Williams instantly fell in love at Pitt
It didn't take long for Zack Williams to decide that he wanted to go to Pitt.
"I knew right away it was right," Williams told Panther-Lair.com. "I instantly fell in love."
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That feeling translated into a commitment when Williams told Pat Narduzzi that he wanted to go to Pitt. But while that conversation happened Sunday morning, the offensive tackle prospect from Citra (Fla.) North Marion was leaning that way from the time he arrived in Pittsburgh on Friday.
"As soon as I got there, I felt like I was at home," Williams said. "The players and people in my class, they just made me feel at home. And the coaches and the whole place, it was an amazing visit. I was surprised at how great it felt."
Williams was one of eight recruits to take official visits to Pitt this weekend, and he was joined by two other offensive line prospects. One of those linemen was Brooklyn (NY) Poly Prep's Justin Morgan, a Rutgers commit who is considering the Panthers; the other was Upper St. Clair's Brandon Ford, who is committed to Pitt.
"We got along great," Williams said of Ford. "He was asking me what I thought about it and I told him I was in love. So he was telling me about the other commits and he brought me into the group chat they have, and all of them are like brothers."
Williams and the other recruits spent the official visit weekend taking in all that Pitt has to offer, including one of the team's practices as the Panthers get ready for the Dec. 28 Military Bowl against Navy.
"We did a campus tour and toured the Cathedral, and I loved it; I like how everything is set up," he said. "We saw the facilities, too; they have beautiful facilities, from the locker room to the team room and the player lounge, just everything about it.
"We watched them practice, and I think I would fit in well. I love their blocking schemes. And everything was at a high intensity. Everybody was into it. It was perfect."
Williams' visit concluded with a meeting with Narduzzi on Sunday morning, and that was when he delivered the news to the Pitt head coach.
"I love him," Williams said of Narduzzi. "He's everywhere, he's emotionally attached to his players and I just love the guy.
"We had a good meeting and he was telling me about the university again, and at the end of the conversation, that's when I pulled the trigger. He was excited. He jumped up and he hugged me.
"The sky is the limit. Pitt is definitely on the way up. I can see an ACC champ in the near future."
Williams, 6'7" 274, picked Pitt over offers from West Virginia, N.C. State, Kentucky and Georgia Southern. Last week he scheduled an official visit to West Virginia after an in-home visit with the Mountaineers' coaches, but he said on Sunday that those plans are tentative.
"I don't know. Possibly. I'm going back and forth on that," Williams said about taking more visits following his commitment to Pitt. "I don't know, though. I found what I was looking for."
With Williams on board, Pitt now has 14 commitments in the class of 2016. He and Ford represent the current haul on the offensive line, and Williams is the first recruit from Florida to pick the Panthers in the class.
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