Pitt FB Recruiting
Pitt Stands ‘Real High’ With 2024 3-Star DL Francis Brewu Ahead of Spring Visit
Francis Brewu is trying to get out to all of the schools that he likes as much as possible, so of course, he had to schedule a trip back to Pittsburgh for March 14.
Brewu — a 6-foot-2, 270-pound defensive tackle from Thomas Worthington High in Columbus, Ohio — picked up an official offer from Pitt during his Junior Day visit in January, and he’s looking forward to seeing as much of Pitt as he possibly can.
“This time we get to watch a practice, so I hope to get to see the specifics of how each of the coaches coach and the technicalities and the strategies each coach uses,” Brewu told PSN. “And what they teach, the skillsets they teach, the certain skills they teach, just the specifics of everything. And watch actually play football.”
Excited to be back at Pitt on March 14th‼️@Pitt_FB @Coach_Manalac @CoachPartridge @CoachDuzzPittFB #H2P🔵🟡 pic.twitter.com/eb28WoaNuF
— Francis Brewu🌟 (@FBrewu) February 21, 2023
He’s not sure exactly how the day will go yet, but he knows he’ll be sitting in on morning meetings with the defensive line and eventually head out to the practice field to watch practice. Of course, it means more time with the coaching staff, too.
The relationship that Brewu has built with Pitt’s coaching staff, even just since he picked up his official offer after his Junior Day visit, progresses seemingly every day.
“Me and coach Narduzzi, coach Partridge and coach Manalac, I feel like we’ve gotten a lot closer,” Brewu said. “We text a decent amount now, which is great. So, it’s definitely evolved into more regular conversation, like you’re texting your friend or coach you’ve known for a long time.”
The bond with Partridge, who has had vast amounts of success with ‘undersized’ defensive linemen, has been a key selling point — as has watching former Pitt stars Calijah Kancey and Aaron Donald.
There’s a level of quickness off the line and a degree of hand-to-hand aggression that jumps off the page when watching Kancey and Donald, and it’s those two areas Brewu prides himself on. They’re explosive, powerful players (able to go through or around offensive linemen), and Brewu’s goal is to model himself off of both ‘undersized’ linemen with a similar level of speed and power.
As a junior at Thomas Worthington, he flashed his speed and power, racking up 74 tackles (42 solo), 21 tackles for loss, 12 sacks and two fumble recoveries on the defensive line.
If there’s a team for getting the most out of its defensive linemen, especially linemen like Brewu, it’s Pitt. And he recognizes that fit. It’s why Pitt is so high on his list.
“They really stand out because of just what they do with people my size, around my size,” Brewu said. “Calijah Kancey is another guy getting drafted this year, first round draft pick, and he’s six-foot tall. I’m not much taller than him, six-one, maybe six-two, so they really stand out just because it’s a system that would fit me perfectly and the coaching would fit me perfectly.”
But of course, with offers from Akron, Austin Peay, Ball State, Boston College, Bowling Green, Cincinnati, Duke, Iowa State, Kent State, Miami (Oh.), Northwestern, Ohio, Pitt, Toledo and Western Michigan, he’s making sure to do his due diligence.
In a perfect world, Brewu would visit every one of his offers. As of right now, along with Pitt, he has visits scheduled for Northwestern, Iowa State and Cincinnati this spring.
Brewu would like to be committed before his senior season at Thomas Worthington begins in the summer, but he knows how fickle the world of college football can be, so it’s not a hard deadline.
Brewu has a visit scheduled to Pitt in March already, and it will be important to get him on campus — as he pointed out — as many times as possible before his recruiting chase closes.
247Sports rates Brewu as the 83rd-ranked defensive lineman and the 52nd-ranked recruit from Ohio while Rivals has given him a 5.6 Rivals Rating. His recruiting stock will likely continue to rise throughout the spring and summer, too.
