Pitt FB Recruiting
2025 OL Furthers Bond With Jeremy Darveau at Pitt Junior Day
When new offensive line coach Jeremy Darveau arrived at Pitt, he made sure that one of the first people he reached out to was Matthew Hawn.
Hawn — a 6-foot-6, 285-pound offensive lineman from Christian Brothers Academy in Syracuse, N.Y. — picked up a Pitt offer from Tiquan Underwood back in October, and he spoke with Dave Borbely, but Darveau has made Hawn feel important.
Hawn made it out for Junior Day over the weekend, and it was a big step in his recruiting process.
“It was really great,” Hawn told Pittsburgh Sports Now. “I received an offer from Pitt back in the fall, and it was really nice to come down and see the facilities, meet the coaches face to face, meet the offensive staff and really see what they’re all about.
“(Darveau) talked to me a lot during Junior Day, he sat next to me during the basketball game, he’s brand new there, really great to hear about what he plans to do with the offensive line and the culture he plans to bring.”
Had a great time at the @Pitt_FB junior day! It was great to learn more about the program. Thank you @CoachDarveau for the invite.@CBASyrFootball @brucewill15 @RealCoachBruno1 pic.twitter.com/jYfaWXaOTY
— Matthew Hawn (@MatthewHawn74) February 4, 2024
Darveau was hired as the offensive line coach last month, and Hawn has been hearing from him since.
“(Darveau) reached out to me pretty much as soon as he got the job and invited me to the Junior Day, and it was really great to meet him,” Hawn said. “I really liked his plans for the future of the offensive line. Pitt is usually known as a school of great D-linemen but he’s talking about how he plans to change that, bring in a dominant offensive line, changing the culture and moving the ball on offense.”
The pair talked more so about Pitt than his own individual game, but the talks were good. Hawn said that he really likes Darveau, Darveau really likes him and the best part of his Junior Day experience was with Darveau.
“It was coach Darveau choosing to sit next to me at the basketball game,” Hawn said. “There were a lot of other offensive linemen there, but he sat next to me, talked to me through the whole game, about his coaching experience, what he plans for the future. It was really great to build that personal connection even though we’d never met face-to-face before. The rest of the coaching staff, too. It was a great experience.”
Hawn was primarily a mauling left tackle at CBA as a junior, using his size, speed and strength to overwhelm opponents, but he’s played all across the line in order to maintain that level of versatility needed at the next level.
The major recruiting services (247Sports, Rivals and On3) haven’t rated Hawn yet, but that should be changing throughout the spring as his recruiting process continues to heat up.
Hawn currently holds offers from Boston College, Buffalo, UMass, Pitt, Syracuse and Temple, with added interest from Rutgers and West Virginia, and he’s already made Junior Day visits to Pitt, Syracuse and WVU.
Pitt is looking to get Hawn back out for a spring practice, and Hawn is looking forward to doing so — Pitt is high on his list.
“I really like the direction the program is going,” Hawn said. “It’s all fun and games when you get an offer, but I didn’t really know much about Pitt or the campus, the program and stuff like that, so it was great to visit and meet the coaches, see the facilities, and all that kind of stuff.”
Pitt landed its first commitment in the class of 2025 Monday night in the form of Trevor Sommers, a defensive lineman from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and there could very well be more on the way in the coming days and weeks.
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).
direction the program is going?