Florida junior Freddie Wilson had an interesting experience last week during his high school practice.
The 6-foot-4, 265-pound defensive lineman from Spruce Creek High School in Port Orange, Fla. came out for practice and was introduced to an interesting visitor: Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi.
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Narduzzi, along with other members of the Pitt coaching staff, was recruiting the Sunshine State and stopped by to see in to check in on 2025 three-star wide receiver commit Tony Kinsler. That turned out to be good news for Wilson because afterward, Narduzzi personally extended the talented defensive lineman a scholarship. It’s offer No. 3 for Wilson, to go along with Marshall and Miami.
“This offer was a bit of a surprise as it came all of a sudden,” Wilson told Pittsburgh Sports Now. “Pitt came to my school to see my boy Tony and check us out and they said that they liked the way that I looked, they liked my film and wanted to offer me. “Coach Pat was there along with coach (Alex) Kline.
“Seeing coach Narduzzi there surprised me, it didn’t make me nervous, it exactly made me excited. I was able to talk with him and start a relationship. He was a good dude. He said he liked how tall I was and liked the way I looked.”
Wilson told PSN that the strongest part of his game is his physicality, combined with his speed off the ball.
“The other thing about me is that if you play through being tired that’s cool, but it’s also about being able to keep your rhythm,” Wilson said. “That’s the thing that I do the most and when you watch me play, I never give up. I’m able to play anywhere on the line, I can play interior along with lining up outside. Because of that, I’m equally as good at stopping the run and getting to the quarterback.”
Wilson was already familiar with Pitt through Kinsler and now that he holds an offer, he plans on researching the Panthers a lot more over the next year.
In terms of his overall recruitment, Wilson said that things started out a bit slow, but in the last month or so, things have picked up as he’s hearing from more teams.
“My first offer came during my freshman season and since then, it was slow,” said Wilson. “I’ve seen some of my friends and others pick up offers over the last year and I was wondering, when is my time coming. So, I’ve had to try and stay patient. But now that I’m at a new school and playing the way that I like to play, I feel like my time is coming soon.”
With the offer last week from Pitt, it could be the start of a run and Wilson’s time could be now.
Courtesy Freddie Wilson