2023 three-star offensive lineman Phillip Daniels recently picked up his Pitt offer, impressing coaches with a strong camp performance last week, but that blossoming relationship has allowed Pitt to stand out.
Daniels, a 6-foot-5, 285-pound interior lineman from Princeton High School in Cincinnati, Ohio, narrowed an offer sheet of Akron, Austin Peay, Ball State, Boston College, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Connecticut, Eastern Kentucky, Eastern Michigan, Illinois State, Kent State, Kentucky, Marshall, Massachusetts, Miami (Oh.), Middle Tennessee State, Minnesota, Ohio, Pitt, Purdue and Toledo to just Pitt, Purdue, Boston College and Minnesota.
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Daniels has already made an official visit to Minnesota last week, and he’s due for his official Pitt visit this weekend — with an additional day planned to stay and work with offensive line coach Dave Borbely. He also has an official visit planned for Purdue at the end of the month.
Pitt, which is the second of Daniels’ official visits and coming off a very recent camp experience, is in a good position with Daniels in large part because of a long-standing relationship.
“I’ve actually been in contact with Coach (Randy) Bates for a long time,” Daniels told PSN earlier this month. “First, he came down to my school and then brought the offensive coordinator down, then the head coach. Everybody has been nice to me, talking to me and speaking very highly of me. It was then they asked me to attend their camp. Since they were always recruiting me, calling me and checking on me, I was like you know what, I’m going to go to their camp and ball out.
“I believed that an offer from Pitt was possible, and I just needed to put in the extra time and work. I only was able to play in five games last season so I think they wanted me to attend the camp in order to see me move and see how I work. I went to Pitt looking at it as a business trip and that I needed to do what I had to do. I wasn’t really thinking about trying to earn the offer, I was just thinking about having the killer instinct that’s needed.”
247Sports rates Daniels as the 81st-ranked interior offensive lineman and the 40th-ranked recruit from Ohio while Rivals rates him as the 31st-ranked recruit from Ohio. On3 rates him as the 693rd-ranked recruit in the class (48th-ranked offensive tackle and 19th-ranked recruit from Ohio).
Pitt has landed in the finalist tier for a couple of 2023 recruits over the last few months, including three-star tight end Vance Bolyard (Greensboro, North Carolina), three-star defensive end Kamari Burns (Columbus, Ohio), three-star cornerback Jermaine Mathews (Cincinnati, Ohio), four-star defensive end Desmond Umeozulu (Upper Marlboro, Maryland), four-star offensive lineman Amir Herring (West Bloomfield, Michigan), four-star defensive end Dashawn Womack (Baltimore, Md.), three-star offensive lineman Jordan Church (Bradenton, Florida), three-star wide receiver Ayden Greene (Powell, Tennessee), four-star cornerback Braeden Marshall (Lake Mary, Florida) three-star wide receiver Andy Jean (Miami, Florida), three-star wide receiver Hilton Alexander II (Douglasville, Georgia), three-star defensive back Jordan Bass (Hampton, Virginia) and five-star wide receiver Hykeem Williams (Fort Lauderdale, Florida).
Daniels will be visiting Pitt from June 16-18, with that additional day to spend in the area on June 19.