Gavin Bartholomew graduated early from high school to jump-start his career as a Pitt tight end.

He is excited about the opportunity — even the 6:30 a.m. workouts — but he understands reality is staring him in the face.

“Your parents aren’t here to help you,” he said.

Jake Renda, another young tight end, has the next-best thing: His grandparents live 5 miles from Pitt’s campus.

“Grandma’s down the road making me more food than I can probably eat,” he said. “My roommates are excited about it.”

When Bartholomew and Renda signed their letters of intent two months ago, Pat Narduzzi called them the two best tight ends he has recruited in seven Pitt classes since 2015. They are two important prospects given tight end is an annual position of need at Pitt.

They have plenty of time to confirm their coach’s trust, starting when spring drills begin next month.

Meanwhile, they are two of the school-record nine prospects who enrolled in January when they could have been enjoying the final months of their senior year in high school.

After meeting their daily requirements of running and lifting and meeting with coaches, Bartholomew, Renda and quarterback Nate Yarnell talked with reporters Wednesday on a conference call.

Yarnell, who graduated from Lake Travis (Texas) High School, joins a crowded quarterback room that includes senior Kenny Pickett and backups Nick Patti, Davis Beville and Joey Yellen. At 6-foot-6, 200 pounds, Yarnell might have to duck his head to enter the room.

“For them to take a shot with me, all the way down in Texas, showed a lot of faith in me,” Yarnell said. “That’s something I wanted when I chose a school.”

Yarnell is the 10th consecutive Lake Travis quarterback to attend a Division I college, including the Cleveland Browns’ Baker Mayfield.

Yarnell missed last season after he broke the tip of his middle finger on his right hand when he caught it on another player’s helmet. The injury turned out to be an awakening.

“It gave me a real sense of what matters to me,” he said. “Made me really appreciate football.

“All it takes is one play, and everything you work for is gone.”

Bartholomew, 6-5, 248, and Renda, 6-5, 220, had committed to other schools (Buffalo and Michigan State, respectively) before Pitt made them part of its highest-rated class since 2006 (ranked 21st by Rivals.com).

Bartholomew, a Pennsylvania product who graduated from Blue Mountain High School in Schuylkill Haven, said he is getting accustomed to living on his own.

“With the resources here at Pitt, it makes it easy to make the transition,” he said.

Renda is as familiar with Pittsburgh as most natives. His father and uncles attended Central Catholic, he visited his grandparents over many holidays, and he said his ties to Pittsburgh go back “for generations.”

“I fell in love with the city at a very young age.”

He was a quarterback at Notre Dame (N.J.) High School before matriculating to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., for his senior season.

“In a lot of ways, it’s just like college. Competing against some of the best talent in the country,” he said. “It also helped me develop as a person in a lot of ways. It replicates the college experience. Everything is taken so seriously.

“It was a big decision, hard decision, but I knew it was the right move for me. It helped me mature.”

He said Pitt’s early-morning workouts also help, forcing him to get to bed early the night before.

“That’s part of being mature, too,” he said.

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