The Pitt football program hosted 13 prospects for an official visit from Thursday to Saturday and it proved to be a fruitful exercise. Four of those 13 prospects were already committed to the program, and on Saturday morning five more of them joined them in the recruiting class.
One player to make the call was Ja’Kyrian Turner, a 5-foot-10 and 170-pound athlete out of South Sumter High School in Bushnell (Fla). Turner was offered by Pitt last spring, but the new coaching staff rekindled that recruitment in recent weeks, which led him to taking an official visit.
“Because it felt like home and they welcomed me with open arms,” Turner told Panther-Lair.com about why he chose Pitt. “It was great. It felt real. It felt genuine.”
Turner liked all aspects of the visit. He got to see what Pittsburgh was like as a city, but also saw a more in-depth look at the campus and also the football facility. While the visit showed those aspects of the school, it also allowed him to build a strong get bond with the coaching staff.
“All of them really, but mainly Coach Lamar,” Turner said of who he spent the most time with on the visit. “Our relationship is great. He’s a great coach and he knows how to build players.”
The visit ended like all official visits do, with a sit-down across from Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi. That is when he revealed he was committing to the program.
“The conversation was great and then it was going good when I told him,” Turner recounted of his talk with his future head coach.
Turner is a versatile player at the high school level. He plays on both sides of the ball. He expects to come in and help as a speed back for first year offensive coordinator Kade Bell’s up-tempo style.
“I feel myself making an impact when I get here and spreading the offense around,” he explained.
The visit was about getting comfortable with the coaches and the environment, but also about spending time with the current team and the other recruits on campus.
“My player host was Desmond (Reid),” Turner said of his experience. “It was great. We did a lot of things, like we went bowling and played games. It was a great experience, it felt like home.”
Turner held additional offers from programs like Nebraska, South Florida, Wake Forest, and West Virginia. Following his commitment to Pitt, he said he has no further plans to take any other official visits.
