LB Reynolds picks Pitt for Narduzzi's vision

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When new Pitt commit Elias Reynolds took his official visit last weekend, he got a look at where the Panthers are. But Pat Narduzzi wanted the Brooklyn (NY) Poly Prep linebacker to know where the program is going, and Reynolds bought into what the Pitt head coach said.

“He said this is a ship and it’s taking off and he would like for me to be a part of it,” Reynolds told Panther-Lair.com Saturday night after announcing his commitment on Twitter.

“I can see that’s where they’re going. If two games go differently, they would have been in the ACC championship, and that says it all. It was their first year with the team and they go to a bowl game and come that close; to achieve something like that really shows what they’re doing.”

Reynolds committed to Pitt on Saturday over offers from Illinois, Rutgers, Syracuse, Maryland, Wake Forest, Buffalo, UConn and UMass, but his final decision came down to the Panthers and the Illini. He said the official visits to both schools made a positive impression on him.

“There was a point after both visits when I was coming home and I could see myself there; it really came down to the wire and up until today it was 50/50,” Reynolds said Saturday. “The last two days it was back and forth; at one point I was for Pitt and at one point I was for Illinois.

“But today I was talking to my parents and decided Pitt was it. We listed pros and cons that we all had and spoke about them and agreed on some and disagreed on some, but they support me in my decision.”

For Reynolds, the decision came down to what he experienced on his official visit to Pitt.

“I just felt like I was at home,” he said. “I felt like I fit in with the recruits, coaches, players and just the people who go there. I have a good relationships with Coach (Rob) Harley, who will be my position coach, and really I have a good relationship with everyone on the staff.”

Harley and Reynolds have built a relationship since the former is Pitt’s linebackers coach and the latter will be a Pitt linebacker. They spent a lot of time watching film during the official visit, and they continued that discussion on Tuesday when Harley visited Reynolds at his home in Queens (NY).

“He took five plays from my highlight film that he saw in games this past season and told me I was making college plays at the high school level,” said Reynolds, 6’3” 229. “He was breaking it down and he said he saw plays that reminded him of Pitt games in the season. He said I can play any of the three spots and possibly make an impact early.

“He said I run well, I have good feet, I can catch the ball - defenders get a bad rap on that - and I can finish. I give 100% on every play. At the end of the day, I just go out and give it my all and ball out.”

While Reynolds has connected with Harley, he also has a strong bond with tight ends coach Tim Salem, who is his primary recruiter at Pitt.

“We have a great connection and a great relationship; if anything I had a great relationship with him before any of the other coaches,” Reynolds said of Salem. “He’s always energetic and he’s a great guy.”

Reynolds is Pitt’s 20th recruit in the class of 2016 but also the third prospect to commit to the Panthers after decommitting from Rutgers, along with his teammate, offensive lineman Justin Morgan, and South Brunswick (NJ) safety Phil Campbell. Reynolds was actually the first Rutgers commit to jump ship after the firing of Kyle Flood, and he visited Pitt for the regular-season finale against Miami shortly before that coaching change.

“It was tough; Coach Flood is a great guy and all of those coaches are great, they were all great people,” he said. “Then Coach Flood got fired and I got a little shaky about where the assistants would be. Then Coach (Chris) Ash came in and did his thing, which I understood. I really did love Rutgers, but it faded as things changed there.

“As the process went on and I heard more about Pitt, I became more intrigued by it, it climbed its way up.”

That climb culminated on Saturday evening with a phone call to Narduzzi.

“I called the Illinois coach first and expressed my gratitude for recruiting me so long. Then I called Coach Narduzzi and told him the good news. But I got him worried a little bit because I told him,’ I really like Pitt and I see myself there and I feel at home,’ and then I paused and said, ‘But…’ and I paused again before I said, ‘I want to be part of the 412 Crew.’”