One of the top defensive players in the country tells me that he plans on visiting Pitt soon.
I briefly talked with 2017 4-star DT Fred Hansard, who’s one of the top defensive tackles in the country. Currently, he’s rated by Rivals.com as the #5 DT in the country and the top prospect in the state of New Jersey for 2017.
After being offered by UCLA yesterday, Hansard (Princeton, New Jersey) now holds 17 offers including one from the Pitt Panthers. Also has offers from Arizona State, Miami, Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, Tennessee, Va Tech and Wisconsin.
The biggest piece of information I learned today is that this elite prospect plans to visit Pitt soon. Hansard (6-3, 314) told me nothing is set up yet but that “I’m gonna visit Pitt soon.”
He tells me that he talks to Pitt all the time, in particular head coach Pat Narduzzi. Since Hansard received the offer last month, “I researched the school and I love it.”
Being such an elite prospect with so many offers, what is going to be a top factor in eventually deciding a school and he told me, “I gotta really have a good relationship with the coaching staff.”
To that point, Hansard says that he’s forming a really good relationship with Narduzzi and Pitt tight end coach Tim Salem.
In case you were wondering, Hansard’s favorite teams is the Dallas Cowboys and his favorite player (not surprising) is Houston Texan’s J.J. Watt.
Pittsburgh Sports Now will be tracking Hansard and when he eventually makes his way to Pittsburgh.
// Header image: Pat Narduzzi, Hail to Pitt – Image courtesy of Pitt Athletics
