Pitt Hosts Top 2023 OL Target 4-Star Offensive Tackle Jven Williams

The Pitt Panthers didn’t host a ton of recruits this past weekend, but they were able to host one of, if not their top junior offensive line target.

2023 4-star offensive tackle Jven Williams (Wyomissing, Pennsylvania) made the trip across state to make his first ever visit to Pitt. Earlier in the week, Williams told PSN that he decided to use this first weekend to visit Pitt because he wanted to show them respect since the Panthers were the first team to extend Williams an offer last year. Since that time, the 6-foot-5, 300-pounds offensive tackle has developed into one of the top tackles on the East Coast with offers from schools like Boston College, Illinois, Houston, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Ole Miss, Penn State, Rutgers, South Carolina, Temple, Tennessee, Virginia Tech, Washington and West Virginia.

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“I’m from Eastern Pennsylvania so for me to go across the state and visit Pitt, it felt like a different world,” Williams tells PSN. “Pittsburgh was just super different and nice. The bridges, the people there, it was definitely a city school. I thought it was super cool to see so many things that were very new to me. It was almost like visiting New York and I think that was really cool. I think I would be ok with that. To be honest, it was refreshing to be able to see something new and so different from what I’m used to.”

In terms of football, Pat Narduzzi and his coaching staff would love to pair Williams with recent signee, 4-star offensive tackle Ryan Baer, as their bookend offensive tackles of the future. Williams appreciated the opportunity to be able to continue his communication with the Panther staff, this time in person.

“I was impressed with what I saw from Pitt this season. They were ACC Champions and made it to the Peach Bowl, although they lost, they fought very hard which was impressive. When I got to the facilities, it was crazy to be able to see they’re right next to the Pittsburgh Steelers. They’re the only school that has the opportunity to be right next to an NFL team which is very neat. It’s not unusual for you to be able to see and walk around with an NFL player which is super cool.”

“The coaches tell me how much they love how I move and love my size and strength. Their biggest recruiting pitch to me was family and all the connections you get being a Pitt player. Honesty, just with the little amount of time I was there, I felt like I was part of their family. They really showed that to me and really emphasize it. The Pitt coaches and I speak almost daily, they text and always send me handwritten notes, but it was nice to be out here and have the chance to talk to them like people and not just about football stuff but stuff like their personal lives.”

This was just the beginning of visits for Williams, with him hoping to make a couple more unofficial visits before the next recruiting dead period. Nothing has been finalized but schools that he’s considering taking a trip to are Michigan, Michigan State, South Carolina, Rutgers and Penn State.