Pitt FB Recruiting
2024 OL Dwayne Chaney Excited to Check Out First Power Five Offer In Person
Everyone’s been telling Dwayne Chaney that it’s cold in Pittsburgh. When you’re from Florida, anywhere else is gonna be cold. He doesn’t care about the weather.
Chaney, a 6-foot-6, 290-pound offensive lineman from St. Lucie West Centennial High in Port Saint Lucie, Florida, just wants to play football. And after Pitt extended his first Division I offer, he wanted to make sure to check it out in person.
“Pitt is my first Power Five offer, so I like that that was my first offer, that they believed in me,” Chaney told Pittsburgh Sports Now. “It means a lot to me.”
Blessed and thankful to say I have received my first division 1 offer from the University of Pittsburgh! #AGTG @CoachDuzzPittFB @TiUnderwood @Cen10_Football @Coach_T4 @Andrew_Ivins @Rivals pic.twitter.com/3DIC0iZ9YS
— Dᴡᴀʏɴᴇ “ᴅᴄ51” Cʜᴀɴᴇʏ (@Dwayne51Chaney) January 24, 2023
Chaney will be making it out for Pitt’s March 21 spring practice, checking out the atmosphere, the coaching staff, how a practice runs down on the South Side and the overall feeling of the program.
“Just so I can know what I’m getting myself into, just in case I do commit,” Chaney said. “I just want to know how good the atmosphere is down there and what they have to offer for me.”
Tiquan Underwood and Pitt extended Chaney an official offer on Jan. 23, a couple of days after he first started to hear from the Pitt coaching staff, and Underwood has served as his main point of contact so far.
Underwood has been able to make an immediate impact on Chaney. “We haven’t really been talking about football like that,” Chaney said. “Talked about the Super Bowl, just building a bond with coach Underwood.” It’s a relationship that has largely been built through texts, but the pair has been able to hop on a call every now and then.
He hasn’t had a chance to speak with Dave Borbely yet, but he’s looking forward to the chance — which will be a possibility as he makes a visit in March.
Dwayne Chaney guard/tackle 6’6 290 🦍!!! @larryblustein @PrepRedzoneFL @GB2K2 @Coach_T4 pic.twitter.com/MZwk2sI4dO
— Dᴡᴀʏɴᴇ “ᴅᴄ51” Cʜᴀɴᴇʏ (@Dwayne51Chaney) February 20, 2023
As a kid from Florida, who hasn’t ever really left the state of Florida, he isn’t too familiar yet with Pitt. But he’s well aware of Aaron Donald’s alma mater — and he knows that Kenny Pickett starred at Pitt over the last few seasons.
The Pitt coaching staff, the same staff that helped develop Pickett into a first round draft pick and has put numerous offensive linemen into the NFL (a group that will likely include Carter Warren in April), is a big factor for Chaney.
He hasn’t been able to talk with many of the Pitt coaches yet, but Underwood has been able to lay a strong foundation. And an unofficial visit over the spring will only further cement that bond.
Pitt may be Chaney’s first Division I offer, but he hasn’t had a lack of interest either. He’s visited Florida and received intetest from Dartmouth and Middle Tennessee State.
Chaney’s spring plans will involve Florida and Florida International, too.
He doesn’t have a timeline going forward when it comes to his commitment, but he does want to graduate early and enroll early at whichever school he does decide to commit to. He’s looking for a school that feels like home.
“Just show me that it’s a family up there,” Chaney said. “Just a good atmosphere. I wanna see if I go to a game, and they’re down 14 points, will a team put their head down and work?”
Chaney hasn’t yet been ranked by 247Sports or Rivals, but that will likely change with a strong camp circuit and senior season at St. Lucie West Centennial.
Diamond in the rough lineman excite me more than skill players. You can coach linemen up. Skill players either have the prerequisite abilities or they don’t.
I feel coaching staff does a good job evaluating players and that’s leading to their success!
I especially like when we are the first offer for a kid that’s cruising just under the radar. If they commit I have a tendency to cheer a little for them individually.