Charlie Partridge's Recruiting Reloads Pitt Front Seven

Pitt Panthers defensive line coach Charlie Partridge was credited with bringing in three of the team's biggest transfer additions.

PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers' added three new defensive linemen from the transfer portal this offseason and they come from all over the country. But whether they come from Indiana, Kansas State or Clemson, each of the three had one thing in common - respect and appreciation for the position coach recruiting them. 

Pitt defensive line coach Charlie Patridge has built a reputation throughout college football that paid dividends this winter as the Panthers reloaded a front seven depleted by the NFL, graduation and the transfer portal. 

“Coach [Patridge] and just his development with defensive linemen. That’s one thing that stood out to me,” former Indiana, now Pitt defensive tackle Nick James said. "I think he’s one of the greatest defensive line coaches in the country.”

James, alongside former Kansas State Wildcat Nate Matlack and Clemson Tiger David Ojiegbe, all gave glowing reviews of Patridge, who they said drove their recruitment to Pitt and provided them with the best opportunity to maximize their potential. 

For Matlack, that is an urgent need. He has just one year of eligibility remaining and designs on playing in the NFL when his college career is over. He's seen what Partridge has done not just with talents like Patrick Jones and Calijah Kancey, a pair of former Panthers picked in the first round of the NFL Draft, but the Deslin Alexandre's, Rashad Weavers and Habakkuk Baldonados. Patridge has helped get plenty of former Pitt players a shot at the NFL and Matlack wants that for himself too. 

“I really didn’t know anything about Coach Patridge or Pitt football at all, to be honest. ... I really just kind of went off his word and went off kind of what I heard from other people," Matlack said. "And just doing some research myself, you can see just from the past like three years the guys he has produced and with me having only one year of eligibility left and the goal of playing in the NFL, I feel like that speaks for itself.”

But there is a personal touch that Partridge has that separates him from other successful coaches, according to Matlack and Ojiegbe. Matlack felt like family sitting in Patridge's office during the recruiting process and has seen an emotional connection between Patridge and the players since arriving in Pittsburgh roughly three short weeks ago. 

Ojiegbe experienced that personal touch firsthand when Patridge recruited him in high school. Despite choosing Clemson the first time around, Patridge kept Pitt in the back of Ojiegbe's mind and laid the groundwork for his transfer to Pittsburgh. 

“I felt like I had a relationship with Coach P coming out of high school," Ojiegbe said. "He was the first coach to come recruit me in September of my junior year so he showed the effort and he always stayed consistent with it as well. Checking up on me, still keeping up with me even after I committed.”

The combination of what players see as a caring, hands-on coach plus the potential for professional development excited the three critical additions Pitt made in the transfer portal. As the Panthers try to find their next generation of stars up front on defense, they can thank Partridge for acting as the driving force behind recruiting wins in the transfer portal. 

“I wanted coaches that were going to coach me at the highest level and wanted to have a relationship with me as well," Ojiegbe said. "Coach P, he has a relationship with all his players and he just has a great track record of producing defensive linemen who go to the NFL, so under him I could definitely grow as a man and a player.”

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