Pitt commit Van Lynn discusses official visit

Long-time Pitt commit Carson Van Lynn finally had the opportunity to make his official visit to Pitt over the weekend of January 27th. Van Lynn, a defensive end and offensive tackle (he plans to play the former at Pitt) out of Worthington (Ohio) Kilbourne, made the trip with his family and had an excellent experience that reinforced his decision.

“I didn’t really experience anything new on the official, but my visit just reinforced why I committed to the University of Pittsburgh and why I’m so excited to be a part of that program. All of the players were just really comfortable with one another,” Van Lynn said. “None of the players had a problem with anybody else on the team and they all seem to just love where they are and what they do and why they do it. That’s great to see when players love where they are and have no problems with a program.”

Van Lynn was accompanied by his family and the group had the chance to frequently interact with Pitt coaches, including head coach Pat Narduzzi, throughout the official visit. The work of building bonds and comfort with his future coaches is always ongoing as he prepares for the next level.

“We got to hang out with coaches a lot. They would sit with us at breakfasts and dinners and all of that stuff, so that was good. We got to talk with them a lot and that was great. We were with them a lot. We just talked about things about the program and what we’d be doing next year and what are goals are,” Van Lynn said. “They said if I had any questions, they’d answer them, but they were really just getting to know me and my family more.”

Of course, Van Lynn also had the chance to spend time with future teammates. While it wasn’t as large of a visitor weekend as Pitt’s bonanzas on December 9th or January 13th, the Panthers had a small crew of players that were able to hang out and enjoy the visit together.

“I got to hang out with [preferred walk-on long-snapper commit] Cal Adomitis and [offensive tackle commit] Gabe Houy. We’re all friends and it was good seeing those guys again and hanging out with them. We’re all on good terms and we’re in a group chat together, so everyone jokes around,” Van Lynn explained. “It’s a good group of guys and we’re going to know each other really well by the time we get there. We’re all happy with each other, which is really good.”

While the visit to Pitt was a welcome mini-vacation in the middle of the school year, Van Lynn has been hard at work preparing for his future and taking the time to soak in the end of his high school career as a student and athlete while he still can.

“Senior year has been going really well. It’s just been going a little fast, but other than that it’s great. There’s nothing I could ask for more. We didn’t have the best [football season] we could have possibly wanted and ended up going 4-6, so that hurt us a bit, but the season was great and I got to reflect with my teammates a lot,” Van Lynn said. “I’ve been trying to get ready each and every day for Pittsburgh and I’m ready to get there and work hard and be a part of the program.”

Van Lynn will enroll alongside most of Pitt’s 2017 recruiting class in June and begin work under defensive line coach Tom Sims at the defensive end position. He’s a 6-foot-6, 235-pound prospect that chose Pitt over offers from Power Five conference teams like West Virginia, Indiana, Kentucky, Iowa State, Wake Forest, Boston College, Rutgers, and Purdue.