The Pitt Panthers officially added another member to their 2021 roster when Nick Lapi accepted their offer to join the team as a preferred walk-on.
Lapi is a 6-foot-2, 210 pound running back/linebacker from Northern Highlands High School in Allendale, New Jersey and was recruited to Pitt by Tim Salem. Lapi tells Pittsburgh Sports Now that he informed the Pitt coaches today following a trip to Pittsburgh he made with his parents this weekend.
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Courtesy Nick Lapi
“I love the city of Pittsburgh, it’s very unique. The moment I stepped on the campus, I just felt it in my gut that this was the place that I wanted to be,” said Lapi. “There’s a lot going on in Pittsburgh. I love all the food places, the campus is beautiful and the facilities at Pitt are so nice. We drove around and visited Heinz Field, went to the Cathedral, drove around the campus and the South Side. We saw everything.”
At Northern Highlands High School, Lapi stars at both running back and linebacker but his future role with the Panthers is yet to be determined. Salem and Narduzzi both were able to sell Lapi on the opportunity he’d have to carve out a niche for himself somewhere on this team.
“Coach Salem reached out to be a lot and sent me plenty of information about Pitt, both about football, about the university and concerning the academics, which was very helpful,” said Lapi. “Coach Salem told me that I could definitely make an impact on the team, whether it’s on special teams or elsewhere. We really didn’t talk about whether I’d start out at running back or linebacker.”
I’m definitely a hard-worker. I’m self-less and willing to put my body on the line for my team and I’ll do anything for them. This day means a lot to me because it’s always been a dream of mine to play for a division-one program and I’m now going to be able to do that.”
Pittsburgh tough!
H2P!