With four commitments already from offensive lineman in their Class of 2023, most people assumed Pitt was finished recruiting that position, but that wasn’t the case.
Friday morning, Pitt received a commitment from three-star offensive guard BJ Williams from Creekside High School in Fairburn, Georgia. Williams had been committed to Memphis since the middle of June but has made the decision to de-commit from the Tigers and join Pat Narduzzi’s program. Of Pitt’s last seven commitments, five have been from offensive linemen.
Williams was recruited to Pitt by Archie Collins and received a late offer from the ACC champs back on June 22. Following that offer, Williams made an official visit to Pitt during the last weekend of June and actually was one of the players that gave Pitt a silent commitment. Following his official visit, Williams told PSN off the record that he was committing to Pitt but wouldn’t be making the news official until the end of July.
Williams becomes the 17th commitment for Pitt and barring a decommitment, will be the last offensive lineman in this recruiting class.
PSN spoke with Williams Thursday night prior to his public announcement and started off asking him about his mindset about visiting Pitt while being committed to Memphis. Prior to the visit, did he think he could possibly change his decision?
“Honestly, I thought I was going to stay committed to Memphis, really,” said Williams. “But I went to Pitt kind of exploring and being sure about all of my options. After that I wanted to talk with my family and then decide what was the best decision for me going forward. My relationship with Pitt really began when Coach Collins came to see me and got his eyes on me.
“When I got to Pitt, the thing that got me to change my decision was really the facilities, the program they have in place and the opportunity to play Power Five football in the ACC conference. Talking to the coaches during my visit, they were telling me how I’d be a great fit on their offensive line, which really made me feel great. Making the decision to de-commit from Memphis was difficult. Recruiting in general is very stressful so having to do that was very stressful.”
Following the 2022 season, Pitt will be losing four of their starting offensive linemen as Carter Warren, Marcus Minor, Owen Drexel, Gabe Houy, while Jake Kradel will have the option to return in 2023 if he chooses to do so. Williams realizes this and is hoping to make an early impression when he arrives and is looking forward to becoming part of the next wave of Pitt offensive linemen.
“I’m excited to meet my new teammates and looking forward to seeing what we can do,” said Williams.
PITT 2023 OFFENSIVE LINE COMMITMENTS
BJ Williams (6-foot-4, 270 pounds) Creekside High School in Fairburn, Georgia.
Phillip Daniels (6-foot-5, 275 pounds) Princeton High School in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Tai Ray (6-foot-6, 280 pounds) Apopka High School in Apopka, Florida.
Colin Van Rooy (6-foot-5, 300 pounds) Strongsville High School in Strongsville, Ohio.
Ryan Carretta (6-foot-5, 318 pounds) St. Charles High School in Columbus, Ohio.
Like I see it .. it’s all about the lines!!!
another unranked 3*
h2p!
Cooper kupp was no star out of high school and not one offer sooooooo
good for Cooper and if you think getting unranked 3* on the line and you will just coach them all up to 4* talent is typical duzz. The biggest takeaway is coming off an ACC title all they recruited this year is low 3* (with I think 2-4* mixed in). Won’t be felt this year, but in a few years it certainly will.