Getting to Know: The archives
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The 2017 recruiting class is on campus, but before those players arrived, Panther-Lair.com got to know them a little better. In case you missed any of our Getting to Know features, here's a rundown of all 17 we published.
"I need to be in the Pitt hall of fame and have my jersey retired. Hopefully I’ll win a Maxwell and any other award they have. I want to try to be like Aaron Donald; how many did he get? If he got five, I want six."
"The thing I probably enjoyed the most was going on visits and getting treated in ways I never thought I’d be treated. You’re almost looked at like a god or something, and that was pretty cool. I was never not treated well, and that was a really cool experience."
"After I committed, I became a three-star. I was a no-star before that. I thought you earned those things by going to camps and stuff. I didn’t question it; I just ran with it. I guess I got on the radar and got a couple stars."
"I think I understand the game a lot just by being around my family. I think that may help and that may be an advantage just for me when I get there."
"I just want to help the team any way that I can. That’s one thing that I love about coach Narduzzi – nobody is safe and you’ve got to work your tail off to earn your spot."
"I had developed a great relationship with coach Narduzzi that reminded me of my relationship with my head coach now. The way we talked and the way we communicate and the way he acts – I can tell he truly cares about me and his players and all of the recruits."
"I didn’t really know anything about Pitt at all, I just knew that going to the camp would give me good practice for more camps. I never would have dreamed it would be the place I would fall in love with."
"I’ve always wanted to model myself after Dick Butkus, Lawrence Taylor, Mean Joe Greene, those kinds of guys. I see those guys and they scare people, and that’s what I’m trying to do."
"It just always felt like home. They were my first offer and the coaches showed the most interest; it seemed like they wanted me the most."
"They have a spot and I have a chance to start. I think I can get that goal if I work hard. Even if I don’t start, I have a chance to play a lot."
"Just work hard and stay humble. That’s basically it. That’s the mentality I’m going in with. I would like to win a spot, too; they want me to be hungry and ready to get a spot. But I have to earn it."
"He’s translated that same aggressive style of defense to Pittsburgh and that’s the type of defense I can see myself scheming in. I can play a big role. I feel like I have a chance to compete early and to play."
"Coach Narduzzi is just a naturally outgoing person; you can connect with him. I connected with him almost instantly. We had a friendship but also coach-player respect."
"I remember Coach Sherman introducing me to the receivers in the room and he told them, ‘This kid is coming to take your spot.’ Then he looked at me and said he’d be telling me the same thing next year."
"Where they’re going, I want to be a part of it. It’s great football and I knew I had to pick Pitt."
"I think I’m a mismatch against linebackers, and if a linebacker has to guard a running back, I feel like I have an advantage over them with my speed and agility."
"We’re changing the program back around and we can compete with anybody, as you can see last year. All we needed was the missing pieces, and I think we got that last year with the players we brought in."