Pitt is it
BUTLER TWP — The 5-7 record didn't bother Jake Kradel at all.
The Butler senior sees the University of Pittsburgh football glass as more than half full.
“That team could have easily been 8-4 and in a bowl game,” Kradel said. “I like where the program is headed. I like the stability of the coaching staff and the support system behind them.”
The 6-foot-4, 290-pound Kradel officially hopped along for the ride Wednesday, signing a letter of intent to join the Panthers. He will join the program as an offensive guard.
“I played that position in high school this year to get acclimated to it, to get a bit of a head start,” Kradel said.
He played it well enough to earn first team all-state honors by the Pennsylvania Football Writers Association. Kradel was also first team offense in the WPIAL and the Northern Seven Conference. He was first team all-conference on defense his junior year.
And Kradel seems to be all about head starts.
He is graduating early from Butler and will be enrolled at Pitt beginning Jan. 8.
“That's going to be a big help,” Kradel said of heading to college next month. “I'll be able to get involved in their weight room program early and I can get started learning the playbook.”
Kradel carries a 3.2 grade point average at Butler and plans to major in business at Pitt.
“We're going to miss him here, but we're excited to see what he's going to accomplish down there,” Butler interim head football coach Eric Christy said. “Jake put together an outstanding senior year.
“He was one of our captains. He was definitely one of our leaders. Between him and Nick Stazer, we had a pair of guards like we haven't seen in a while. We ran behind those guys often.”
Kradel verbally committed to Pitt last spring, but had plenty of options. Among the others were Ohio State, Maryland, Penn State, Rutgers, Virginia Tech, Virginia, North Carolina and North Carolina State.
“No matter what option he chose, he was going to be successful,” Christy said. “Jake is just that kind of kid.”
The “comfort level” proved to be the deciding factor in choosing Pitt, Kradel said.
“It's close to home and the coaches there were a big factor in my decision,” he said. “I've developed a great relationship with (offensive line coach) John Peterson. I talk to him at least twice a week and he's come up to school to visit me.
“The coaches stayed up to date on how our practices went, the games, how I was doing ... They've stayed on me the whole way.”
Kradel is one of 15 players signed by Pitt Wednesday, the first early-signing day in college football. Other WPIAL players signing with the Panthers are offensive lineman Blake Zubovic of Belle Vernon, defensive linemen Noah Palmer and Devin Danielson of Thomas Jefferson, and David Green of Central Catholic.
Two other offensive linemen — Zubovic and Chase Brown of Ashburn, Va, a transfer from Lackawanna College. — were signed by the Panthers.
“I'm sure I'll begin next season at 300 or 305 pounds,” Kradel said. “They told me the possibility of a redshirt, but it doesn't have to be that way.
“If I prove I can help next year, if I show I'm ready for the challenge mentally and physically, and be either one or two (on the depth chart), they won't use the redshirt. That's my first goal, to get on the field right away.”
His other goals include graduating in four years — maybe three and a half — and being part of an ACC championship team.
“Whether it's still in football or my lifetime career, I want to be prepared to begin work when I get out of college,” Kradel said. “That's the ultimate goal.”
