Jackson Brown didn’t spend much time in the portal.
The Cal offensive lineman officially entered the transfer portal last Thursday, and one week later, he made his formal exit from the aforementioned portal with a commitment to Pitt that felt like it was a long time coming.
“It’s a lot quicker in the portal,” Brown told Panther-Lair.com after announcing his commitment. “In high school I got recruited later but I still had a whole year to make a decision, but this one was much quicker, so it was good because I was highly recruited in high school because I had good relationships already and didn’t have to get to know the coaches.”
As a three-star recruit in the class of 2022, Brown picked Cal over offers from Pitt, Arizona, Arizona State, BYU, Cincinnati, Colorado, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Miami (FL), Minnesota, Missouri, Syracuse, Tennessee, USC, Virginia and Washington State, among others.
Coaches from a number of those schools expressed interest in Brown after he announced his intentions to transfer from Cal, and that allowed him to speed up the process of his second recruitment.
“I did visit a lot of the schools before and had a pretty good idea of every school, so it came down to some things like playing as a tackle, getting developed under a good coach who could help me get to the NFL, a team that was winning and a school with a good education,” he said.
“Pitt checked the box for all of it. I knew I couldn’t go wrong going to Pitt with everything they have and the legacy of my dad.”
Brown’s dad is the late Tony Brown, who played offensive line at Pitt in the 1980’s. The family connection to the Panthers brought the younger Brown to Pittsburgh for an official visit two summers ago, and while he didn’t end up picking Pitt, the visit made a strong impression.
“That was the only time I’ve been there, but I loved it and I can’t wait to get back,” Brown said. “In the last year, I definitely thought about maybe I should have gone to Pitt, but everything happens for a reason and it’s working out now.”
Brown played in two games at Cal as a freshman last season. He didn’t have a negative experience in Berkeley, but some offseason staffing changes led him to seek a change of his own.
“The offensive line coach and the offensive coordinator were let go in late November, so I was already thinking about it in December but I decided to stay and see how I meshed with the new coaches,” Brown said. “I liked them a lot and I think I got a lot better with them this spring, but I just felt like I needed a change.”
Brown’s entry into the portal last Thursday drew a quick influx of interested schools, and Pitt was one of the first.
“Right away, they reached out with a bunch of other schools and I knew them really well,” Brown said. “Coach (Pat) Narduzzi and Coach (Dave) Borbely, we had a really good relationship from when I was getting recruited and it felt the same as before when we started talking again.
“When they hit me up, I told Coach Narduzzi, I think this is going to be the spot for me. I kind of held off for a little bit, but in my heart, I felt it for my dad and knew that I was ready to go there and do what I have to do to get where I want to go.
“I’m so excited to be a Pitt Panther.”
Brown is also looking forward to working with Borbely, who gave the 6’6” 305-pound lineman an idea of what to expect when he gets to Pitt.
“When Coach Borbely called, he said he needed an offensive tackle,” Brown said. “He said they were looking around and I came at the perfect time. I will have to work hard but I think can be the second-string right tackle this year; that’s the goal. I want to come in and make an impact.
“I think I can compete for the starting job next year and me and Ryan Baer can be the future bookends. We’ll be holding it down.”
After taking a redshirt in 2022, Brown will arrive at Pitt later this month with four years of eligibility remaining.
