While assembling Pitt’s 22-man recruiting class — 19 high school seniors, three seasoned transfers — Pat Narduzzi enjoyed some light moments with their families.
He beat quarterback Ty Dieffenbach of Agoura, Calif., and his dad in a backyard basketball game of P-I-G.
“I think they let me and coach (Tim) Salem win,” the coach said.
On the other side of the continent, Narduzzi helped linebacker Jordan Bass and his family decorate the Christmas tree in their Hampton, Va., home.
“First time in 33 years of coaching,” he said.
But it wasn’t all smiles, nice home-cooked meals and slaps on the back. Seven prospects pledged to enroll but decommitted before signing day. Among that group was quarterback Kenny Minchey, who was committed to Pitt for almost seven months this year but signed with Notre Dame.
Wide receiver Zion Fowler of Jersey City, N.J., decommitted, changed his mind a second time and actually did sign with the Panthers.
“He didn’t make it easy on us,” Narduzzi said of Fowler. “Probably one of those guys getting advice from too many people. He was able to see the light. It’s a lesson. All kids need lessons. I’m a guy who likes to forgive and forget.”
When he met with reporters Wednesday afternoon after all the signed letters of intent had been filed, Narduzzi was asked if name, image and likeness opportunities might have caused some verbal commits to change their minds.
“I don’t know. It’s like hush-hush,” he said, noting he hears plenty of off-the-record information from various sources. “I know we lost one to Utah, was a good receiver for us, and I think (NIL) had something to do with it.”
Narduzzi didn’t name names, but wide receiver Daidren Zipperer decommitted from Pitt in October and signed with Utah on Wednesday.
“The landscape out there has totally changed from what it was years ago,” Narduzzi said. “It’s a mess out there. There are street agents. There are all kinds of people trying to tug at these kids’ shorts, and the parents as well.
“We were lucky. There were no surprises (Wednesday).”
Pitt’s 19-man class of high school seniors is ranked 48th in the nation by Rivals.com, the sixth-lowest ranking among Narduzzi’s eight groups (not counting the one he inherited from Paul Chryst in 2015).
But Rivals does not include transfers in its rankings, and Pitt secured three who could be starters in 2023 and beyond.
Quarterbacks Phil Jurkovec (Boston College) and Christian Veilleux (Penn State) were joined by safety Donovan McMillon (Florida).
Jurkovec of Pine-Richland and McMillon of Peters Township are coming home. Both were serious Pitt targets when they were in high school. In the past two years, Pitt had success bringing back local prospects who initially enrolled elsewhere, specifically linebacker John Petrishen and cornerback M.J. Devonshire.
With former starter Kedon Slovis transferring and Nick Patti and Derek Kyler moving on, Narduzzi said the quarterback room needed an upgrade. He called Jurkovec, who has one year of eligibility remaining, “a tough leadership-type guy, something we desperately needed in that room. Christian is the same way.
“(Jurkovec) brings the leadership that maybe we lacked a year ago. He’s tough. We recruited him hard for years. He’s going to have the best year of his life here in Pittsburgh.”
Narduzzi called McMillon “a guy we loved and wanted a couple years ago.”
Narduzzi has enough old-school coach in him to still believe that recruiting the high schools is the best way to build a roster. But he has proven — from Nate Peterman to Petrishen to Marcus Minor to Jurkovec — that he won’t ignore the transfer portal.
Narduzzi said on the first day this month when players could enter the portal, his phone was buzzing so incessantly that he was ready “to throw it out the window.”
“We knew hell was going to break loose.”
“We don’t want to bring too many (transfers) in,” he said. “We want to bring the right ones in. We’re about 85% effective. Wish our high school rate was as good as that.”
