Torian Chester added an offer from Pitt at the start of June and quickly set up an official visit. Chester checks in as a 6-5 and 320-pound linemen out of Albany (Ga) and it did not take him long to realized Pittsburgh was where he wanted to be, and committed to the Panthers on Saturday morning.
“I chose Pitt because it felt just like home,” Chester told Panther-Lair.com. “On top of that, the coaches were nice and cool, and everything seems put together. They share a stadium and facilities with the Pittsburgh Steelers, so it’s the best way to get exposed to the NFL.”
The three-star linemen was one of five commitments from this weekend. He joined Virginia linebacker Emmanuel Taylor and Florida wide receiver Kha’leal Sterling, along with two more yet to announce. Chester chose Pitt over an offer sheet of schools that included Buffalo, Central Michigan, Colorado State, East Carolina, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Liberty, South Alabama, Troy, Tulane, and UAB.
The connection he made with offensive line coach Jeremy Darveau was the deciding factor. The Panthers’ first year assistant offered him back on June 2nd, and Chester got to build a better bond with Darveau on the visit.
“When I first saw him I was like, ‘this guy is bigger than me, why is he even recruiting me,’ Chester recounted of his first impressions. “Other than that, just a nice guy, a real good coach and got to meet him more.”
Chester was shown around by Pitt offensive linemen Terrence Enos as his host. He liked the urban campus Pitt has, and how everything is pretty easy to navigate in the city.
“What stood out was that everything wasn’t that far away,” Chester said of the visit itself. “It doesn’t take long to get to anything, and like I said it reminded me of home a little bit.
Chester was on one of eight players who took an official visit this weekend. He said the group was able to build some friendships and it helped lead to multiple commitments.
“There was some really cool guys,” said Chester. “Almost all of us committed this weekend. Everyone was cool, we all got along.”
Chester can play interior offensive line or tackle. The Georgia native likes the balanced offense first-year offensive coordinator Kade Bell is planning to run this season.
“I like the run-play based offense, because that’s what it kind of is,” he explained.
Chester is the first recruit in the state of Georgia in Pitt’s 2025 recruiting class. He is also the third offensive linemen joining Shep Turk and Akram Elnagmi.
