The path to Pitt for new TE commit Andersen

The story of Pitt’s newest commitment didn’t start in Pittsburgh. Or Pennsylvania, even. Or any of the usual places that the Panthers look for recruits.

The story started in Nashville in January, but really, it has roots in Kansas City in the early 2000’s.

Back then, Jason Andersen was playing for the Chiefs and one of his teammates was Joe Germaine, a quarterback who had been at Ohio State in the late 1990’s. After his playing career ended, Andersen went into coaching at the college level and then moved into the high school ranks when his sons came of age.

This past January, Andersen went to Nashville for the American Football Coaches Association convention. While he was there, he made a point to look up Germaine, who was in attendance as a vendor. And when the two former teammates were reunited, a third party was present:

Tim Salem.

Salem was the quarterbacks coach at Ohio State when Germaine played for the Buckeyes, and Germaine introduced his former coach to his former teammate.

“I asked Coach Salem, ‘What position do you coach at Pitt?’” Andersen says. “He told me tight ends and I said, ‘That’s funny; my boy is a tight end’. I told him the situation of how my son is 6’6” and 250 pounds, how he is on a mission and committed to BYU but didn’t sign a Letter of Intent so he was still a prospective student-athlete. I gave him a link to some film and we exchanged numbers.

“I ran across him later on that evening and he said, ‘Who do I need to recruit? Your wife or you? Pitt is a long way from Utah.’ I laughed and said that I didn’t mind going across the country, so he said, ‘Okay, I have to recruit mom then.’ That’s where it got started.”

What got started that night in January was Pitt’s recruitment of Andersen’s son, Trey. The story continued in February when Jason Andersen met Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi at the Nike Coach of the Year Clinic in Las Vegas, and things took a big step last week when Pitt offered Trey Andersen a scholarship.

Finally, on Tuesday, Andersen committed to Pitt.

“There are multiple reasons for choosing Pitt,” Trey Andersen told Panther-Lair.com Tuesday night. “The coaching staff is fantastic, they did a great job at showing a ton of support through the recruiting process. Pitt is also an elite school with a big focus on their players’ skill level on the field and in the classroom.”

With the pandemic and resulting extended dead period, recruiting for all prospects in the class of 2021 is happening remotely, but that’s especially true for Andersen. He graduated from Lehi High School in Utah in the spring of 2019. He had committed to BYU but delayed college to serve a mission trip in California for two years.

Those plans affected the interactions Andersen had with colleges in his later years of high school.

“He was recruited by a ton of schools before he left on his mission,” Jason Andersen said, “but a lot didn’t offer him because he was going to be gone for two years.”

The love of football and the desire to play it at the next level didn’t wane, though. When he arrived in Merced, California, for his mission trip, Andersen had a plan on staying in shape. He was permitted one hour per day to work out, and he used that hour to go to the gym as often as possible.

Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit and California closed down gyms, but Andersen just kept moving.

“He would run a lot and do push-ups and things like that, but other than that, he just runs routes,” Jason Andersen said. “Not everybody can throw a football, but he has made a lot of film of running routes to send to coaches, just running and catching balls thrown by his companions on the mission. And the balls were kind of all over the place, so coaches could see him catching all kinds of passes.”

Those makeshift highlight clips, combined with his film from high school, intrigued college coaches. In addition to Pitt, Andersen had offers from Cal and Utah State, and Jason Andersen said that Colorado, Boise State, Utah, Texas Tech and San Diego State, among others, were all showing interest.

But despite having never been to Pittsburgh, despite having never met the coaches in person and despite never really even considering the possibility of Pitt prior to January, Trey Andersen was impressed with what he saw from the Panthers.

“It really boiled down to about four or five schools but he fell in love with Pitt a long time ago,” Jason Andersen said. “So when the offer came in, in his eyes he was set on Pitt. That’s his dream school.”

“After being in the recruiting process again it opened my eyes to see the big picture,” Trey Andersen said. “I didn't want to drag it out any longer than it needed to, so that I can focus on my church mission. I felt great about Pitt and that's why I committed early.

Without only one phone call permitted per week - on Monday’s - and without access to Twitter, Andersen relied on Facebook and his parents to communicate with coaches at the next level. He was still able to have face-to-face contact with the Pitt coaches over FaceTime and Facebook video calls, and they gave him “a few semi-virtual tours” to get a sense of what the campus looks like.

Through it all, he also built a relationship with Salem.

“Coach Salem is a very energetic coach that cares a lot about the players that he recruits and gets to know them and their family on a personal level,” Trey Andersen said.

The next step for Andersen is to finish his mission trip, which is scheduled to end in November. Then he plans to visit Pitt as soon as he can in advance of enrolling in January. Despite his advanced age, his eligibility clock won’t start until he enrolls, which means he’ll have five years to play four - the same as any other freshmen.

And for his part, Andersen is pretty excited about getting back on the field.

“I think of it every day and every night. It is at the forefront of my mind. I can't wait to get the pads on again and go.”

Andersen is the 18th recruit and the first tight end to commit to Pitt in the class of 2021.