Familiarity helps lead Ojiegbe to commit to Pitt
David Ojiegbe has been through the recruiting process twice now. Once as a four-star high school recruit in the class of 2023, and a second time as a player out of the transfer portal. Both recruitments had one common denominator, Pitt was the first school to reach out to him each time.
Ojiegbe was a four-star defensive end from St. John's College High School in Washington DC in the class of 20223 and chose Clemson over offers from Pitt, Maryland, Miami, Michigan, UNC, Penn State, Tennessee, Va Tech, Washington, and West Virginia. In his second recruitment, however, he went somewhere where he felt comfortable and wanted.
“My junior year when coaches could visit us during the open period, they were the first coaches at St. John’s to come see me,” Ojiegbe told Panther-Lair.com after his commitment. “I remember walking through one morning and he (Charlie Partridge) was the first coach sitting there to recruit me.”
Pitt was also the first school to offer him out of the transfer portal a few weeks back and that stuck with him. The 6-3 and 240-pound defensive end did not wait around for other schools to get involved, and focused on Pitt immediately. Over the weekend he took an official visit and announced his decision to commit just two days later.
“Other schools wanted me to come in and visit, but I kind of locked in on Pitt right away because it’s where I knew I wanted to be,” he explained.
The main reason he wants to be at Pitt, of course, is the team’s reputation for its defensive line play. He already knew that well before this weekend, but spending an entire visit with Pitt defensive line coach Charlie Partridge helped solidify his belief in the Panthers' program.
“It was definitely just the type of coach he was and the way he sat down and just breaks down pass rushing and breaks down run, and how he just breaks down football as well,” Ojiegbe said of the Pitt assistant. “Just the type of person he is as well, he’s a family guy, loves his family, loves football, and loves his faith too as well.”
He also appreciates Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi for running a style that allows defensive linemen to make plays and get looks for the NFL. As a senior in high school, Ojiegbe produced 30 TFLs and 16 sacks and is eager to play in Pitt's attacking system.
“The type of talent they produced and the type of talent they put in the NFL speaks volumes,” Ojiegbe said of his new program.
Ojiegbe appeared in just two games and played a total of 11 snaps for Clemson this past season. By playing under four games, he maintained his redshirt and will have four years to play once he arrives at Pitt in January.
The Panthers have been looking for reinforcements on the defensive line in the transfer portal and Ojiegbe is now the third defensive linemen and seventh player out of the portal Pitt has landed in the past two weeks. He joins a growing list of transfers that also includes Tamon Lynum (CB, Nebraska), Desmond Reid (RB Western Carolina), Censere Lee (WR, Western Carolina), Nilay Upadhyuyula (LS, UConn), Nate Matlack (DE, Kansas State), and Nick James (DT, Indiana).