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When Bryce Nelms spent the weekend at Pitt for his official visit, the experience was unique enough that the West Orange (NJ) defensive end knew the next move to make.

“I really liked the coaches and the environment, and all the players felt genuine; it was really different from all the other schools I visited,” Nelms told Panther-Lair.com after announcing his commitment.

“That was my first time visiting city and campus and I fell in love with it and my parents fell in love with it so I pulled the trigger.”

Nelms spent his time with current players who had a connection with him, like junior receiver Maurice Ffrench, who is also from New Jersey, some defensive linemen who play his position and redshirt freshman offensive lineman Carter Warren, who Nelms already knew prior to this weekend.

“We used to train together, and when I told him I was thinking about committing, he told me all the good things, and that influenced me,” Nelms said. “He said that what hat you see is what you get, that these coaches don’t switch up on you when you get there.”

One of the key coaches in Nelms’ recruitment was defensive line coach Charlie Partridge.

“I have a connection with Coach Partridge; he’s the kind of guy I would love to play for,” Nelms said. “He has been recruiting me since I moved to New Jersey and he’s been to my school more than anyone else.

“He’s an awesome guy - one of the best D-line coaches in the United State. I would love to play for him. He likes my length and my aggressiveness and speed and I know he’ll teach me a lot.”

Prior to committing, Nelms had put together an offer sheet that included Boston College, Duke, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Nebraska, Purdue, Rutgers, Syracuse, Virginia, Buffalo, Central Michigan, Cincinnati, Connecticut, Kent State, Temple and UCF.

He intended to see as many of those schools as he could before committing, but the Pitt visit changed his mind.

“I wasn’t planning to commit, but it was just the fit - Pitt’s the fit for me,” Nelms said.
“It hit me the second day I was there. On the first day, I was still in shock and really wow’d by it, but I didn’t want to make a rash decision. On the second day, I was sure.

“It was everything: the facilities, other recruits, coaches, we just had fun. It was future teammates having fun together.”

Nelms, 6’5” 250, is the third defensive end to recruit to Pitt in the class of 2019, along with DeAndre Jules and Brandon Mack.