New TE commit: 'When Pitt offered, I didn't hesitate'
Last Wednesday, Pitt offered Gavin Bartholomew a scholarship.
On Sunday night, the Blue Mountain tight end accepted that offer to become the 21st commitment in Pitt’s recruiting class.
And in some respects, it’s a wonder that Bartholomew waited that long - even if committing to Pitt meant he had to decommit from the verbal pledge he made to Buffalo over the summer.
“I was committed to Buffalo but, really, I took my time committing to them because I really liked Pitt so much; I just didn’t have an offer from them,” Bartholomew told Panther-Lair.com. “So when Pitt offered, I didn’t hesitate. Pitt was one of my dream schools.”
Bartholomew’s interest in the Panthers stemmed from a visit he made in March just before the NCAA’s COVID-related dead period started.
“I loved the campus on that visit; I just thought it was great,” he said. “Everything was fantastic, from the campus and facilities to the football program.
“After that visit, I talked to my parents said, ‘I really like them but I don’t have an offer.’ So I couldn’t commit, but I really wanted to. That visit really showed me that I wanted to go there.”
That opportunity came last week during a conversation with Pitt tight end coach Tim Salem, and Bartholomew took Pitt up on the offer Sunday with a call to head coach Pat Narduzzi.
“I’ve been talking to Coach Salem consistently since March,” Bartholomew. “I think he’s a great guy. I like his energy and what he brings to the table.
“Coach Narduzzi is a great guy. I like him a lot. He was really excited when I committed; he said it was great news. They said they like my size and my speed for how big I am.”
Size and speed seem to be among Bartholomew’s strengths. He’s 6’5” and 245 pounds, and as a junior in 2019 - his first year playing tight end - he caught 27 passes for 527 yards (19.5 yards per catch) and five touchdowns.
This year, Blue Mountain needed something different from Bartholomew. After the Eagles opened the season 1-3, the team’s coaches moved Bartholomew back to quarterback, where he played as a freshman and sophomore, and the switch sparked the team.
With Bartholomew at the helm, Blue Mountain won three games in a row by a combined score of 117-26, and the Pitt commit finished with a versatile stat line on the season:
521 yards and four touchdowns passing; 145 yards and three touchdowns rushing; and six receptions for 131 yards and two more touchdowns.
With his senior season - and his high school career - finished, Bartholomew is ready to get his focus back on tight end.
“I’m definitely set on tight end,” he said. “I can get mismatches with smaller defenders; moving me around gives us a big advantage.”
Bartholomew is the second tight end to commit to Pitt in the class of 2021, joining IMG Academy/New Jersey native Jake Renda, who flipped to the Panthers from Michigan State in August. Bartholomew plans to sign with Pitt in December and enroll in January.