In the wake of Javon McIntyre's commitments, here are some things I was thinking this afternoon...
1. Well, that’s some good news on a Monday. I mean, the news happened on Saturday, but it was announced on Monday that 2021 Imhotep safety Javon McIntyre had committed to Pitt. Regardless of the day of the week, McIntyre’s commitment is good news. Very good news. He’s one of the top safety prospects in the state for the class of 2021, a three-star prospect who has a real chance to boost that rating over the next year because he’s got size, ability and a good bit of exposure playing at one of the state’s top football schools.
2. Make no mistake about it: Imhotep is a school you want to recruit. According to the Rivals database, there were 37 recruits with scholarship offers at Imhotep in the classes of 2012 through 2023. Seven of those 37 were four-star prospects, including Carolina Panthers receiver D.J. Moore and NFL running back David Williams. It’s a talent-laden school and Pitt has been trying to make in-roads there for quite some time. We list 16 offers from Pitt to recruits at Imhotep since 2012, and McIntyre is the first from the school to pick the Panthers.
3. What’s best for Pitt is that McIntyre could be the first future Panther at Imhotep - but not necessarily the last. He was one of seven players from Imhotep to visit Pitt on Saturday, and five of the other six also have offers. Two of those five are in the 2022 and 2023 classes, but there were three other juniors with offers on the visit, and the Panthers look like they have a good chance there as well.
4. And while there might be a few reasons Pitt has a good chance with some of the other Imhotep prospects, you can’t overlook the efforts of safeties coach Cory Sanders. He has been at Pitt for two years now and has spent all of that time working to bolster the Panthers’ presence in Philadelphia and south Jersey. Philly, in particular, is a tough nut to crack. Dave Wannstedt really tried in the final half of his time at Pitt and never made too much progress. Nor did either of the coaches that followed him. And the first few years of Pat Narduzzi’s tenure haven’t produced much either. Now, with Sanders’ efforts over the last two years, it seems that something is starting to work. Pitt won’t get everybody from Philly, but if the Panthers can land another one or two Imhotep players, that’s some impressive progress.
5. Really, Sanders deserves credit for the job he has done overall. Coaching and recruiting, I think he’s one of the underrated guys on the staff. I think he has done a great job working with the safeties - he has helped bring Paris Ford’s natural talent in line with what he has to do to play the position - and he really is one of the top recruiters on the staff. I’m not just saying that because he got a commitment over the weekend (although that doesn’t hurt); I first started noticing last month that he was one of the main recruiters for Dayon Hayes. I thought that was interesting, and it speaks to Sanders’ ability to connect with the recruits that he was put on such a high-priority target. We all talk about Chris Beatty and Charlie Partridge, rightfully so, but Sanders isn’t too far off from those guys.
6. How about this line from Jim’s interview with McIntyre:
“[Sanders] sold me on Pitt with the players he has right now, No. 12 and No. 3, Paris Ford and Damar Hamlin. The two safeties are big-time players and they could have went to the league, but they came back because they trusted him as a coach.”
That’s pretty damn notable, if you ask me, and it speaks to what I just said about Sanders and his impact. But I’ll tell you what else is in that quote: respect and admiration for Ford and Hamlin. This is another trend that is developing, although we’ve been mentioning things along this line for the last year or so. Younger players really look up to Ford and Hamlin. Ford, in particular, has gained quite a bit of notoriety for his play this season, from I’ve been told. For recruits who are sophomores or juniors in high school, it’s cool to meet him because they’ve heard his name and seen the highlights. It’s a big deal, just like it was a big deal to meet Tyler Boyd in his sophomore or junior seasons or LeSean McCoy in his second year.
7. Ford and Hamlin obviously had an impact on McIntyre, and their influence is pretty broad. But there’s no question that they resonate a little more with local recruits. The question of whether or not to stay home will always be one that Pitt has to battle when recruiting kids from the WPIAL or the City League, but getting Ford and Hamlin to return is a big, big ace card to play. Never mind that it was in Ford’s and Hamlin’s best interests to come back as they work to improve their draft stock; that stuff is in the details and the Pitt coaches don’t have to use details when they recruit. They can sit down with Elliot Donald or Dorien Ford or Donovan McMillon or Stephon Hall or Khalil Dinkins - those are the offered recruits in western Pa. - and say, “Look, Paris and Damar could have gone to the NFL but they chose to come back because they want to leave a legacy in their hometown.” And even better, Ford and Hamlin can say that themselves. That’s huge.
8. Then you get the linkage, because I think Dayon Hayes is going to follow in those footsteps. Just like Ford and Hamlin set an example for him of staying home and playing for the city, he can - and will - set the example for the guys in the next class. West Mifflin’s Nahki Johnson is already on board. Next up are Elliot Donald and Dorien Ford. Those are two big-time defensive linemen in the WPIAL, they’re top targets for Pitt and they are two recruits whose commitments could go a long way in adjusting the perception of Pitt in western Pa. It would be a whole lot tougher to claim that all the big-time recruits leave town if guys like Donald and Ford chose to stay home.
