England native Akram Elnagmi ready to bring finesse to Pitt's offensive line

English-born offensive lineman Akram Elnagmi, the most physically imposing 2025 recruit who has committed to Pitt, admits he must become a more aggressive pass blocker.

“I like to play with a lot of finesse. I’m really patient with my strikes. I don’t really play too aggressive in the pass game,” he said Monday afternoon from Bristol, England, where he will graduate this month from the NFL Academy. “That’s something I do need to develop. But, definitely, in the run game, I’m an aggressive player.”

Nothing passive about the former rugby player’s social skills, either. And that’s one reason he made a good impression on Pitt offensive line coach Jeremy Darveau on his official visit last weekend — four days of touring the campus and the South Side football facility while meeting with players, coaches and academic advisors.

It wasn’t Elnagmi’s first trip to the U.S. or his first exposure to American college football. He visited camps at Georgia, Clemson, Mercer and Georgia State last summer. Darveau, then an assistant at Western Carolina, was witness to Elnagmi’s workout at Clemson’s camp.

“Fun fact,” Elnagmi said. “I actually met coach Darveau at the Clemson summer camp last year. He didn’t remember me. I had to jog his memory a little bit. I showed him a clip of me competing, and you could see him in the background. It was good to actually find him again.”

Elnagmi, who said he stands a “smidge” short of 6-foot-6 at 295 pounds, laid the foundation of a relationship that turned into a verbal commitment to Pitt on Saturday before he boarded a plane back to England.

Why Pitt, after Elnagmi previously committed to Eastern Michigan and earned scholarship offers from Virginia, Campbell, Akron and Florida A&M?

“The first impression was amazing,” Elnagmi said. “The connection coach (Pat) Narduzzi has with his players. When I was there, I saw first-hand, so much. He really cares what’s happening (to his players) outside of football. He is really interested in what we do and how he can help us become men.”

Elnagmi’s prospect profile improved after he committed to Eastern Michigan, and from there it didn’t take long for Pitt graduate assistant Chris Russell to reach out on X.

In keeping with a typical official visit, current Pitt players — in this case, young offensive linemen Tai Ray and German-born Moritz Schmoranzer — showed Elnagmi around campus.

Aside from his first taste of a steak when they dined at a Brazilian steakhouse, Elnagmi liked what he saw of Darveau’s coaching style. He said it’s similar to what he has been exposed to at the NFL Academy, a school the league started with hopes of growing the game overseas.

“The (visit’s) synergy was second to none, something incredible,” Elnagmi said.

Like almost every prospect, Elnagmi wants to play in the NFL, and he sees Pitt as “a potential pathway.” It didn’t go unnoticed by Elnagmi that former Pitt offensive linemen Matt Goncalves and Carter Warren were chosen in the third and fourth rounds of the 2024 and 2023 NFL Draft.

Meanwhile, Elnagmi will enroll in January and pursue a degree in international business.

He said his parents are supportive of his journey across the Atlantic Ocean, partially because his brother, Ezzat Elnagmi, played in the Canadian Junior Football League last year.

“I’m ready to go now,” he said. “I’m so excited. I’m going to try to bring (to the program) my dedication, my hard work.”

Elnagmi said he isn’t a trash-talker, and he won’t even go as far as claiming to be the best offensive lineman at his school. But he’s not lacking in confidence, with the knowledge there’s plenty for him to learn.

“I feel like there are parts of my game I worked on enough to say (I’m one of the best),” he said. “We all have different skill sets we apply in our own way. The skills I apply in my way, I can say I’m definitely up there.”