PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Wednesday is National Letter of Intent Day where high school football seniors can first sign with colleges and in nearly every recruiting service ranking, the Pitt Panthers have a top 25 class.
Compare that to the 247 Sports composite of the previous four classes, ranked 51.
“I feel good with where we are, and again, that's like saying you feel good going -- we had good practices,” said Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi. “The signing date is coming up on the 16th and then reevaluate and go, but I think our kids have been pretty solid and sound and very loyal to us, and we continue to continue to work and look at our needs and try to assess those needs.”
Narduzzi then knocked the wood of his podium.
The 21-person class is ranked fourth in the ACC by the two major recruiting evaluators, 21st overall by Rivals dot com and 24th by 247 Sports.
“Yeah, our guys have done a great job. It's been a different year, just we talk 2020, for our football team and for all these poor kids out there. This 2020 class, recruiting class has been tough for them recruiting-wise, not visiting any campuses, having a relationship like we're having right now (meaning virtual not in person).”
The highest rated recruit is a local player with a familiar name. The nephew of Panthers All-American & NFL great Aaron Donald, 6’2”, 250 defensive tackle Elliot Donald, from a Pitt pipeline, Central Catholic. Defending national champ LSU, Ohio State, Penn State, Notre Dame among the schools Donald said no to.
Two other players ranked as 4-star recruits. Virginia Beach defensive end Naquan Brown, 6’2”, 205, committed on December 4. LSU, Michigan, Penn State, North Carolina were among the other schools to offer Brown. He is athletic enough to play linebacker, but obviously Pitt lost a pair all-conference defensive ends.
West Mifflin 6’3”, 225 pound defensive end Nahki Johnson chose Pitt over Penn State, Michigan, West Virginia and more. Johnson known for his quickness and rated the eighth best player in the state.
While ranked a three-star recruit, he is nearly a four-star and important to keep Baldwin defensive tackle Dorien Ford home especially with offers from Penn State, Michigan, Michigan State, Virginia Tech.
Malik Newton, a 5’11”, 223 pound running back out of Norfolk, is the highest rated ‘skilled player’. Receiving an offer from Clemson, Newton was the back-to-back Tidewater Football Player of the Year, Newton rushed for 2,060 yards and 32 touchdowns as a junior.
The quarterback is Nate Yarnell, he’s 6’6”, 200 pounds out of Austin, Texas. A pro-style quarterback, it’s interesting that he chose Pitt over an offer from Dana Holgorsen and Houston, which likely speaks to good athleticism.
State champion Central Valley safety Stephon Hall could be the sleeper in the class, mostly with MAC offers, the 6’1.5”, 180 pound defensive back was a leader on defense and averaged 9.1 yards a carry on offense and was named first team All-State.
While NLI Day is exciting for coaches, it’s also nerve-wracking as other schools call your recruits to try and get them to change their mind from their non-binding verbal commitment.
There will likely be some shifting to this recruiting class, but at its core its Pat Narduzzi’s highest rated yet and credit to the hard work of his coaches and staff adapting to the changes the coronavirus threw at them.