Pitt landed a commitment on Thursday evening, as Sam Vander Haar, a 2022 punter out of Melbourne, Australia, announced he had accepted an offer to join the program.
I’m extremely proud and honoured to announce that I have been offered and have accepted a full scholarship to study and play division 1 football at the university of Pittsburgh in 2022. #GoPanthers @Pitt_FB @CoachAPowell @CoachDuzzPittFB @ProkickAus @JohnnyPKA pic.twitter.com/GmKaixaUWP
— Sam Vander Haar (@SamVanderhaar) May 13, 2021
“I’m extremely proud and honoured to announce that I have been offered and have accepted a full scholarship to study and play Division I football at the University of Pittsburgh in 2022,” Vander Haar said. “To Coach Powell and Coach Narduzzi, thank you for believing in me and providing me with this life-changing opportunity. I can’t wait to get to Pittsburgh and get to work.”
Vander Haar does not have a star rating from Rivals or 247Sports. However, he is a product of the Prokick Australia, a punting and kicking program that prepares athletes in Australia for NCAA competition. The program also produced Ray Guy Award winners Michael Dickson, Max Duffy, Tom Hornsey and Mitch Wishnowsky as well as current Pitt punter Kirk Christodoulou.
Pat Narduzzi and his staff have been replenishing their special teams ranks over the last couple of years, preparing for upcoming graduations. The team lost record-setting kicker Alex Kessman this offseason but have Ben Sauls and Sam Scarton battling to replace him. They also lined up Byron Floyd as a replacement for long-snapper Cal Adomitis and have punter Cam Guess on the roster to compete with Vander Haar for the right to succeed Christodoulou in 2022.
The Aussie specialist is the fourth recruit to join Pitt’s 2022 class. He joins defensive linemen Sean FitzSimmons and Elijah Statham as well as defensive back Aveon Grose.