Jack Pyburn and his family watched as a flurry of coaching moves around the country were shaking up the college football landscape. Coming off a big senior season, the 2002 three-star defensive end had already been generating some late-cycle momentum in recruiting.
Those two factors combined to prompt Pyburn to decommit from Minnesota and see where his recruiting might lead prior to February’s Signing Day. The decision is paying off.
On Friday, Virginia became the latest program to offer Pyburn, bringing his total to 28. The Wahoos joined Miami and Auburn as schools to add to that growing list last week. Other Power 5 schools have remained in close contact since entering the picture in December.
“We wanted to see where everything shook out,” Pyburn told CavsCorner this weekend, “and obviously we took the gamble and now things are picking up in a wild way.”
UVa is in the early days of Tony Elliott’s tenure as head coach. The former Clemson offensive coordinator was hired in December to succeed Bronco Mendenhall, who stepped down following six seasons in Charlottesville. Elliott is still in the process of assembling his first coaching staff at UVa. Last Wednesday, the school confirmed the hire of former Navy defensive ends coach Kevin Downing as a defensive assistant.
The previous UVa staff had not been recruiting Pyburn. But Downing had already extended the Jacksonville (FL) Bolles product a Navy offer after seeing Pyburn at the Kennesaw State Mega Camp in June, “and as soon as he got to Virginia he told the new staff about me, and got right on me and offered me.”
Pyburn also got a chance to chat with Elliott, and came away from that conversation optimistic. Elliott told Pyburn that "he just loved me as a player."
"My work ethic, my motor, my physicality," Pyburn added. "Just my pure aggression and the love for football that he can tell I play with. And that he sees me being a big factor anywhere on the defensive line.”
The coaches gave no indication what scheme UVa intends to run defensively or a specific position they see the 6-foot-4, 265-pound prospect sliding into. Their primary message to Pyburn was that they would find a spot that could get him on the field quickly.
“It gets you excited to hear what kind of player they think you are,” Pyburn said. “Me, myself, I know what kind of player I am because I worked really, really hard to get what I have and be who I am. So to hear a major football staff at Virginia saying the things about me that I believe in myself is a really, really reassuring thing.”
Pyburn put up monster numbers as a senior—109 tackles, including 32 for a loss and 15 sacks—while helping Bolles advance to the state semifinals. He’d also refined his technique while bulking up from the 230 pounds he played at as a junior.
“I feel like I improved a lot of aspects of my game, as far as my handwork, being more twitchy and explosive and also increasing my size. Being able to bend and move even better at 260 pounds,” he said. “I was faster at 260 than I was at 220 and 230. I think I made a big jump from my junior to my senior year as far as my development.”
College coaches agreed, as evidenced by the way his recruiting picked up late in the season. By the end of November, Pyburn had accumulated more than two dozen offers. As soon as the December contact period began, schools started stopping by Bolles.
Pyburn had been committed to Minnesota since June and played most of his senior year with the intention of signing in December. But as interest continued to grow, those plans changed. Pyburn ultimately announced his decommitment last Thursday, two days after getting his offer from the new Miami staff.
“I just wanted to take a step back and make sure I was making the right decision for me,” he explained, “and also with a lot of new schools coming in, I wanted to make sure it was the right place for me. I wanted to be able to see all my other opportunities, and being committed, I didn’t feel that it was right to go visit and talk to all these other schools.”
The top priority for Pyburn is finding a program “where I think I can fit. Living there, playing there and just being there.” The second is atmosphere, both on campus and in stadium, along with football facilities.
“And No. 3 would definitely be development,” he added. “Developing me as a person and as a player. Just becoming the best man and player that I can be to transition me hopefully to the NFL, which is my dream.”
Pyburn listed UVa among the programs pushing hardest for him right now, along with Miami, Auburn, Louisville and West Virginia. He hasn’t set up any visits yet, but intends to get to Charlottesville, Miami and Auburn plus other undetermined schools, through a combination of official and unofficial visits.
Signing Day is February 2nd, giving Pyburn three-and-a-half weeks to reach a decision in what he described as “an eventful process.”
“Every day has been kind of chaotic, talking to new schools and what not,” he said. “It’s been a little stressful but it’s pretty cool, and I’m just excited to see what the next week and the next few weeks hold for me.”
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