Mack on Pitt: 'I just loved everything about it'
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Pitt added a pass-rusher to its 2019 class Sunday morning when Brandon Mack committed.
Mack, a 6’4” 224-pound defensive end prospect from Montgomery (Ala.) Davis, picked Pitt at the end of his official visit - and that wasn’t the way he expected his weekend to go.
“I was surprised myself,” Mack told Panther-Lair.com about the decision to commit. “I came in and didn’t know much about the school and didn’t know much about Pittsburgh, but I got here and fell in love with the city. I just loved everything about it.
“The defensive scheme they have, I can make a lot of plays in it. I can get that bag. And I can play for one of the best defensive line coaches in the country.”
Pitt’s defensive linemen are coached by Charlie Partridge, and Mack said he has high expectations for what he can do under Partridge’s tutelage.
“Some of the players told me he’s the real deal. They said he’ll get you where you need to go, coach you up and help you get to the next level.”
Playing for Partridge was appealing for Mack, but it was another coach who figured prominently into his interest in Pitt: defensive backs coach Archie Collins, who joined the staff this offseason and was Mack’s lead recruiter.
“He’s one of the coolest guys I’ve met and one of the coolest guy to recruit me. He was the reason Pitt was in my top five. I didn’t know much about Pittsburgh but I had them in my top five because of him. Then I came here and all of these coaches are cool.”
That included head coach Pat Narduzzi, who similarly impressed Mack on the visit.
“He’s cool. He has a vision for the team. He sees the future. I think this team is going to go somewhere and he’s a good guy to do it. He made a good impression on me.”
Mack was hosted on his visit by redshirt freshman defensive tackle Jaylen Twyman, and he also spent a lot of time with redshirt freshman linebacker Cam Bright.
“Cam Bright, he’s from Montgomery, too, so I already knew him. But I never met ‘JT’ before; he’s a cool dude. He was being straight up with me. I called him and told him I committed and he was screaming. They’re really cool.”
Mack picked Pitt over offers from LSU, Kentucky, Louisville, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Arkansas State, Jacksonville State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Memphis, Middle Tennessee, Toledo, Troy and Western Kentucky. LSU, Louisville, Kentucky and Ole Miss joined Pitt in his top five.
His commitment to Pitt on Sunday morning continued a hot weekend for the Panthers, who landed JUCO tight end Travis Koontz on Friday, Miami defensive tackle Calijah Kancey on Saturday and South Carolina quarterback Davis Beville Sunday morning.