing.”

Pitt isn’t the only major program to feel Hill-Green is good enough to play big-time college football. Since the end of the season, his recruitment has exploded with offers from Boston College, Duke, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Purdue, Syracuse, Temple, Vanderbilt and Wisconsin. All this attention has caught Hill-Green a bit off-guard.

“It has definitely surprised me,” said Hill-Green. “I’ve been working in a room alone and when you’re doing that, you never think that the effort you’re putting in will get noticed outside of that room. I’m just happy that people are seeing the work I’m putting in behind the scenes and see the potential that I have.”

“The number one thing I’m hearing from coaches is about my football IQ. They’re seeing me making plays but they’re like you knew that play was coming. You shot to where you thought that play was going. You didn’t just roll the dice, you had to know where that play was going ahead of time. The other thing is my versatility, teams feel like I can rush the passer, that I can cover and that you’re an all-around linebacker and that’s what football is coming to.”

Check out Nikhai Hill-Green on @Hudl https://t.co/eeIK8Dc8zH #hudl

— mike vukovcan (@mvukovcan) March 14, 2019

Hill-Green says he isn’t close to making any college decision and will be making spring and summer visits with his teammates, including one to Pitt. However, regardless of his final decision turns out to be, he’ll be thinking long and hard about Pitt.

“Pitt is a place that I really have to think about,” said Hill-Green. “It’s more than just the people back at home telling me to go there. There’s a part of my head that says you can’t pass up on Pitt because you wanted this for so long. For the longest time, I never thought that I could get the chance to play there so I went to all their camps, I played 7-on-7 with Evolve at the Pitt facilities so their coaches could see me whenever they could. I just feel blessed at how things have worked out and the many opportunities that I have in front of me.”