Pitt FB Recruiting
2024 3-Star WR Triston Ward Taking Official Visit to Pittsburgh at the End of June
Pitt will begin hosting official visitors in just under a month, kicking off a very busy month of June, and recent offeree Triston Ward will be among the recruits visiting.
Ward — a 6-foot-1, 190-pound three-star wide receiver from Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts — just picked up an offer from Pitt on May 2, and he told PSN he was excited to learn more about Pittsburgh. He’ll get that chance now.
Ward announced on Twitter that he will make an official visit — his first visit to Pittsburgh — on June 22-24.
Official visit locked in with Pitt June 22-24! Super excited to get out to Pittsburgh! @DABigGreenFB @duvaljr @bbarbato53 @FrankCignetti @Coach_JDiBiaso pic.twitter.com/oJdIke1EHa
— Triston Ward (@triston_ward1) May 10, 2023
Pitt joined the likes of Boston College, Colorado State, Connecticut, Duke, Massachusetts and Virginia in offering Ward, and after putting on a show for Frank Cignetti during an in-school visit, it felt very good to receive the offer.
“Coach Cignetti came up to campus last week and we were running some routes, but he was mostly looking at the lineman that we also have that Pitt offered last week, and it didn’t really feel like they were paying attention to us,” Ward told PSN last week. “But I talked to coach DiBiaso, and he just said he was gonna call me, and he called me and we talked for a little bit and he offered me. I was pretty surprised.”
Ward has been able to start a relationship with Jon DiBiaso, Pitt’s New England region recruiter, and after he wasn’t able to make it out to Pittsburgh in the spring, a visit this summer will go a long way in educating him about the city and the program.
Of course, as a blazing wide receiver at Deerfield, able to basically earn a scholarship opportunity with his performance in front of Cignetti, it’s easy to see why Pitt’s staff has jumped into the fray.
“I think I showed off best my ability to make the hard catches, a few of the balls thrown at me were high or a little bit behind me, but I didn’t drop any passes,” Ward said. “And I think my speed as well — that’s one of my best traits. You can really tell when it’s live rather than on video.”
DiBiaso has pointed to Ward’s speed and his big catch ability — as well as his route running — as areas of strength. And his Hudl tape certainly showcases his ability.
Ward had a huge season at Deerfield as a junior, showcasing his track-star speed and big-play ability to the tune of 1,167 yards (22.9 yards per reception) and 16 touchdowns on just 51 receptions. And on the track, he put in a personal-best 10.53 100-yard dash, further showcasing his blazing speed.
247Sports rates Ward as the 163rd-ranked wide receiver and eighth-ranked recruit from Massachusetts in the class while neither On3 nor Rivals have rated him yet. But that will change over the course of the summer.
Ward hasn’t announced any other official visits, but he has been recruited hard by Boston College, Duke and Virginia so far. And he made visits to Duke, Ohio State, Northwestern, Wake Forest, Vanderbilt and Virginia this spring.
The June 22-24 official visit will allow Ward to become acquainted with the coaching staff and the program as a whole.
“Honestly before the past four, five years, not too much besides some old-school Larry Fitzgerald,” Ward said. “And I had seen Pitt on Twitter a lot, and there are the guys in the league like Aaron Donald, but I didn’t really know much about Pitt football. But I’m excited to learn more.”
Pitt will also be hosting quite a few recruits over the weekend, including three-star defensive end Javon Hammond, three-star linebacker commit Davon Brewton, three-star running back Sam Cooper, four-star defensive tackle Sincere Edwards, three-star defensive end Gavench Marcelin, three-star defensive line commit Ty Yuhas and three-star linebacker DJ McCormick.
