Pitt is quickly feeling like home for its football newcomers.
Even those which had other solid options to choose from within recruiting, and especially while lining up on-par within academics.
By now it is not a secret that the recent run of the program's success has attracted recruits from the high school and transfer portal stages, but the profiling of the players which Pat Narduzzi and his staff are bringing in are standing out off of the football field.
We spoke with freshman newcomers Braylan Lovelace, Isaiah Polk, and Ty Dieffenbach at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on Thursday, as is becoming a typical occurrence within this offseason. While researching for topics to discuss with these three, the offers which they had from other schools intrigued me the most.
At the end of the day, football does prevail, and having a chance to play on a stage that Pitt offers bears second to none.
"For me, I felt like I just want to be on a big enough stage to where I could show what I could do," said the wide receiver Polk, who was originally committed to Colorado State. "I felt like being here, compared to other schools, I would've had a much better chance. That's ultimately what led me here."
Polk, a three-star recruit according to 247Sports, held 16 total offers out of national powerhouse St. John Bosco in California. Included in that were offers from Ivy League schools Brown and Princeton.
He is not the lone Panther newcomer to boast Ivy league potential, as the linebacker Lovelace, a Leechburg, Pa., product, held offers from Brown, Columbia, and Pennsylvania.
But, for Lovelace, it came down to the one thing he is closest to.
"Pitt's always been a dream school of mine," Lovelace said. "From here. Watching Pitt games all the time. We've had season tickets since I was young. Always watching them, I've always imagined myself in the jersey, things like that. When I came on my visit here, they brought me in like a family. I wasn't even committed or anything like that."
But, that is not to say the prospects of going to an Ivy league program did not entice Lovelace.
"It was kind of a tough decision, because they say 'student before athlete,' as it's listed," Lovelace said, "but, really, I knew I could get a really good education here at Pitt, and I also can play Power Five football."
The Ivy League as a football conference within the Football Championship Subdivision is nowhere near where Pitt is within the ACC, but as Lovelace said, "student" always and forever will come before "athlete" in a practical sense. Ivy League schools don't just shell out football offers without looking at grade-point averages, after all.
According to the US News & World Report's 2022 release of top universities and colleges, the University of Pittsburgh ranked at a tie for 62nd among national universities. The ACC sported 12 schools in the Top 70, seven schools in the Top 50, and five schools in the Top 30 of the list.
Twenty-two Panthers were named to the ACC's All-Academic team this past season.
Among players from Pitt's 2023 recruiting and transfer class, defensive back Shadarian Henderson (Brown) and Donovan McMillon (Penn) also held offers from Ivy league programs.
Among the 2022 class, defensive lineman Samuel Okunlola (Brown, Dartmouth, Penn, Princeton, Yale), defensive lineman Sean Fitzsimmons (Penn, Princeton), and linebacker Kyle Louis (Yale) each held offers from Ivy league schools.
MORE FROM THE SOUTH SIDE
• Dieffenbach arrived to Pitt's quarterbacks room to vie with Nate Yarnell and Christian Veilleux for time behind incumbent starter Phil Jurkovec in the short-term, but the 6-foot-6 California native has already begun the learning process within Frank Cignetti Jr's offense. He said Cignetti has already shown him old film of Eli Manning, Aaron Rodgers, and Joe Montana as part of his studies.
"Coach Cignetti, he's a great guy," Dieffenbach said. "He knows exactly what he's talking about, and he's a great teacher. All the experience he's had in the (NFL), other colleges, but the first thing I noticed about coach Cignetti was hospitality. When coach Duzz hit me up, hopped on the phone and everything, I talked to coach Cignetti and it just felt like family from Day 1."
Formerly committed to play at UNLV, Dieffenbach converted from wide receiver to quarterback as a sophomore in high school. Over three seasons at the position, he threw for 4,153 yards and 48 touchdowns.
"Phil, Christian, and Nate, they all know their stuff," Dieffenbach said. "Great quarterbacks, great leaders, and it's just great to be able to learn from them."
