Pitt FB Recruiting
Pitt Building Relationship With 2025 3-Star Edge Rusher from Georgia
Andre Fuller Jr. hasn’t just picked one offer from Pitt but two. He was offered once by Ryan Manalac last month, and then once again by new offensive line coach Jeremy Darveau.
Fuller — a 6-foot-3, 220-pound three-star edge rusher from Grayson High in Loganville, Ga. — has begun to build a bond with Pitt following a couple of in-school visits to Grayson.
“It’s pretty good with all the coaches coming through the school these past couple of months,” Fuller told Pittsburgh Sports Now. “So, as I was talking to Pitt, there were two other colleges in there as well, but the first time I talked to coach (Ryan) Manalac in the weight room. And then he had offered me over the phone a little later on that afternoon. But most recently, the new O-line coach, he said he had just got there, he had been there for like four days, but he said he liked my film and wanted to offer me.”
Pitt joined an extensive list of schools to offer Fuller, including Arizona State, Boston College, Colorado, Duke, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Louisville, Maryland, Mississippi State, Missouri, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas A&M, UCF, USC, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech and West Virginia.
✞#AGTG✞ Blessed To Be Re-Offered By Pitt!@Coach_Manalac @grayson_fb @ChadSimmons_ pic.twitter.com/sATsWEwOZ7
— ᴀɴᴅʀᴇ ꜰᴜʟʟᴇʀ á´ŠÊ€ (@AndreFullerJr2) February 1, 2024
Fuller has been able to talk with both Manalac and Darveau, and while the relationship is still fresh with Manalac extending an offer on Jan. 19 and Darveau extending an offer on Feb. 1, but the conversations have been good.
“They like my film,” Fuller said. “They like my tenacity, my get-off and my aggressiveness when it comes to the point of attack. And then just feel like I can be an important player in their defense in getting after the quarterback.”
It was the first time that Fuller talked to anyone at Pitt when Manalac stopped by Grayson back in January, but the communication has been consistent since.
He’s been hearing about Pitt from Manalac and Darveau, and considering he grew up watching a lot of Aaron Donald, he’s well aware of the impact of Charlie Partridge and the defensive line development in Pittsburgh.
“At the position I play, D-line, going up there would be a great fit in my development and being the best player I can be,” Fuller said.
Fuller was a key cog in a dominant Grayson defense, especially on the defensive line, as a junior last season. He racked up 79 tackles (51 solo), 21.5 tackles for loss, eight sacks, a forced fumble and a recovery.
Rivals has given Fuller a 5.6 Rivals Rating, grading him as a three-star recruit, and while neither 247Sports nor On3 have rated him yet, that will change in the coming weeks and months.
Fuller holds nearly 30 offers, with some of the biggest programs in college football in the mix, and he’s hearing from Georgia Tech, Tennessee and Vanderbilt frequently. He’s working on planning out his visit schedule this spring, and Pitt is firmly in the mix for a spring visit — wanting to check out how the Pitt coaches work and interactions between the players.
It will be important for Fuller to forge a strong bond with his eventual coaching staff, but the development on and off the field will be paramount in finding his home for the next four or five years.
“(Pitt is) definitely top 10 right now,” Fuller said.
Pitt has not yet landed a commitment in the class of 2025, but the recruits in the class are beginning to come to the forefront.
The Panthers are in the mix for four-star linebacker Dayshaun Burnett (Pittsburgh, Pa.), three-star athlete Emmanuel Taylor (Virginia Beach, Va.), three-star offensive lineman Raphael Greene (Cincinnati, Ohio), four-star wide receiver Jadyn Robinson (San Juan Capistrano, Cal.), three-star running back Jeffrey Overton Jr. (Woodbridge, Va.), three-star athlete Jaiden Brown-Demery (Mest Mifflin, Pa.) and three-star edge rusher Sharlandiin Strange (Wyncote, Pa).
