INKED: QB Nick Patti signs to Pitt
Montvale (N.J.) St. Joseph's Regional quarterback Nick Patti has signed his National Letter of Intent to continue his athletic and academic career at Pitt. Find out more about Patti and his recruitment below.
Nick Patti became the 13th player to sign with Pitt’s football program in the 2018 recruiting class on National Signing Day, joining his classmates signing today to the the class at Pitt. Patti is a 6-foot-3, 190-pound quarterback from private school powerhouse Montvale (N.J.) St. Joseph's Regional. Here’s a brief look back at his journey as a recruit and his history with Pitt:
First appearance on Rivals: Nick Patti picked up early offers from Buffalo, Toledo, Old Dominion, Columbia, and Yale, but it was the spring of his junior year of high school where recruiting began to truly pick up. Rutgers, his home-state school, began to show serious interest in Patti in February and offered shortly thereafter, in the first week of March. Power Five programs began to prioritize Patti as a recruit as the spring went on, including Rutgers and Boston College. The Eagles offered in mid-March. Pitt began to show serious interest in Patti in March themselves, hosting the New Jersey quarterback for a junior day visit and seemingly blowing him away.
Pitt offers Patti: After hosting him for his junior day visit, Patti thought that an offer would be on the way shortly, but it took well over two months for the Panthers to extend a scholarship. There was a game of cat-and-mouse between Patti and the Pitt coaching staff, an exchange that ended with a phone call to Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi that led to Patti's offer from Pitt. The offer immediately vaulted Pitt "up towards the top" for Patti going into his decision-making process.
Patti commits to Pitt: After Pitt offered Patti on April 27th, it took him just over two weeks to decide that Pitt was it. There was a musical chairs situation between Pitt, Boston College, Rutgers, and other east coast programs over several quarterbacks, primarily Patti and Matt Valecce, but Pitt was thrilled to get their guy. Patti committed to Pitt on May 10th and was thrilled to be a part of the program.
In his words: “[Coach Narduzzi] is a great coach and a family coach who wants to be comfortable with all of his players. Also with coach Shawn Watson coming in, he’s one of the smartest coaches in college football. With it being his first year, I’m his first recruit,” Patti said. “That’s huge for me to be able to build that relationship with him.”
Patti's Impact: "As a passer, Patti’s most significant strengths are a comfortable command over his offense and a consistency accuracy both in a clean pocket and rolling out from pressure... His footwork allows him to Patti to quickly set and deliver the football even when being chased out of the pocket, a key factor in his accuracy. Although he is a pro-style prospect, Patti has the ability to consistently make plays with his feet as well. The New Jersey native isn’t necessarily a burner in terms of straight-line speed – he recently ran a 4.83 at the Rivals’ New Speed Combine – but he does have quickness and runs decisively." Read more on what to expect from Patti here.
From the coach: "He’s a home run man," said St. Joseph's head coach Augie Hoffman. "[Patti]'s a great kid and he comes from a great family. He gets along with everybody, there is no tension for him when it comes to the locker room. He’s got a great relationship with his teammates. The guys love him. He’s just steadily improved and gotten better and like I said, he’s done a great job."
On his in-home visit: “Coach Salem and coach Watson came up and we got to spend some time together and that was really fantastic. We were able to sit down and talk about the future at Pitt and what I should expect and just getting ready to go,” Patti said. “Coach Watson said he really just wants to fill my brain up with the playbook so I’m ready to roll by time I get there. I also spoke with both of them about their careers in coaching and that kind of stuff, because that’s something I’d like to do after my career is over. They’re great guys. It’s been awesome. I feel like I have such a stronger relationship with them now even from when I committed and that makes me so much more comfortable with my decision."