Pitt FB Recruiting
Pitt a Top Contender for Ga. CB Brice Pollock: ‘I Could Really See Myself Playing at Pitt’
Thanks in large part to the efforts of Archie Collins, Pitt has done a solid job over the last few years securing talent from the state of Georgia.
Ryland Gandy (Buford, Ga.), Khalil Anderson (Atlanta), Rashad Battle (Fairburn, Ga.), Hunter Sellers (College Park, Ga.) and Jaylon Barden (Macon, Ga.) are players from Georgia that signed with Pitt over the last few recruiting classes.
Once again, Collins, along with linebackers coach Ryan Manalac are recruiting the Peach State looking to bring in talent for the Class of 2023. At this point, the Pitt staff has extended offers to 40+ juniors in Georgia, one of them being three-star defensive back Brice Pollock from Snellville, Georgia.
Pollock (6-foot-1, 180 pounds) received his offer from Manalac on February 3 and holds other ones from Georgia Tech, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan State, Penn State, Central Florida, Wake Forest and West Virginia. Over the weekend, Pollock decided to make an unofficial visit to check out Pitt.
“Honestly, just having an offer from a school like Pitt made me want to come up and make a visit,” Pollock told Pittsburgh Sports Now. “Plus, I had an offer from Penn State, so I decided to kill two birds with one stone and visited Penn State on Friday and then Pitt yesterday. The other reason I came was because I could really see myself playing at Pitt. I feel like I’m something they need, and it made me want to come up there.”
“My main recruiter to this point has been Coach Manalac. He’s a great guy and very funny. He first came to my school in January and came talk to me and later on ended up offering me. Then yesterday on the visit, Coach Collins and I talked a lot and developed a good relationship. We talked a lot, drew up plays on the board, I got to go into the position meetings with the corners, got to go to the practice. Him (Collins) and I had a good 1-on-1 talk, he’s a great guy.”
When a recruit visits, a big part of the stay is them getting an opportunity to feel like part of the team and sit in on team meetings. Not only does it allow them to hear what their potential position coach is like, but it also gives them an early look at film breakdown and hear college terminology, something that is more advanced than they here in high school.
“I was the only high school cornerback in the meeting room, so it made me feel very special and one of them,” said Pollock. “I got to see what see, try to understand what their minds are thinking before the play, see what they need to improve on, see what things they’re already good at.”
This was Pollock’s first trip to the city of Pittsburgh and when asked about something that impressed him about the Panthers program, he brought up something that people sometimes take for granted.
“I love the Pitt coaching staff; they really care about players bettering themselves outside of football. Pitt really seems like a family team, which is great, even down to the recruiting analysts. They really care a lot about their players. Plus, I loved Heinz Field. It gave me a very professional vibe, because that’s where the Steelers play too. That’s impressive to play in that stadium.”
“If I had to make a Top Five right now, Pitt would definitely be in it.”
