Pitt FB Recruiting
Local 2024 3-Star OL Ryan Cory Looking Forward to Visiting Hometown Pitt
The Pitt Panthers were always on the TV as Ryan Cory grew up in the Pittsburgh suburbs. It made his official Pitt offer over the summer that much sweeter.
Cory — a 6-foot-4, 290-pound offensive lineman from Pine-Richland High in Gibsonia, Pennsylvania — received his official offer with Pat Narduzzi’s express permission at a summer camp on the South Side. It felt great to receive the offer in person, and it will feel even better to finally make a visit to Pitt.
Cory will be making the trip down I-79 to check out Pitt’s Local Junior Day this weekend, and it affords him the chance to finally get that true ‘visit’ to Pittsburgh.
“I know a lot about these guys and what they look for and what they see with their players, like the mentality that they bring, and that’s a big part in decisions,” Cory told PSN. “I actually haven’t been down there for a true visit yet.
“I’ll finally be able to see the campus and meet all the guys. I’ve met most of the people, but I’ll truly meet everybody now.”
When it comes to making the Junior Day visit, which will include a chance to watch Pitt basketball take on Florida State at 3 p.m. at the Petersen Events Center, he’s excited to see the campus. He’s seen the South Side facilities, met the coaching staff and all of that. It’s about seeing a fit now.
Great camp at Pitt yesterday @JakeBeam3 @CoachBorbs pic.twitter.com/b9ZnUwYAGM
— Ryan Cory (@RyanCory15) June 12, 2022
Cory has already built a strong relationship with the Pitt coaching staff, especially with offensive line coach Dave Borbely, and it’s carried over into the consistency of his communication with the staff.
“It’s been great, ever since Sept. 1, they’ve been super consistent with messages,” Cory said. “It’s been great. There’s a little connection growing there; I really like it there.”
Pitt would like it if he continued to thrive in Pittsburgh, too. He starred as a guard and a defensive tackle (racking up 37 tackles (27 solo), a tackle for loss, a sack and a pass breakup) on the way to a PIAA Class-5A championship in 2022.
Cory and the P-R Rams brought a championship home to Pittsburgh, and it was sweet (even though it wasn’t from Hershey Park). When it comes to bringing home future championships, it doesn’t matter if it’s in Pittsburgh or afar, but he can’t deny the storybook feeling it would inspire.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a huge factor, but it is super cool if that is the way it turns out because staying home and playing for the team you grew up around watching is pretty sweet,” Cory said.
There are a lot of factors when it comes to Cory playing for his hometown team, including offers from Boston College, Cincinnati, Connecticut, Kansas State, Duke, Kentucky, Miami (FL), Louisville, Maryland, Miami (Oh.), Oregon, West Virginia, Vanderbilt and Toledo, but the connection with Borbely is one that transcends football.
“We really don’t talk a ton of football,” Cory said. “It’s just connection things. We just talk because his life and my life are just completely straight football at this point in time. It’s nice talking to him about other stuff outside of football and what life looks like and we do talk about football and where I fit in with them, but he’s a great guy.”
According to Cory, it’s not uncommon for coaches to focus on aspects outside of football. But there are certainly a lot of coaches who make it about football.
It’s a testament to Pitt’s staff that not only will Cory be visiting the campus for Local Junior Day, but he said he will be back again for spring practices.
And while Cory doesn’t have any camp plans ironed out yet, he’s also planning to make it out to Miami and Vanderbilt at some point.
247Sports rates Cory as the 28th-ranked interior lineman and the 16th-ranked recruit from Pennsylvania while Rivals rates him as the 24th-ranked recruit from Pennsylvania — holding a 5.5 Rivals Rating.
On3 rates him as the 625th-ranked recruit in the class (45th-ranked interior offensive lineman and 20th-ranked recruit from Pennsylvania).
Even if Cory hasn’t narrowed down his list of offers yet, Cory holds Pitt in high regard.
“They’re definitely up there,” Cory said. “These guys, they offered me in the summer and they’ve been really consistent with contacting me and they show a lot of interest, so I feel like they deserve that interest back from me. There’s not much to not like about them. They’re a great program, and I really like the guys that are there.”
Land him!
He was at PSU on Saturday. I’m sure he will commit to PSU in the next few weeks.