Pat Narduzzi braved wind, fog to secure Pitt's 2022 recruiting class

In the skies over Buffalo, N.Y., wind gusts reached 45 mph on the night of Dec. 6, rocking the airplane carrying Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi back and forth.

Bound for scheduled meetings with two prospects and their families, Narduzzi said he wasn’t sure what would happen next.

“I didn’t know if I was going to make it,” he said. “I sent text messages to my wife and kids, ‘Saying, hey, I love you guys, if I don’t see you after this flight.’ ”

Of course, the plane landed safely and Narduzzi completed the crucial home visits with defensive end Jimmy Scott and wide receiver Addison Copeland III, who were among 12 prospects to sign national letters of intent Wednesday to attend Pitt next year.

“I didn’t know if the plane was going to get down because it was pretty shaky. I’ll remember that visit up to Buffalo for a long time.”

Then, it was off to Tampa, Fla., where fog forced the plane to land in Lakeland. But Narduzzi arrived in time to ensure the successful recruitment of running back Jordaan Bailey, who committed in June and de-committed two weeks ago before signing with Pitt on Wednesday.

“It was like a whole bad day, but I’m alive, so I’m grateful,” he said.

Also, he was grateful to nail down three prospects.

As Narduzzi explained the situation, Bailey “de-committed a little bit.”

“But we got him back, which does not happen very often when (a recruit) breaks away.”

Such is the life of a college coach trying to survive in the competitive world of recruiting.

Scott, Copeland and Bailey had plenty of other schools trying to woo them from Pitt, but Narduzzi didn’t mind.

“It’s nice to have those battles,” he said. “It’s what you do. It’s what you enjoy.”

After the first day of the early signing period, Pitt’s 12-man class is its smallest in 20 years. But Pitt wasn’t alone: New coaches Brian Kelly of LSU, Lincoln Riley of USC and Mario Cristobal of Miami signed 13, 15 and eight, respectively.

“It’s not a gigantic class, which is a good thing,” Narduzzi said. “That means we have a lot of guys coming back.”

But he added this disclaimer: “To our knowledge.”

The NCAA allowed teams to go beyond the normal 85-scholarship limit this season to account for the super seniors who wanted to return after the covid-interrupted 2020 season. Pitt had 98, but next year it’s back to 85, which makes roster management tricky while some players decide whether or not they want to return.

After losing five backups to the NCAA transfer portal, along with 13 so-called super seniors, Pitt still will be over the limit by seven when the 12 Wednesday signees join the team.

Some additional attrition is ahead, especially when there are sure to be some rising seniors who want to use their covid bonus year in 2022.

Narduzzi said he has had portal conversations with players who might leave, but he isn’t ready to reveal their identities.

“I’m always going to make sure that any of those seniors who want to have that extra year, they got it, as long as it’s a mutual agreement,” he said.

There’s also the possibility Pitt could sign more players – Florida State transfer quarterback Chubba Purdy visited last weekend – which could improve this class’ national ranking.

Pitt was ranked 60th in the nation by Rivals.com at the end of Wednesday, with nine three-star prospects, two-star punter Sam Vander Haar of Melbourne, Australia, and two four-stars – defensive end Samuel Okunlola of Brockton, Mass., and 6-foot-7, 330-pound offensive lineman Ryan Baer of Eastlake, Ohio.

After canceling a trip to Notre Dame, Baer visited Pitt recently.

“After he had breakfast on Sunday, he might be 345,” Narduzzi joked. “We beat a lot of people on this young man.”

Players came from nine states, and 10 were captains of their high school teams.

“Something we’re always looking for,” Narduzzi said.

Five won state championships while linebacker Marquan Pope of Denton, Texas, will play for one this weekend.

“The thing I really love about this guy he wants to be a coach in the future,” Pitt’s coach said of Pope. “I think that’s a guy we’re going to love to coach.”

The other Texas recruit, wide receiver Che Nwabuko, has run the 100 meters between 10.4 and 10.5 seconds, Narduzzi said. Pitt did miss on a four-star wide receiver target when Camden Brown of St. Thomas Aquinas chose Auburn.

Narduzzi is pleased that six of the 12 will graduate early from high school – as Kenny Pickett did five years ago – and enroll in January. They are Okunlola, Baer, Copeland, Vander Haar, defensive back Ryland Gandy of Buford Ga., and Central Valley defensive lineman Sean FitzSimmons.

Vander Haar will get a jump on replacing fellow Australian Kirk Christodoulou, who is moving on after four seasons as Pitt’s punter.

FitzSimmons is Pitt’s only local signee. While winning the Bill Fralic Award as the WPIAL’s top lineman and leading Central Valley to its second consecutive PIAA title, he attended every Pitt home game this season.

Gandy, actually, one-upped FitzSimmons, winning three state championships in Georgia. At 6-foot, 170-pounds, he comes made to order as a Pitt cornerback.

“Long, athletic corner like we like,” the coach said. “He’s going to fit in in exactly what we like to do there.”