Pitt FB Recruiting
Local Pitt DB Target Details ‘Personable’ Spring Visit, Lists Additional Top Suitors
When Pine-Richland defensive back Lawrence “Jay” Timmons drove down to the South Side on Thursday to take in a Pitt spring practice, he wanted to have a different experience and truly immerse himself within the program.
The three-star prospect did not have any parents alongside him or any friends. He wanted to take in each and every detail that the Pitt program had to offer on a day-to-day basis just 35 minutes from home.
“It was really good,” Timmons told Pittsburgh Sports Now about the visit. “I liked it a lot. I went by myself. I didn’t even go with my mom, so I drove there by myself and got more personable. I kind of got to blend in a little bit and sit back and take in the experience.”
During his time at the Pitt facility, Timmons had the opportunity to evaluate the coaching staff — safeties coach Cory Sanders and cornerbacks coach Archie Collins — as he sat in on team meetings and film sessions.
“I like coach Sanders a lot. I like the way he coaches and the way he carries the program. I was super impressed with how organized the practice was. There was no wasted time. You got straight to the point. I got there a little early. I was there while defense was in the film room. After the film room, they go in the positional break downs. I got to see how they coached the guys,” Timmons said.
Timmons has built a strong bond with Sanders over the past few years, which started at a Pitt camp during his sophomore season. After he grew in size and began making an impact on the football field for Pine-Richland, Sanders extended a Pitt offer. Thursday was another opportunity for Timmons to catch up with Sanders and get a great perspective on the type of coach he and Collins are.
Lawrence ‘Jay’ Timmons with some Pine-Richland teammates at Pitt football’s 2024 home opener. Photo courtesy of Timmons’ X account.
“It was really cool, especially to see all of the love from the coaches — it’s real at Pitt,” he said. “Especially in the DB room, they really care about their players. It’s like two different type of coaching styles. Coach Sanders is more laid back and coach Collins will get up in your face a little bit, so it’s that type of coaching. They really care about their guys and you can tell that they all got a plan for each one of them. That’s super important to me to see them all coached up and the competition, too. They were in spider pads, so some guys got hit and some guys get a little chippy. It was really cool.”
While on his visit, Timmons checked out several other areas of the facility, including the weight room where he saw Pitt alums Calijah Kancey and Marquis Williams. He also had a fun interaction with head coach Pat Narduzzi and redshirt freshman Jahsear Whittington during practice.
“I was talking to coach Narduzzi, he came up to me because I was walking by myself and I had coach Graham [Wilbert] walking with me. Coach Narduzzi walked up to me because there’s this kid from Imhotep (Jahsear Whittington) and I was telling him about how his junior year, Pine-Richland beat him. He came over and coach Narduzzi was like, ‘He said he whooped your a** junior year.’ I was like, ‘Nah bro, I was on the bench.”
That joking moment was just a small sample of the relationship Timmons has developed with Narduzzi.
“I like him a lot,” Timmons said. “Recruiting is kind of foreign to me and I’m trying to figure it out. When we talk about my recruiting, he tries to help me out the best he can, which is really helpful. I feel like he wants the best for me and he definitely feels like Pitt is the fit for me. He stresses that to me a lot. He feels like he can really put me in the league and that’s what they do there.”
The 5-foot-11, 175-pound Timmons is being recruited by Pitt at safety as too is Indiana. The rest of his suitors are looking at him for cornerback.
Pitt’s tradition with WPIAL safeties has caught the attention of Timmons.
“The big thing I like about Pitt’s way is they really put guys in the league at safety, especially from my area. You got Damar Hamlin, Jordan Whitehead, all those type of guys. You got like five guys they told me about that they put in the league. That’s super important,” Timmons said.
Timmons, who also stars at wide receiver for Pine-Richland, is fairly new to playing safety with only about three weeks of game play under his belt. He expects to see a significant amount of time there as a senior as he feels there are some perks to the move.
WEEK 1 HIGHLIGHTS V CENTRAL CATHOLIC‼️
4 rec 88 yds 1 td/3 passes defended
2 pbu/ 2 tackleshttps://t.co/jdB20tdp8Y@PAbrams75 @CoachKlineAlex @coachcsanders @Nrenna @NealBrown_WVU @CoachDuzzPittFB @RamonS_RU @ChuckCantor @NSchroeder412 @CamHughesUM @shadrich80 @CoachTerryPSU pic.twitter.com/BjXZH1ZpzZ— Lawrence “Jay” Timmons 3⭐️ (@jay__timmons) September 2, 2024
“The thing I like about safety is I get to hit people,” he said. “Sometimes when you’re at corner, they can take you out the game. That’s why I ended up moving to safety. I’ve got games where I didn’t do anything on defense because they ran a fade on me the whole game and took me out of the game. That’s what I like to play safety, you get to be in the game the whole game.”
With a spring visit to Pitt in the books, Timmons is set to take visits to Maryland (March 25) and Penn State (March 29). He also hopes to get out to Iowa State, Iowa and Wisconsin as he readies to schedule his official visits.
Timmons’ overall offer sheet stands at Pitt, West Virginia, Syracuse, Virginia, Indiana, Wisconsin, Maryland, USF, Iowa State, Iowa, UNLV, UConn, James Madison,Coastal Carolina,Temple, Akron, Miami (OH),Buffalo, Bowling Green, Eastern Michigan, Toledo, Delaware and Sacramento State.
Pitt is a school that is certainly high on his list for Timmons, who is also being pursued heavily by Iowa State and Wisconsin.
“It was really cool, I got on the phone with the [Iowa State] head coach and a call with all the coaches. It’s hard for me to get out there, so they got all the coaches they could. We just talked about everything. I told them about myself, they told me stuff about them. Iowa State’s recruiting me pretty heavy,” Timmons said.
“Same with Wisconsin. They definitely talk about how I’m high on their list,” he added.
Iowa and Virginia are another pair of programs that are pushing for Timmons.
As for a commitment timeline, Timmons has one in mind and looks to have some frontrunners emerge over the next month.
“I’m thinking June after my official visits. Hopefully I have a favorite after April.”
