Pitt made progress in the recruitment of a top prospect on Saturday, as Jven Williams, an offensive tackle out of Wyomissing Area High School in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, placed the program in his top seven.
Thank You so much to everyone that has helped me in my recruiting process! (Recruitment still 100% open)
*@recruitgfx @CoachSteveONeil @RossTuckerNFL @GarageStrength @SportsByBLinder @PaulRobertsCuse @RivalsFriedman @BrianDohn247 @WyoFootball pic.twitter.com/dRaYX53ZYu— Jven Williams (@williams_jven) January 22, 2022
The 6’5”, 300-pound tackle included Pitt alongside Illinois, Michigan, Michigan State, Ole Miss, Penn State and Rutgers in his list of finalists, and he created the list by trimming down an offer sheet with 18 programs. The 11 programs that did not make the cut included Boston College, Houston, Kentucky, Maryland, South Carolina, Temple, Tennessee, Virginia Tech, UConn, Washington and West Virginia. Williams also released the list a week after he took an unofficial visit to Pitt’s campus.
“[Pitt was] my most recent visit, and the city itself was something so different that it left a huge impression on me,” Williams told Adam Friedman of Rivals. “Pittsburgh is just an amazing place. I’m from eastern Pennsylvania, as you know, so western Pennsylvania, with the bridges and the scenery, was different and cool. They were the first to offer me, so we’ve been building a relationship for a while now.”
Rivals and 247Sports consider Williams a four-star recruit, while ESPN gives him three stars. Rivals ranks him as the No. 148 recruit in the 2023 class, the No. 15 recruit at his position and No. 3 recruit in Pennsylvania, while 247Sports ranks him No. 69 in his class, No. 6 at his position and No. 1 in Pennsylvania.
Over the last two years in Wyomissing, Williams has been a key contributor to a team that has gone 25-2 overall and posted a perfect 9-0 record in league play. Wyomissing has also reached the PIAA 3A championship game in each of the last two years, but it has lost to Central Valley High School both times.
In addition to releasing his top seven, Williams also established a tentative timeline for the remainder of his recruitment, noting that official visits will be the next step and a commitment could follow soon after the visits.
“My recruitment is still 100 percent open, but I’m starting to get into planning official visits and just keeping the right state of mind,” he said. “As of right now out, I’m thinking of taking my officials in the beginning of the summer or late spring and hopefully making that commitment not too soon after.”