Texas Edge Rusher Gives Pitt Visit ‘10 Out of 10'

A pass rusher out of the Houston area, Cullen Thompson recaps his trip to the Pitt Panthers, and explains why he’ll return in June for an official visit.

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To escape the noise on Friday morning, Cullen Thompson stepped outside of his sister’s volleyball game in Philadelphia to speak over the phone about his closer look at the Pitt Panthers.  

It was a trip from the Houston area - where Thompson is an emerging edge rusher out of Grand Oaks High School - to Pennsylvania for a recruiting visit at Pitt on Thursday, and a chance to watch his sister compete in the sport she often dominates on Friday. 

Halle Thompson is Cullen’s twin sister. Next year, she’ll continue her volleyball career as a student-athlete at Wisconsin. 

All the while, Cullen Thompson is working toward finding the school and sports program he’ll call home. To date, Pitt is a standout among a dozen offers, including Baylor, Mississippi State, and Oklahoma State.

Before he came to them, Pitt came to Thompson. 

“A couple of weeks (after defensive coordinator Randy Bates extended an offer), he came back down to Houston and actually did an in-home visit...That's how I initially met Coach Bates. Ever since we've been in contact, we talk probably every day.”

Arriving on Thursday, the first thing that stood out to Thompson was the NFL backdrop.

“(When) you walk up to the building, half of it’s Pittsburgh Steelers, half of it’s Pitt Panthers football,” Thompson said. “The contrast of being able to play in front of NFL scouts every day in practice and stuff, that's something to look forward to.”

Thompson also took note of the scores of former Pitt players displayed on a wall of former Panthers who advanced to the NFL where they became Steelers.

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“The other thing that stood out was they re-did the whole building..It just looks super-duper nice inside,” Thompson said. “They changed the locker room. They made a new breakfast facility, a new everything. It's just everything is brand new in there.”

Beyond the aesthetics and NFL vibe, Thompson was interested to learn how Pitt operates during spring camp. 

“Coach (Pat) Narduzzi, he breaks down everything for the whole team, he gives out the whole schedule for the day,” Thompson said. “And then we go into positions. Each position has their own room...It says ‘DB room, D-Line room.’ 

“It looks like an actual classroom…At the end of the day, the coaches are teachers. How they separated the room by position really stood out to me. How individual coaches talk to their players, the coaches were very…articulate with what they were telling their players, making sure that they got the point, you know?”

From there, how the practice unfolded was very interesting to the young pass rusher. 

“They'll start with individual work, and then they'll go into a special teams (period), and then they'll go into a team period for five to 10 minutes,” Thompson explained. “They do that three, four times.

“The last 10 minutes, they'll do something called Two Minute Drill...Basically, it's a football game scenario, last two minutes of the game, and you try to bring the ball down and drive and score a touchdown. So, how they situate their practices was really unique, too.”

In the big picture, Thompson gave Pitt an A grade. 

“I feel like they gave me the Texas hospitality that I was looking for,” Thompson said. “They made me feel very at home. It was very homey. I've done other visits where coaches have told me, 'Don't find trouble in our city.' But in that city, you won't find trouble.

“It's all good people, nothing like that. I'd probably rate it 10 out of 10. The coaches were very respectful, players were very respectful. I learned a lot from the coaches and the players. It was just a really good experience for me.”

With the trip under his belt, Thompson will continue to probe his college options while working to maximize his athletic potential. Located in a very fertile football region, the rising senior has excellent experts at his fingertips. 

“What all the colleges have been telling me is that I need to be more violent with my hands,” Thompson said. “So…I have the outside linebacker trainer who I work with on coverage, but then I have two D-Line trainers who help with my hands. 

“I work with Keith Wagner and Justin Zimmer. Justin Zimmer is an eight-year vet in the NFL. He played for the Bills. And Keith Wagner, he was an XFL football coach.”

Thompson told Inside the Panthers that he will return to Pitt for an official visit in June. 

Make sure you bookmark Inside the Panthers for the latest news, exclusive interviews, recruiting coverage, and more!

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