Pitt FB Recruiting
Pitt Extends Offer to Clairton Native, HBCU All-American OL
Da’Metrius Weatherspoon took an unofficial visit to Pitt back in 2019, but he didn’t have to go far considering he grew up in Clairton, Pa.
Weatherspoon — a 6-foot-7, 335-pound redshirt junior offensive tackle — didn’t end up at Pitt, instead choosing Howard. But after three seasons with the Bison, earning first-team HBCU All-American honors in 2023, he’s looking for a new home.
Pitt is the first team to offer Weatherspoon since he entered the transfer portal.
Blessed to receive an offer from Pitt!!#H2P pic.twitter.com/XcFznbM4YU
— Da’MetriusWeatherspoon (@DametriusWeath1) December 22, 2023
Weatherspoon was a two-star recruit coming out of Clairton, holding a lone offer from William & Mary, according to Rivals, and he enrolled at Howard in 2021.
He played in just 11 offensive snaps as a true freshman in 2021 and then missed the 2022 season before he returned to start 11 games for the Bison in 2023. And he graded out as one of the best offensive tackles at the HBCU level.
Weatherspoon played a lot of football for Howard in 2023, recording 765 offensive snaps, and he spent the majority of those snaps at right tackle — 644 at right and 110 at left. And according to PFF, he allowed just 12 pressures, eight hurries and two sacks in the process.
Weatherspoon will have two seasons of eligibility remaining at his next location, and he’s the kind of big, bruising tackle that could potentially push the current starting duo.
Pitt worked through a double-digit number of offensive line combinations in 2023, to varying degrees of success, but it’s clear that, for all of the problems offensively, the offensive line play wasn’t good enough.
Jake Kradel and Blake Zubovic, mainstays on the offensive line over the last two seasons, have exhausted their eligibility, and preseason starters Matt Goncalves and Ryan Jacoby have split their decisions — with Goncalves leaving for the NFL and Jacoby choosing to return.
Branson Taylor and Ryan Baer started just about every game at left and right tackle, respectively, after Goncalves went down with an injury, and there’s potential there. Terrence Moore is coming back as the starting center, and BJ Williams and Jason Collier Jr. will return as two of the more experienced interior options as it stands.
Pitt picked up a commitment from North Carolina State transfer Lyndon Cooper, and added five commits from the class of 2024, but it’s clear that the Panthers would still like to add to the room if it makes sense.
For all your college football transfer portal needs, check out the Portal Report and their Transfer Portal Tracker.
