Pitt FB Recruiting
Pitt to Get Visit From Highly Regarded New York Freshman TE Jaylin Ballew
The month of June should be eventful and newsworthy for the Pitt football program as they will host high school recruits on official and unofficial visits, along with conducting prospect camps where the coaching staff will have the chance to evaluate plenty of talent.
These prospect camps are valuable because not only do the coaches get to work with players that already have offer from Pitt but they will use these camps to get to know certain players that they could eventually extend an offer towards.
Pittsburgh Sports Now has confirmed that one of the players making the trip to Pitt to workout for the Panther coaches is freshman tight end Jaylin Ballew from Middle Village, New York. Ballew isn’t your typical high school freshman as he already holds offers from Miami (FL), Mississippi, Tennessee and Jackson State.
PSN caught up with Ballew, who’s excited about making his first trip to Pittsburgh and to showcase his talents to Pat Narduzzi and company.
“At first I was surprised with the attention I’m receiving but then I wasn’t because I know how hard I’ve been working to get to this point,” Ballew. “I’ve been very dedicated and when I put my mind to something, I get it done. I wasn’t expecting my first college offers to be major Power Five offers, I was thinking maybe some D-2 or D-3 offers but certainly not Power Five offers right off the bat. When I first got that news, it didn’t feel real at first.”
Ballew is a 6-foot-3, 215 pound tight end and his size and playmaking ability is the thing that’s so intriguing to college programs.
— mike vukovcan (@mvukovcan) May 22, 2021
“Colleges like that I’m a bigger kid for my age as a freshman, so that’s eye candy for schools and especially that I’m a 6-foot-3 tight end. I hope to keep playing tight end but I’m very versatile and could play receiver or fullback. The reason I like receiver is that I know that their are a lot of receivers out there that are quicker than me. But at the tight end position, I feel that I’m a mismatch because of my size and my hands. Every year, colleges get 6-foot-4, 6-foot-5 receivers that run fast so I wouldn’t standout but I believe that I can playing tight end.”
June will be busy for Ballew as he’ll also participate in prospect camps at Penn State and Rutgers. I asked what he’s hoping to show and get out of his visit to Pittsburgh.
“My receivers coach has been talking to me and he believes an offer is possible as long as I perform to my potential and to what he’s been telling them about me,” said Ballew. “I hope to show them that kids from New York can ball and that I’m a player that can fit into their program.”
The man has got some hands!