Pitt stood by recruit long before his commitment Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
In the effervescent persona he slips into when it comes time to recruit, Pat Narduzzi likes to tell Jaylen Twyman he reminds him of a certain former Pitt defensive lineman.
“You look like a little baby Aaron Donald,” he says. “We slim you down a little bit, you’ll look like him.”
Whoa, now. Comparing a high school senior to one of the most decorated players in Pitt history and a twotime NFL All-Pro might be a bit unfair, not Narduzzi’s intention. But he is high on Twyman, the baby-faced defensive tackle from Washington, D.C., who signed his letter of intent with the Panthers on national signing day Wednesday.
Technically, Twyman — a three-star prospect on Rivals.com but given four stars by ESPN — was a recruit who went down to the wire. He never publicly committed to the Panthers until Wednesday, choosing them over South Carolina, but that’s not quite how it happened.
It was midseason when Twyman first insisted to Narduzzi that he would eventually become a Panther, but the coach has been burned by that line from recruits too many times to believe it wholeheartedly.
“I’m like, ‘Hey Jaylen, I’ve heard that before, I can’t trust you, bro,’ “Narduzzi recalled with a smile. “We heard it over and over again, but he was a guy that’s been loyal throughout the whole time.”
Perhaps Twyman felt he owed it to Narduzzi.
He has endured a rough life growing up in the nation’s capital. When he was 5 his father went to prison for 10 years for selling drugs. He had an uncle shot and killed in 2015. Perhaps most crushing for Twyman, his brother Tayvon Cummings was murdered in May. But Twyman said Narduzzi and his staff were there nearly every step of the way.
“He’s the most loyal, down-to-earth coach I’ve ever met,” Twyman said. “I lost my brother in a tragic shooting, and they were there the whole way. They flew in, they checked in on me almost every day of the wake.”
Of course, he likes what defensive coordinator Josh Conklin and defensive line coach Tom Sims have in store for him, too. At 6 feet 2, 315 pounds, Twyman has visions of himself dancing all over opponents like he did when he posted 91 tackles and eight sacks his senior year in high school.
“They let you play football. I learned and talked with coach Sims and coach Conklin, and they just want me to get in the backfield and cause havoc before the ball even gets to the quarterback or the running back,” Twyman said. “They just want me to play ball.”
Narduzzi noted that part of the hang-up in Twyman’s delay to make his Pitt pledge official was actually a testament to his character. There was a brief period when Twyman was a bit uneasy after reading an article online about another defensive lineman linked to Pitt; Narduzzi assured him that wasn’t true and he had never even heard of the player he was supposedly pursuing. And simply as a teenager, Twyman wanted to take a few visits to see some other schools even though he felt Pitt was it.
Also, one of his teammates at H.D. Woodson High School — which won the DCIAA Class AA title and reached the state final this past season — was still in the process of his recruitment. So Twyman flanked his friend on a recent visit elsewhere just a few days before he put on his Pitt script hat in a signing ceremony at his high school.
“He was actually in Toledo last weekend because he’s such a great kid, trying to help one of his teammates get a scholarship,” Narduzzi said. “But all along, he said, ‘Coach, I’m coming.’ I can show you text messages from back two months ago.”
Despite Narduzzi’s lofty comparison to a past Pitt great, he doesn’t want to put pressure on any of his new crop of players by expecting them to play right away. In Twyman’s case, it can be difficult for a lineman on either side of the ball to see the field as a freshman.
But he doesn’t lack for quiet confidence — part of the reason Narduzzi calls him a silent assassin, which lines up nicely with the near commitment he kept silent for months.
“My actions speak louder than my words, so we’ll see come fall,” Twyman said. “I don’t like to talk too much. I’m too humble for that.”
Narduzzi agreed with a grin.
“I like that,” he said.