Nelson after Pitt OV: 'I felt very welcomed'
Byron Nelson was offered a scholarship by Pitt back in February and ever since then, he has been building a relationship with the coaching staff. Nelson, a 6-3 and 280-pound offensive linemen out of Katy, Texas has enjoyed making those connections, but had yet to see the city of Pittsburgh.
Over the weekend, Nelson made it to town for his official visit to finally see it in person. The whole trip was an eye opening experience.
“Coming from Houston, you don’t really hear too much about Pittsburgh and seeing pictures and stuff did not do it justice from what I saw this weekend,” Nelson told Panther-Lair.com after his visit. “It was beautiful with all the hills, the city, and especially going through the tunnel.”
Pitt assistant coaches Randy Bates and Jeremy Darveau have been leading the charge in this recruitment. Darveau visited his high school in the spring, but the official visit allowed for more direct contact.
“I got to learn a little bit more about them and got to see how they were in-person more and how they coach, especially Coach Darveau,” Nelson explained. “We sat down in the meeting room and he told me his plan for me, things I could work on, and things he liked about me, and where he sees me fitting in in the offense.”
At the end of the visit, Nelson was also able to sit down with head coach Pat Narduzzi. It was his first chance to see the Panthers’ head coach face to face.
“It was great,” Nelson said of his talk with Narduzzi at the end of the visit. “He really wants me and I really felt wanted by the whole, entire coaching staff. They welcomed me in with open arms being a kid from Houston and I felt very welcomed. It was a great experience and Coach Narduzzi and I had a great conversation.”
The visit also allowed for him to see life as a Pitt football player. The coaches matched Nelson with junior offensive linemen Terrence Enos to be his player host.
“He was a real chill dude,” Nelson said of the Pitt linemen. “He was nice, very calm, and just told me how it was. He kept it real with me about everything at Pitt and I heard a lot of stuff that I liked.”
Nelson intends to take his scheduled official visits to Vanderbilt and North Carolina over the next two weekends and make a decision shortly after that. While in Pittsburgh, he did see a lot the other official visitors make commitments to Pitt, and it was a group he connected with during his brief stay.
“Seriously, everyone on my official visit this weekend was very cool. We’re all from different places and I felt like we all gelled together really well,” Nelson said after Pitt landed five commitments over the weekend.