Chris Beatty knew Jordan Addison was a special talent at an early age. He was the first coach to offer the Maryland standout before he even started his sophomore year of high school. When Beatty took a coaching job at Pitt, he continued to pursue Addison heavily and that pursuit has paid off for both parties.

Addison has been one of the top receivers in the country through six games. His 38 catches ranks sixth nationally, and his 444 receiving yards ranks 12th in the NCAA. Both of those marks are also tops in the country for true freshmen receivers as well.

Beatty had an inkling Addison could come in and start, but the production is even catching the veteran coach by surprise.

“I did think he had a chance to come in and play early and to be honest I did think he had a chance to start at the position he’s starting at,” Beatty said of the freshman receiver. “So that’s not necessarily a surprise to me, but obviously no one is expecting a player to come in and be among the leaders in the nation as a true freshman in catches and all those kind of things. So that obviously surpassed what my expectations were.”

Addison is coming off a career-game. He caught 8 passes for 147 yards last week against Miami. The usually unfazed Addison could not contain his smile when asked if he was surprised about his play through six games.

“I mean I knew it was possible, but I didn’t think it was going to come this quick,” Addison said of his successful freshman season. “I see every once in a while when it pops up, but I don’t pay too much attention to it. But I just go out there and do my job.”

Addison’s ability to process information on the practice field is something that has really caught Beatty’s eye about his freshman standout. Beatty has had a few stops in his career, and coached some talented guys like Tavon Austin while at West Virginia, but according to Beatty, Addison’s mental makeup is about as good as he’s ever seen from a true freshman.

“He can see, like he still makes mistakes here and there, but he can sit back and see the safeties rock one way or another and understand how the coverage is rotating,” Beatty explained. “He understands how to sit in the zone when some people run through it. So those things give him a chance to be special where other people it takes some time to be able to process those things on the run. His ability to transfer things from the classroom to the field is as good as anybody I've been around.”

Addison said that aspect of his game has always been there and feels like he is a quick learner. The Pitt coaches not only put a lot of faith in him right away, but the expectations were there almost immediately as well. He was hyped up in both spring ball and fall camp, and he has delivered through six games.

“Really I just think it’s the trust they put into me,” Addison said of what drives him. “As a young guy coming in, I feel like they trusted me. So you know it just builds my confidence up everyday knowing my quarterback, my coaches, and everybody trusts me to go make that play.”

Saturday's 3:30 showdown with Notre Dame will be a big game for Addison. He committed to Pitt back in June of 2019, but Notre Dame was one of the few schools that pushed for his commitment up through signing day.

Addison also has family in South Bend, but ultimately he felt like Pitt was a better option for him, mainly because Pitt preferred him on offense, while the Irish liked him at cornerback. After being one of the top receivers in the ACC just six games into his career, he feels he made the right choice.

"I’m glad they recruited me, I think it’s a really nice place," he said. "I just felt more comfortable with Pitt.”