Two Pitt football recruits arrive early
Davis Beville is a “yes, sir,” “no, sir” 18-year-old from South Carolina, and as he gives his first interview as a Pitt Panther, he wears a white band around his left wrist that reads, “Let’s Grind.”
Liam Dick is a genial big lug — his Twitter username is, literally, @biglug22 — who was born and raised in Ontario, a Toronto Maple Leafs supporter since a kid but a Penguins fan since Sid.
“I have a bunch of Crosby jerseys hanging up at home,” the 6-foot-7, 300pounder beamed.
Beville and Dick have become fast friends on campus at Pitt as the only two early enrollees for this semester. A four-star quarterback from Greenville, S.C., and a two-star tackle from Canada might not have much in common, but in the past month they’ve braved college life together — and the cold.
“The first couple weeks here, he was freezing,” Dick said with a grin. “I had to give him a couple of my jackets and stuff like that.”
Pitt’s two newest players both opted to get a jumpstart on their careers at the next level, potentially giving them a leg up on the rest of the 2019 recruiting class that was wrapped up Wednesday.
For Beville, it was a nobrainer and a move that almost any young quarterback has to make nowadays to keep up with the Joneses — or the Picketts. Current Pitt starter Kenny Pickett did it two years ago, putting him on a fast enough track that he became the starter by season’s end. Nick Patti didn’t come for the spring semester last January, but other than missing the “little things” about his last days of high school, Beville — who will still get to walk across the stage for his diploma and even go to prom — has no regrets about his reason for graduating early.
“I think it’s just the ability to compete,” said the 6-foot-6, 205-pound Beville. “No one comes to sit behind anybody, so a big thing for me is just kind of push Kenny first, and then compete, see where it goes from there.”
Beville was asked whether that means he’ll be given a chance to compete for Pickett’s starting spot this year, but like a pocketpasser feeling the pressure, he stepped up in the pocket and stuck to the script.
“That’s not really up to me,” Beville said, smiling. “I’m just going to continue to put in all the work I can to be in that position.”
Pickett, whose role could be less solidified than it was this time last offseason after a difficult sophomore season, has been nothing but welcoming to the new guy, according to Beville. Makes sense, considering Pickett was in this same position two years ago and was saying many of the same things in the same room as Beville.
In general, new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Mark Whipple isn’t wild about the trend of bringing recruits in midyear, but it has given him a chance to work one-on-one with Beville, as well as the other players in the room. Whipple didn’t recruit him and was actually hired more than a week after Beville arrived at Pitt, but perhaps that’s a positive.
“I think it’s kind of good for me that we both came in at the same time, just because it’s a fresh offense for everybody,” Beville said.
When it comes to the playbook, the weight room and the overall routine, Beville’s just trying to go with the flow. So is Dick, who has only played organized football since 10th grade, hanging up his hockey skates — “Believe it or not, I was a center,” he joked — to focus on the sport he’d love to make his life’s work.
He’d love to get to a Penguins game and to play tackle in college, but he’s also open to left guard, right guard, even tight end or wide receiver. That might not have been a joke — after all, offensive lineman Carson Van Lynn played more as an extra blocker and eligible passcatcher than he did in the trenches this past season, and Dick was told by the Pitt staff that his athleticism intrigues them.
“I can move well for my size,” he said. “I’ve got the length, I just need some experience, to get my football IQ up.”
No need to worry about his real IQ. While he noted that it’s a bit warmer here than his hometown, he balked at the notion of going outside in shorts during last week’s polar vortex.
“I thought that was kind of socially unacceptable,” Dick quipped.