Pitt offer adds to excitement of recruiting frenzy for Pine-Richland lineman Ryan Cory

By: Jerin Steele
Sunday, July 3, 2022 | 11:01 AM

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In the last few months, Ryan Cory has received scholarship offers from schools all over the country, and now he’s getting some interest closer to home.

Following a team camp June 26, Cory, lineman at Pine-Richland, was offered by Pitt, adding to a long list of colleges hopeful to land the rising junior.

“It’s a surreal feeling and an awesome one,” Cory said about the Pitt offer. “It’s the hometown team. I got a lot of interest from outside the region, so to get that from (Pitt) felt really good.”

Two other local schools have also given Cory a scholarship offer. Duquesne offered a couple months ago and West Virginia did the same two weeks ago.

Cory is listed at 6-foot-4, 290 pounds. He’s rated as a three-star prospect by both Rivals and 247Sports. He’s listed as the 15th best prospect in Pennsylvania for 2024 by 247sports.

Cory also attended a prospect camp at Pitt earlier this summer. He said the camp June 26 with his Pine-Richland teammates went well and the earlier prospect camp helped him tremendously.

“I feel like I really stood out at the prospect camp because it was all field drills,” Cory said. “I think what set me apart was my footwork and my athleticism for how big I am and my controlled aggression on the field.”

Prior to the local offers, schools from all over the United States got the jump on Cory’s recruitment.

As of June 28, Cory had offers from Oregon, Kansas State, Toledo, Cincinnati, Connecticut, Miami (Ohio), Louisville, Maryland, Kentucky and Akron. He plays on both sides of the line of scrimmage for Pine-Richland, but his future in college is on the offensive line.

Cory has had the goal of playing Division I football on scholarship ever since he was a young kid. He believed the offers would come one day but did not expect them to come this early into high school with still two more years remaining.

The rush of schools pursuing him has been a whirlwind experience, but he said it’s a blessing and he’s done his best to handle everything that comes with it.

“I have football practice four days a week, lifts on the side, I work a job and try to maintain a social life,” Cory said. “Football is becoming a business in a sense. When I come home and look at my phone, there’s new texts every day. It’s a lot, but it’s completely doable because of how bad I want this.

“I’ve worked towards this my entire life and I’m going to continue to work towards it. It motivates me every day knowing that I’m in this position and others aren’t in this position. I have to keep working and stay hungry.”

Cory credited new Pine-Richland coach Jon LeDonne with helping get his recruitment off the ground.

“He’s done so much for me,” Cory said. “He does so much for everyone else as well. He’s a hard-nosed dude that has us working hard. We’re going to come into this year with a much different attitude for sure.”

Cory made unofficial visits to Virginia Tech and Maryland on June 21 and 22. He’s planning to visit Kentucky, Louisville and Cincinnati in late July prior to the start of the school year.

Jerin Steele is a freelance writer

Tags: Pine-Richland