Pitt FB Recruiting
JUCO DB Isaiah Hackett Working Hard on Comeback, Talking With Pitt
Two years ago, Isaiah Hackett was getting recruited by double-digit Power Five programs, including from the coaches at both Pitt and Penn State.
Unfortunately for Hackett, he suffered a shoulder injury that wiped out his senior season, which then put his recruitment on pause. After that his grades dipped and in order to rehab his injury but also to get his academics in order, Hackett decided it was best for him to attend Lackawanna College.
From his high school days in Warren, Ohio and now at Lackawanna, one constant for Hackett (5-foot-10, 180 pounds) has been his communication with the Pitt football program, in particular, secondary coach Archie Collins. Pitt was interested in this talented cornerback two years ago and that remains the case now as Pittsburgh Sports Now found out when we spoke with him on Tuesday.
“Coach [Archie] Collins has been recruiting me since my senior year of high school,” Hackett told PSN. “When I first transferred there, he came up a couple of times and we started talking and building a relationship. He started talking to my coaches about me and also came up to watch me practice.”
“During my senior year, they had a 7-on-7 camp up at Pitt but that weekend, I was also supposed to go visit Penn State, that was when they were recruiting me very hard but they wanted to see me first before they offered. Instead of going to Penn State, I decided to go with my 7-on-7 team to go to Pitt. In 3 games, I scored 11 times and we ended up going to the championship, we really balled out. While I was there, Coach Narduzzi and Coach Collins were both watch me. From that point on, they’ve stayed in contact with me and seem to like me a lot.”
In terms of physical ability, Hackett is a no-doubt Power 5 recruit but programs want to make sure he’s ok both physically and academically before they extend him an offer. Hackett is well on his way in both areas and tells PSN that whatever school he ends up selecting, he will be enrolling this December and will have three seasons of athletic eligibility remaining.
“I’m a physical corner,” said Hackett. “I can run with anyone that you put in front of me and rarely do I get beat over the top. I just consider myself a physical, smart football player that knows the game a lot.”
Over the last couple of months, aside from Pitt, Hackett has been hearing from Oregon, Syracuse, Alabama, West Virginia and Penn State. Considering he’s been in communication with Pitt for a couple of years now, I asked Hackett is their something that stands out to you or something that you’ve learned about Pitt that’s impressed you?
“The one thing about Pitt that I really like is, a lot of schools like to offer kids and most of the time, they’re not official or committable offers. But the one thing about Pitt and Coach Collins is that they’ve kept it real with me. They were honest with me and said they were only taking two corners last year and it would be hard for us to choose. They’ve really kept it real with me and have let me know where things stand throughout this whole process. I really appreciate that.”
Hackett knows that Pitt has availability in their Class of 2022 and plans on proving and doing everything possible to show them along with others programs that he’s worth extending an offer to. As he tells PSN, football season can’t get here quick enough.
“Honestly, I’ve been working every single day, every single morning in order to get bigger, faster, stronger. I’m not a big social media guy and don’t like to post that I’m working hard or showing video, I’m just doing it every single morning. I can’t wait to get back on the field and show everyone.”
