The Pitt Panthers received some great news today with the verbal commitment from Ryan Baer. Baer is a 6-foot-7 320-pound left tackle from Eastlake North high school in Ohio.
In Pitt’s 2022 recruiting class, Baer was their 13th commit overall and their highest-rated player. The Panthers got a player that will be a difference-maker in the ACC and he has the talent to take them to another level. Pitt got one step closer to competing for a conference championship with this commit.
In the end, Pitt beat out Michigan State, Illinois, Virginia, and Kentucky for Baer. He went to official visits in June with these 4 colleges. He had close to 30 total offers including Notre Dame, Tennessee, Indiana, Iowa State, West Virginia, South Carolina, and Baylor.
EFN Evaluation
On film, Baer was impressive and dominated his entire junior season. His size, frame, long arms, and his ability to get to the second level is the reason why Pat Narduzzi and the Panther fan base should be ecstatic.
For a player his size, he can sink his hips and gets great leverage to win early on each play. His mindset is to punish the defender in front of him and he has no mercy when he finishes. He thrives in short-yardage and goal-line situations overpowering opposing defenders.
As a pass blocker, he uses his length off the edge to shield off pass rushers and moves his feet well enough to protect his quarterback. In 2020, Baer didn’t give up a sack all season.
At Eastlake North, Baer was 1st Team All-Northeast District in Ohio as a junior. He is one of the top returning players in the state in 2021. His team opens up the season at home on August 20 against Garfield Heights.
Building Inside Out
In 2020, Pitt’s offense was 39th overall in the passing offense, 58th in scoring offense, and 111th in rushing offense. The Panthers have done a great job in their last 2 recruiting classes with getting some big bodies up front, including Baer. These are all players that we could see develop into key pieces that help them move up the charts in the ACC over the next few years.
