Recently Offered OL Visiting Pitt This Month

PITTSBURGH — Nathan Zappitelli announced an offer from the Pitt Panthers on March 1. A day later, when he spoke with On SI, the Ohio product explained that he’s already lined up a trip to Pittsburgh for this month.

Zappitelli plays smash-mouth football at Mentor (Ohio) Lake Catholic, a small-enrollment, private Catholic school. He’s ultra-physical, plays with an excellent pad level at 6-foot-4 and 270 pounds, and his mobility is far above average for a varsity offensive lineman.

So long as Zappitelli can stack on the required size and strength while not only maintaining his mobility but also build upon his baseline tools, he has an opportunity to develop into a quality college football player.

Zappitelli has picked up 16 scholarship offers so far, including Army, Cincinnati, Cartmouth, Harvard, Miami of Ohio, Pitt, Toledo, and West Virginia. The Midwestern lineman shared details on his background and his recruitment.

I imagine earning a Pitt offer was probably pretty exciting, a Power Four offer. What was it like to score that one? Had you been hearing from them for a whole or was it more out of the blue? Can you tell me a bit about that?

"I've been talking to Pitt for a little bit. I went to a game, and I was talking to the director of player personnel for a while, and then coach (Archie) Collins, he came and talked to me a couple of times. He was at (my family's) restaurant about a month ago and I've been in touch since."

I sure like your film. You definitely finish blocks, play a really physical brand of ball. I like your technique with your hands and you play with a really good pad level. You played some left tackle last year but you're considered an interior lineman by some. Can you tell me about your position fit where you see yourself playing along an offensive line at the next level?

"A lot of coaches recruit me for interior. My freshman year, I played varsity at left guard. I loved it. I think I can play any position. Between getting big, weight-wise and all of that, I think it comes down a lot of that, and be able to bend. I think I can bend pretty well."

Can you tell me about your background in Ohio? Are there any other athletes in your family?

"In my immediate family and my family in general, not many athletes at all. I think I’m the first athlete in the family, and I have a big family, to play Division-I in any sport. Growing up, my dad always pushed me to play sports. I played baseball, basketball, football, and all that. I think I just grew into it, and I fell in love with it."

Do you have any plans to visit any schools or hit any camps or anything like that later this off-season?

"I'm keeping it relatively close, like, Pitt, Cincinnati, West Virginia, Toledo as of now. I'll enjoy it. I'm looking forward to all of them."

Will those visits be in the spring or the summer or both?

"Those are spring practices, unofficials. I’ve got a lot of official visit dates not lined up yet but I’ve got them all on the calendar, just trying to pick where to go on what days."

Do you have any idea when you might get out to Pitt?

"I'm going down to a spring practice on March 15th."

When you’re in Pittsburgh, what are some things you’re looking to see or do?

"I’m looking forward to seeing Pittsburgh. I know it's a great city, a great stadium. I look forward to meeting the head coach, too. I think we've talked or texted a couple times, but I look forward to being close to these coaches in person."

I noticed you have an offer from Princeton and that you have a 4.0 GPA. Can you talk about academics in the big picture for you?

"Yeah, I've always excelled in school. I know it's a completely different world playing in the Ivy (League). So, I'm keeping it up as an option. I was on a Zoom call Princeton. I’m still interested in those schools."

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