A lot of folks haven't been all that enamored with Paul Chryst's recruiting class thus far for 2014. That would change a bit, though, if the Panthers are able to land four-star tackle Alex Bookser. Bookser, out of Mount Lebanon, is one of the big targets on Pitt's list and safe to say, he would be a big addition to the offensive line.
Bookser is apparently down to four schools for his list of official visits and the Panthers are one of them. Per Scout, he is tentatively scheduled to check out Pitt the weekend of January 17th. Other schools he's reportedly visiting include Tennessee, Penn State, and Ohio State. Michigan State could be a fifth visit he makes, but according to Scout, he's not yet scheduled for a date.
FWIW, Bookser seems to like the allure of playing close to home:
On the same day Bookser opened his senior season, he told Scout.com he liked the proximity of Pittsburgh to his home. “Pittsburgh, I take ‘The T’ down there and I can get there in 25 minutes,” he said at the time. “I‘ll have family be able to come see me play all the time, and that’s really important to me.”
That obviously plays into the Panthers favor a bit, but in reality, Ohio State and Penn State aren't too far away, either.
We've been over this before, but Pitt can live without the big time skill players. What they can't do without, though, is a strong offensive line for Chryst's system to be effective. Getting Bookser would be a tremendous get.
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