Connect with us

Pitt FB Recruiting

Mike Farrell Takes A Quick Look at Pitt’s Current 2023 Recruiting Class

Published

on

As I embark on my exciting journey to dive deep into everything Pitt football with Pittsburgh Sports Now, I’ll start with an assessment of the current 2023 recruiting class.

Ok, I know it doesn’t look good. And I’ve been doing this for a long time as the first Pitt coach I covered was Walt Harris. I’ve felt Pat Narduzzi is a good fit for Pitt for years now, but his recruiting prowess has been iffy. And this year it’s not going so well.

Pitt football recruiting coverage sponsored by
RM LAW, P.C. is a boutique litigation law firm with a national practice dedicated to protecting shareholders’ interests and promoting improved corporate governance practices.
RM LAW, P.C.

The good news? There are some gems in this class especially on defense. The 1-2 combo at DT and DE of Isaiah Neal and Antonio Camon is impressive and both strike me as those typical Pitt DL commits that are underrated and develop nicely. Neal is undersized and will add weight while not losing excellent foot speed and quickness while Carman is big for an end and works well off contact. And LB Braylan Lovelace may come from a school that never produces talent in the WPIAL but he’s a gamer who will continue to grow into an inside backer. His play at running back helps him as well to be honest as many top linebackers who play both ways learn tendencies from being a running back.

The wide receiver class is also solid with Kenny Johnson from PA and Florida speedster Lamar Seymore.

But I’m not here to sugar coat or blow smoke. This class is lacking in many ways. The loss of Kenny Minchey at QB is a big blow and they will have to take a QB down a notch to replace him. That being said, I was never that sold on the arm of Minchey and had him as a 3 star and with the portal a QB can be found with ease. What concerns me more is the OL recruiting which isn’t great and the lack of depth at positions like DL and at DB. This is a small class and has been hammered by decommitments and that’s never a good sign. However, if there’s a silver lining it’s the portal as a small or weak recruiting class can be offset with so much talent in the portal. But that also means gaining more than you lose and that’s always tricky.

I won’t lie to you; I have this class near the bottom of the ACC and a strong close is needed and some gems found before the February Signing Day. Things have fallen quite a bit since a solid 2021 class, so momentum needs to be regained.

Sandy Schall, Coldwell Banker
5 Comments
Subscribe
Notify of
guest
5 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
SRS
SRS
1 year ago

I think you are downplaying the depth PITT has at all positions. We were playing two, three deep all season outside of QB and Kicker. Even played three Punters! We are deep and next year’s squad will be fine. The COVID year is the reason for the low numbers for 2022 and 2023 thus far, we have 29 seniors on roster this year and many can still return.
The crappy part of this process is do you ask a fifth or sixth year guy to move on?

Anthony Martier
Anthony Martier
1 year ago

Two maybe three years from now we’ll be looking back at the Frank Cignetti hire when he’s gone and I’m confident saying we’ll agree he’s set our football program back a decade. No quality offensive recruit besides a rb will ever consider Pitt while he’s here. Mincey and Hakeem are prime examples. I hope we enjoy mediocre offenses that lead to 7/8 win seasons at best that’s what we’re in store for. I don’t think Phil is worth bringing in either the guy can’t move and our oline will be young next yr he’ll be a sitting duck. Yarnell or… Read more »

Richard
Richard
1 year ago

The number one position that needs attention is QB. Now that Slovis is in the portal, it is imperative that the Pitt staff pursue some of those 4**** stars out there there. Names like
Leary from NC State, or Veilleux from PSU! H2P

Anthony Martier
Anthony Martier
1 year ago
Reply to  Richard

Good luck convincing any QB worth anything to come play in this offense. People forget if Whipple left two years ago Kenny would have been playing for ND. Kids commit to the offense and coaches not so much the school anymore. There’s no loyalty in college football these days.

Keith
Keith
1 year ago

Shoulda offered the morsillo kid from QB Westinghouse! Pitt DE Dayon Hayes from the same school. U would think Pitt would b familiar by now

Get PSN in your inbox!

Enter your email and get all of our posts delivered straight to your inbox.

 
Like Pittsburgh Sports Now on Facebook!
Send this to a friend