Moritz Schmoranzer’s unofficial visit to Pitt went well, but with just a day in Pittsburgh, he felt a little rushed as he tried to soak up the entire experience in one afternoon.
He didn’t have that issue as he spent a few days in Pittsburgh for his official visit this week.
Schmoranzer — a 6-foot-4, 275-pound three-star offensive lineman from North Cross School in Roanoke, Virginia — made it back out to Pittsburgh Wednesday night and spent the next few days locking back in with Pitt’s coaches and players on his final official visit.
“It was amazing,” Schmoranzer told PSN. “Just seeing everything with more time because the last time I came to Pitt, it was a pretty quick schedule. It was a day unofficial, and we kinda rushed through a lot, and just having a whole weekend and looking at everything without being in a rush, it showed more things about life and Pitt itself.”
With his final official visit now in the books, he’s narrowed down his offer list and set a decision date. On June 30 at 6:30 p.m., he will decide between Miami, Pitt, Virginia Tech and West Virginia.
Schmoranzer took official visits to Virginia Tech (June 2), West Virginia (June 9), Miami (June 16) and finally to Pitt over the weekend, and he was able to really soak up the essence of Pitt football during the visit.
In spending time with Dave Borbely and Jackson Brown (his player host), Schmoranzer was able to see just how hard the program works. And that’s what stood out the most.
“The working culture Pitt has,” Schmoranzer said. “I think that’s unlike any other college I’ve visited yet. It’s a hard-working team, and I only saw the O-line, but it translates to the whole team, just the work ethic and seriousness and wanting to get better.”
Brown hasn’t been at Pitt long, just since he transferred from Cal in May, but it speaks volumes to the culture and brotherhood already in place in Pittsburgh that a young, new teammate was trusted to serve as a key recruiter during Schmoranzer’s visit. And Brown’s message was heard loud and clear.
“He’s been at Pitt for a few months, but he already told me that it’s so much different from Cali,” Schmoranzer said. “It’s way more serious here. They want to win the ACC championship and the national championship at some point, and he just told me that the O-line, and the whole team, is just way more serious about it.”
In talking with Brown and the offensive linemen at Pitt, Schmoranzer was able to get a nice overall feel for not just the offensive line room but the program as a whole.
He already had a good idea of who Borbely was as a coach, considering that the pair have built a bond since Borbely officially extended an offer on May 2 and hosted him on his unofficial visit, but it hits differently when it’s confirmed by the guys that Borbely coaches on an everyday basis.
“They have great development, they have a great bond, they have a great relationship,” Schmoranzer said. “They told me that coach Borbs, he’s not only a great coach and great teacher but he also connects with every single one of his guys. He doesn’t care if you’re a walk-on or scholarship guy, he cares about you staying.”
So of course, there’s already a strong relationship between Schmoranzer and Borbely, who was a coach at Virginia when his high school defensive coordinator played there, and he’s able to see how Borbely plans to develop him as a lineman. And that’s a major factor in his recruitment.
Considering Schmoranzer’s inexperience in playing tackle football, playing soccer and running track (actually running, boasting a 13.01 100-yard dash at 275 pounds) in Germany, his rise as an offensive lineman has been very quick.
He’s only played one season on the offensive line, spending his first season in the United States as a wide receiver, and that speed and athleticism are what jump off the screen when watching him play either tackle spot.
247Sports rates Schmoranzer as the 44th-ranked interior lineman and the 19th-ranked recruit from Virginia. Neither Rivals rates him as the 15th-ranked recruit from Virginia — holding a 5.6 Rivals Rating.
With offers from Appalachian State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Tech, Miami, James Madison, Liberty, Ohio, Old Dominion, Pitt, Virginia, Virginia Tech, West Virginia and Wake Forest, the final four has been set.
He’s made official visits to all four contenders, and at the end of the day, as a kid from Germany, he’s looking for a home.
“I’m away from home, my whole family is from Germany, so I would say the family aspect wherever I go, the football team is gonna be my family,” Schmoranzer said. “And the other one is the development.
“I know even though I have all these offers, I’ve played O-line for one year, and I may redshirt, but wherever I go, I need the development. I need the college to look at me and be like, ‘Hey, you’re not a four-star or five-star, you need time, you need development, and we can give you that here.'”
Pitt, to Borbely’s credit, has done a pretty good job of making him feel at home to this point.
“I think coach Borbs — I like him as a coach and as a person,” Schmoranzer said. “He knows what he’s talking about.”
Pitt currently holds commitments from four-star guard Caleb Holmes, three-stars in Adham Abouraya, Jiavani Cooley and Mason Lindsey. And four-star lineman Ryan Howerton also visited over the weekend.
