New TE commit on Pitt: 'Why pass it up?'
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Travis Koontz wasn’t going to commit during his official visit to Pitt this week.
With offers from the SEC, the Big Ten and the ACC and an official visit to Maryland scheduled for this weekend, the junior-college tight end was sure he would leave his Wednesday-to-Friday visit as an uncommitted recruit.
That plan lasted until Thursday afternoon.
“I was touring campus and I realized what great facilities they had, and actually it was when I was watching practice on Thursday: I said, this is great program that’s on the rise and it’s in my backyard,” Koontz told Panther-Lair.com Friday afternoon.
The Youngstown (Oh.) native didn’t want to be hasty in making his decision, though, so he slept on it overnight. When he woke up Friday morning, though, he knew what he wanted to do. So in the early afternoon, he told Pat Narduzzi that he wanted to be the second member of Pitt’s 2019 recruiting class.
“I didn’t think this was possible at all; I didn’t plan on committing,” Koontz said. “I love the coaching staff and it’s 45 minutes away from my hometown; you can’t beat that. It just seems like a great place - why pass it up?”
Koontz, 6’5” and 260 pounds, picked Pitt over offers from LSU, Louisville, Maryland, Nevada, San Diego State and Texas State. He joins Pitt’s commitment list as a prospect out of Ventura Community College in California; he graduated from Boardman High School in 2017 and signed with Bowling Green, but academic issues led him to junior college.
He’ll graduate from Ventura in December with two years of eligibility. He’s also got a redshirt available, but it doesn’t sound like the Pitt staff intends to use that.
“Coach (Shawn) Watson said the tight ends are going to be used in multiple ways,” Koontz said. “He told me the tight ends they have are young and I could come in and make an impact right away.
“Coach (Tim) Salem said I could do anything: be in the backfield, in-line, with my hand down, all over the place. He was showing me film of how they used No. 83 two years ago and he said that’s how I would be used.”
Koontz capped his official visit by meeting with Narduzzi.
“He’s good. He’s a Youngstown guy also, so we talked about that a lot and he was excited when I told him I was committing,” Koontz said.
“Their program is on the rise; this year will be a really good year and soon they’re going to win an ACC championship because they’re on the rise.”
Koontz is Pitt’s second commitment in the 2019 class, joining Miami (Fla.) linebacker Leslie Smith, who committed on Sunday. And he’s also the second non-high school tight end to pick Pitt this offseason; earlier this month, Arkansas tight end Will Gragg announced he was coming to Pitt as a graduate transfer. He also has two years of eligibility remaining.