Georgia Linebacker Preston Lavant Talking Frequently With Pitt Staff

Over the last year, PSN has written plenty about the effort Pitt is making to recruit the talent rich state of Georgia.

In their most recent recruiting class, Pat Narduzzi and company were able to get commitments from three players from Georgia: 4-star defensive back Rashad Battle, 3-star cornerback Hunter Sellers and 4-star wide receiver Jaylon Barden.

With over 40 offers out to juniors in Georgia, Pitt is hoping to equal or maybe even surpass that number of commitments in their Class of 2021.

One player that’s a definite candidate for that is 3-star linebacker Preston Lavant (6’2″, 200) from Crisp County High School in Cordele, Georgia. Currently, Lavant holds Power 5 offers from Pitt, Minnesota, Louisville, Cincinnati, Nebraska and West Virginia.

After him extending the offer in late February, the Pitt staff has made it very clear to Lavant how much they want him to be a future member of the their defense. This evening, PSN caught up with the talented linebacker to find out more about his talks with Pitt and feelings about possibly becoming a Pitt Panther.

“I really wasn’t talking much to Pitt until they officially offered me,” said Lavant. “Ever since then, I talk to them all the time. I talk to the AC (Archie Collins) everyday, I talk to my position coach (Rob Harley) and Coach Narduzzi everyday. Once you click and feel something, it’s clicking right now with us. They have some really cool coaches.”

“The coach I talk with most is Coach Harley, I already call him my position coach. He’s a real cool guy and easy to talk with. I already feel like I’m one of his guys.”

Any potential recruit wants to see a path to the field and in his conversations with Pitt, the coaches are showing Lavant that an opportunity is their for him to see early playing time.

“The biggest thing they’ve done is really let me know how much they want me to be a part of their team,” Lavant told Pittsburgh Sports Now. “With me, they’re telling me that I’m able to play two positions and they’ll be losing two seniors, I think one plays the Money and the other plays the Mike linebacker (Chase Pine and Phil Campbell). With them losing those two players, they believe I can believe either one of the positions. I guess that’s one of the biggest reasons they’re recruiting me so much.”

Junior Year in the📚…Bigger and better next year🐾 https://t.co/c4G3sS2w5f

— Vant!🙇🏾‍♂️ (@LavantPreston) January 2, 2020

Like was the case with many players, Lavant’s unofficial visit to Pitt had to be postponed due to Covid-19 but has plans to reschedule it in the very near future.

“I had an unofficial visit planned for March 14 and that was canceled because of the virus and now I have an official visit scheduled for June 5. When I get up there, I don’t have anything that I’m really wanting to see. I really just want to go there to see what my future home looks like and get a feel for everybody up there. I want a chance to meet and talk with the coaches in person instead of over the phone and on FaceTime.”

In terms of other programs that he has interest in, Lavant tells me that his top three right now are Pitt, Minnesota and Louisville.