Pitt FB Recruiting
Fast-Rising 2024 TE, UCF Baseball Commit Timothy Lawson Makes Visit to Pitt
Timothy Lawson has an 8 rating on PerfectGame.org, which means he’s graded as a potential MLB Draft pick and/or an excellent college prospect. It makes sense considering he’s been committed to UCF as a pitcher.
Lawson’s fastball touches 90 miles an hour, and he has the perfect frame — 6-foot-5, 220 pounds — to hone himself into one of the premier pitchers in college baseball. But Lawson has aspirations that extend outside of baseball, too.
He committed to UCF early, which is often the case when it comes to baseball commitments, but his football recruitment really kicked off as Pitt extended an offer on Jan. 26 — his first college football offer.
“I’ve been talking to (Pitt) for a while, whenever the last (social media) post for them was because that was my first football offer,” Lawson told PSN.
“It was really cool (to get that offer). It’s definitely something I’m now having to think about a lot because I’ve gotta really evaluate both, see what my options are and see what I wanna do.”
Thank you @Pitt_FB for the visit @CoachTimSalem @CoachDuzzPittFB pic.twitter.com/Zg2F7r7gKc
— Timothy Lawson⚾️🏈🔥 (@timlawson2024) March 19, 2023
Lawson, who is also a tight end at Bishop Verot High in Fort Myers, Florida, emerged in a big way last season. And after Pitt extended an offer in late January, he’s received offers from Baylor, Cincinnati, Coastal Carolina, Indiana, Louisville, Mississippi State, Penn, Princeton, Rutgers and Yale.
It’s certainly been a rapid development, considering it’s been just over two months since he’s received major college football interest, but it’s also something he’s managed well during his high school career.
But even as he’s been able to manage the dual schedule at Bishop Verot, getting the chance to do both in the warm Florida sun, he knows he’s likely going to have to choose one or the other.
“I’m definitely going to evaluate, see if I want to go with that workload of doing both or doing one,” Lawson said. “Of course, I’m leaning a little bit toward football with it blowing up a bit recently, but I’m definitely still in love with baseball.”
So, Lawson’s recent visit to Pittsburgh, getting the chance to check out the South Side facilities and watch Pitt’s first padded practice of the spring, was important.
But it also wasn’t a visit that was exclusive to football. Lawson — in the midst of checking out Pitt’s campus — was able to make his way to Charles L. Cost Field and take in the baseball facilities. Of course, football was the main interest though.
“It went great,” Lawson said. “It was really cool seeing the campus, checking out everything, especially with it being connected to the Steelers facility, meeting coach (Pat) Narduzzi and coach (Tim) Salem, seeing him again because he was already down at our school.”
Salem has been Lawson’s main point of contact, and the chance to watch Salem coach the tight ends during a practice session was important.
“I loved it,” Lawson said. “It was the first day of pads, so of course, all the coaches and players brought good intensity. (Salem’s) definitely coaching up tight ends every play, every play he had something to coach them up on, so he’s definitely good at tutoring them to get better.”
The chance to watch the intensity of Pitt’s best-on-best period, watching the offense and defense clash in legitimate football, stood out for Lawson. He’s seen it at the high school level, but it was certainly a new experience at the major Power Five level.
Lawson is a long, lean receiving threat at the high school level, a raw athlete, yes, but one that has the chance to grow into his frame down the line — especially if football is decided as the main focus.
As a junior at Bishop Verot, Lawson was a top receiving threat, hauling in 32 receptions for 469 yards (14.7 yards per reception) and a touchdown.
Lawson hasn’t been rated by any of the major recruiting outlets — 247Sports, Rivals or On3 — but that is going to change after he’s blown up over the last two months.
He has visits to UCF, Mississippi State and TCU scheduled in the short term, and that list will likely grow. With a busy baseball schedule, he likely won’t be able to make another trip to Pittsburgh, but Pitt has already been able to stand out.
“I think (Pitt is) pretty high,” Lawson said. “I’d put them in my top six, seven, definitely. I don’t know the particular order, but they’re definitely up there.
“I really like the city. The program was great last year, and I think they’re just gonna keep getting better, which is a good thing. They’ve got great coaches, they’re doing the same hard stuff, if they’ve got a problem, they change it, so they’re gonna keep trying to get better.”
Lawson hopes to be committed by his senior season, whether that’s football or baseball, so the spring and summer sessions will be important for his process.
