Pitt jumped into Jayden Clark’s recruiting chase during his freshman season, but it went quiet for a bit. Until he made it out to Pitt’s Junior Day in January.
And since then, Clark — a 6-foot-5, 250-pound three-stat offensive tackle from Northmont High in Clayton, Ohio — has seen his recruiting process heat up more and more with Pitt.
“Me and my parents loved the coaching staff, the facility, where it’s located, too,” Clark told PSN. “Everything was great. The campus was great, we didn’t see too much of it because it was more just seeing the facility, but it was just great there.”
And the relationship progressed even further as Randy Bates extended Clark an official offer late last month.
“It feels great,” Clark said. “I’m blessed with that opportunity from coach Bates, and it feels great.”
Pitt was actually the first school that Clark talked to during his recruiting process, so the relationship has always been there, but ever since he rekindled the relationship with a Junior Day visit, there’s been a new sense of priority.
Since he’s a recruit in the class of 2025, Pitt’s staff hasn’t been allowed to directly reach out, not until June 15, but with a Junior Day visit and in going through the Northmont coaching staff, the relationship has begun to bloom.
Bates, one of Pitt’s lead recruiters in Ohio, has been Clark’s main point of contact thus far, and while the communication is still relatively fresh, the connection that he’s built with Clark and his family hasn’t gone unnoticed. That personal connection with the Clark family means something.
Whenever Bates makes it out to Northmont, which has been the case a few times, as often as Bates is able, he chops it up with Clark. It’s relationship building.
And in continuing to grow his relationship with Bates, learning more and more about Pitt’s program, and seeing it for himself first hand on Junior Day, he’s been able to see how the culture has contributed to success lately.
“I feel like it’s a really good bond with them, really good,” Clark said. “I feel like everybody’s connecting, especially with the players, because the dorms are right there, right next to the facilities, so it’s just really connected there.
“Especially with it being Pittsburgh, everybody’s really connected over there. With that aspect of it, I just feel like it’s a good bond over there.”
As Clark grew up in Ohio, nearly everything he was Ohio State, but he liked what he saw from Pitt. He likes it even more now after a great visit — and a slowly growing relationship with the coaching staff.
And Pitt likes what it sees in Clark as a big, physical offensive lineman. He’s heard how the staff likes his game, his technique and his aggression. He knows he has a lot of room to develop as a player, but he also recognizes that that’s the exact reason why Pitt likes him — to have the chance to develop him over the next four years.
“I would say I get my job done,” Clark said. “Move my man from A to B, get my joh done, we get them touchdowns and we win games. Simple, really.”
247Sports rates Clark as the 35th-ranked offensive tackle and the 27th-ranked recruit from Ohio. Neither On3 nor Rivals has ranked him yet, but that will change in the weeks and months to come.
With offers from Bowling Green, Miami (Oh.), Pitt and Purdue, along with interest from Cincinnati, Duke and Minnesota, Clark’s recruiting process is heating up. But Pitt is recruiting him maybe the hardest.
As just a recruit in the class of 2025, only a rising junior in high school, he’s a ways away from having to narrow down his recruiting chase, but Pitt has certainly been able to stand out in the early going.
“Just that relationship with the coaches, their personal relationship with my family, how they treat me and how I can provide for them on the field, off the field and vice versa,” Clark said.
“I would say (Pitt is) on the higher end. I’m still fresh with the offer, because I don’t have a lot, only four, but they’re on the higher end for sure.
