Pitt FB Recruiting
Pine-Richland DB Picks Up Pitt Offer Day After Winning WPIAL Title
Growing up, Lawrence “Jay” Timmons spent many Sundays sitting in box seats watching his father, former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Lawrence Timmons, play at then Heinz Field.
On Saturday, Jay lived out a dream as he competed on that very field, helping the Pine-Richland Rams clinch the Class 5A WPIAL title over Peters Township.
The district championship capped off an impressive junior season — one that saw his recruitment pick up as well — and not even 24 hours later after celebrating at Acrisure Stadium, he landed an offer from the collegiate team that calls that stadium home.
#AGTG After a great conversation with @coachcsanders I’m extremely blessed to receive my sixth D1 offer from @Pitt_FB!!! @CoachDuzzPittFB @Coach_LeDonne @tyler_calvaruso @PR_RamsFootball @WPIAL_Insider @PA_TodaySports pic.twitter.com/jBbJhfwO1d
— Lawrence “Jay” Timmons 3⭐️ (@jay__timmons) November 25, 2024
An offer from the Pitt Panthers and assistant head coach/secondary coach Cory Sanders has been a long time coming for Timmons.
“This is the offer that I feel like I’ve been waiting for the longest,” Timmons told Pittsburgh Sports Now. “I went to the camp before my sophomore year and I wasn’t as good back then as I am now. This is the offer I’ve been waiting for and I feel like I’ve been building my relationship with coach Sanders for years now. I really like coach Sanders and the coaching staff up at Pitt. The culture there, I really love and I can’t wait to learn more about the program and build more relationships with them.”
Timmons — a 5-foot-11, 175-pound defensive back prospect — has developed a strong relationship with Sanders over the years after camping at Pitt prior to his sophomore year and then returning this past summer for his second camp on the South Side.
“He said he can see himself coaching me. He told me that, ‘I saw the growth that you made even from the camp this summer until now and I feel like if you keep that growth, it would be really great.’ He said it would be great to coach me and I think it would be great for him to coach me too.”
With his initial Pitt camp performance and sophomore season not living up to Timmons’ liking, he shifted his focus during the offseason to work on his game that has led to the success he is having this year.
“It was something different. I completely disregarded my social life. I completely disregarded how anyone thought about me,” Timmons said. “Sophomore year for football, I was talented but I wasn’t a known name. I wasn’t a certified starter and I hated that.
“I went into the offseason and I told myself, ‘This is not going to happen again.’ I would work out about six times a week. I would lift three times a week after school and I would go to 2Tenths two times a week. I tried to surround myself with the best players that I could. When I went to these camps, I tried to go up as many times as I could. If you saw me at the Pitt camp, I probably went up about 20 times in the one-on-ones. That type of attitude that I had of, ‘I don’t care about what anybody has to say about me or how bad I was last year, I’m going to do what I’m doing now.”
With the family name, Timmons knows there is a certain light shed on him and it is only pushing him harder.
“It’s a blessing and a curse because there’s a certain pressure around it. My favorite quote ever is ‘Pressure is a privilege.’ It’s a privilege to have that pressure and pressure makes diamonds so it’s that type of environment.”
All the offseason work culminated in a championship for Timmons. Sitting with a one-point lead, Timmons arguably made the play of the game, pulling in a 22-yard reception over top of a Peters Township defender as the Rams went on to win 20-9.
WHAT A CATCH BY @jay__timmons 🔥👀😲
17-9 @PR_RamsFootball leads in the third quarter ‼️🏈#WPIAL #PoweredByBowser #KDKAFridayNightLights pic.twitter.com/6zwNUyFRgF
— 100.1 FM and AM 1020 KDKA (@KDKARadio) November 24, 2024
“It was one of the best feelings in my life ever, especially beating Peters Township, a team that beat us last year and sent us home sad,” Timmons said. “Being at the stadium where so much history that’s been at that stadium. Our student section, it was loud. It was personal and it was that gritty rivalry feeling.”
In total, Timmons brought in four passes for 81 yards at receiver, while posting two tackles, one fumble recovery and one pass breakup in the win.
“It’s amazing. That stadium just holds so much memories for me. I told PA Today I’ve been dreaming about playing at this stadium for 10 years and I got to play on it and I haven’t had a bad game on it yet. Hopefully that stays the same.”
Timmons, who recently picked up a three-star rating from 247Sports, now holds offers from Pitt, West Virginia, Temple, Eastern Michigan, Akron and Toledo.
As the hometown team, the Pitt offer holds special meaning to Timmons.
“What stands out to me the most is the hometown aspect of it. So many people I’m around growing up being Pitt fans and even after I posted the offer, a bunch of people texted me ‘Hail to Pitt.’ It’s a special thing around Pittsburgh. You know how Pittsburgh sports are, it’s just different,” Timmons said.
Earlier this season, Timmons was in attendance for Pitt’s home opener against Kent State.
“It was really fun. To be that close in the stadium and seeing all the facilities inside the stadium. The funnest part was after the game, seeing Pitt up close after the win and doing their chants. It was something that was special to me and I really enjoyed it,” Timmons said.
Had a great time at @Pitt_FB today!! Thank you for the hospitality. @coachcsanders @CoachKlineAlex @CoachDuzzPittFB pic.twitter.com/q4xakqlleA
— Lawrence “Jay” Timmons 3⭐️ (@jay__timmons) September 1, 2024
Another aspect that sticks out to Timmons about the Pitt program is the recent success of developing defensive backs and sending them to the next level.
“It’s a credit to coach Sanders and the staff there. It tells me, if they can do it, I can do it too,” Timmons said.
The type of play style that Timmons offers is one that correlates to the type of defensive backs the Panthers look for.
“I’m super physical and fast. My technique that I worked on is second-to-none. I’m not the tallest dude on the field, but I play like I’m big. Nobody’s gotten over top of me this year. Nobody’s going to run past me,” Timmons said.
Timmons and the Pine-Richland Rams continue their postseason journey in the PIAA semifinals against Bishop McDevitt on Nov. 29 at Mansion Park in Altoona.
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