9. Going back to McIntyre’s commitment for a final thought: with him on board, Pitt now has three commitments from juniors and it’s not even February yet. I have been on this job since 2005, and I can’t remember another year when Pitt had three junior commitments before Signing Day; this is a first. But maybe we should have seen this coming. The Panthers had some momentum off the appearance in the ACC Championship Game and then boosted the recruiting staff by hiring Chris Beatty, and we saw the immediate impact of that when Beatty got a lot of top juniors from Virginia to visit in the spring. Since then, things haven’t really slowed down. Nahki Johnson committed over the summer. Rodney Hammond (one of Beatty’s guys) committed in the fall. McIntyre committed this weekend - and he was part of a big group of top junior prospects on campus. There’s some strong momentum with Pitt and underclassman prospects, and it’s been building for quite some time.
10. And so the pretty good offseason continues for Pitt. The Panthers got all of their commits to sign in December. They returned all three underclassmen who could have left for the NFL. They landed a transfer quarterback. They got a fifth year for Damar Hamlin. They held onto some coveted assistant coaches. And now they’ve got another junior commitment. You can include the disaster-avoided win over Eastern Michigan, too, because even if you think Pitt should have blown out EMU, a win is a win - and it’s definitely better than a loss. And why not include Saturday, too? Pitt had 10 of the top 25 prospects in Pennsylvania for the 2021 class on campus; nothing bad about that, especially since they got a commitment out of it.
There’s a lot going right for the program.
1. Well, that’s some good news on a Monday. I mean, the news happened on Saturday, but it was announced on Monday that 2021 Imhotep safety Javon McIntyre had committed to Pitt. Regardless of the day of the week, McIntyre’s commitment is good news. Very good news. He’s one of the top safety prospects in the state for the class of 2021, a three-star prospect who has a real chance to boost that rating over the next year because he’s got size, ability and a good bit of exposure playing at one of the state’s top football schools.
2. Make no mistake about it: Imhotep is a school you want to recruit. According to the Rivals database, there were 37 recruits with scholarship offers at Imhotep in the classes of 2012 through 2023. Seven of those 37 were four-star prospects, including Carolina Panthers receiver D.J. Moore and NFL running back David Williams. It’s a talent-laden school and Pitt has been trying to make in-roads there for quite some time. We list 16 offers from Pitt to recruits at Imhotep since 2012, and McIntyre is the first from the school to pick the Panthers.
3. What’s best for Pitt is that McIntyre could be the first future Panther at Imhotep - but not necessarily the last. He was one of seven players from Imhotep to visit Pitt on Saturday, and five of the other six also have offers. Two of those five are in the 2022 and 2023 classes, but there were three other juniors with offers on the visit, and the Panthers look like they have a good chance there as well.
4. And while there might be a few reasons Pitt has a good chance with some of the other Imhotep prospects, you can’t overlook the efforts of safeties coach Cory Sanders. He has been at Pitt for two years now and has spent all of that time working to bolster the Panthers’ presence in Philadelphia and south Jersey. Philly, in particular, is a tough nut to crack. Dave Wannstedt really tried in the final half of his time at Pitt and never made too much progress. Nor did either of the coaches that followed him. And the first few years of Pat Narduzzi’s tenure haven’t produced much either. Now, with Sanders’ efforts over the last two years, it seems that something is starting to work. Pitt won’t get everybody from Philly, but if the Panthers can land another one or two Imhotep players, that’s some impressive progress.
5. Really, Sanders deserves credit for the job he has done overall. Coaching and recruiting, I think he’s one of the underrated guys on the staff. I think he has done a great job working with the safeties - he has helped bring Paris Ford’s natural talent in line with what he has to do to play the position - and he really is one of the top recruiters on the staff. I’m not just saying that because he got a commitment over the weekend (although that doesn’t hurt); I first started noticing last month that he was one of the main recruiters for Dayon Hayes. I thought that was interesting, and it speaks to Sanders’ ability to connect with the recruits that he was put on such a high-priority target. We all talk about Chris Beatty and Charlie Partridge, rightfully so, but Sanders isn’t too far off from those guys.
6. How about this line from Jim’s interview with McIntyre:
“[Sanders] sold me on Pitt with the players he has right now, No. 12 and No. 3, Paris Ford and Damar Hamlin. The two safeties are big-time players and they could have went to the league, but they came back because they trusted him as a coach.”
That’s pretty damn notable, if you ask me, and it speaks to what I just said about Sanders and his impact. But I’ll tell you what else is in that quote: respect and admiration for Ford and Hamlin. This is another trend that is developing, although we’ve been mentioning things along this line for the last year or so. Younger players really look up to Ford and Hamlin. Ford, in particular, has gained quite a bit of notoriety for his play this season, from I’ve been told. For recruits who are sophomores or juniors in high school, it’s cool to meet him because they’ve heard his name and seen the highlights. It’s a big deal, just like it was a big deal to meet Tyler Boyd in his sophomore or junior seasons or LeSean McCoy in his second year.
7. Ford and Hamlin obviously had an impact on McIntyre, and their influence is pretty broad. But there’s no question that they resonate a little more with local recruits. The question of whether or not to stay home will always be one that Pitt has to battle when recruiting kids from the WPIAL or the City League, but getting Ford and Hamlin to return is a big, big ace card to play. Never mind that it was in Ford’s and Hamlin’s best interests to come back as they work to improve their draft stock; that stuff is in the details and the Pitt coaches don’t have to use details when they recruit. They can sit down with Elliot Donald or Dorien Ford or Donovan McMillon or Stephon Hall or Khalil Dinkins - those are the offered recruits in western Pa. - and say, “Look, Paris and Damar could have gone to the NFL but they chose to come back because they want to leave a legacy in their hometown.” And even better, Ford and Hamlin can say that themselves. That’s huge.
8. Then you get the linkage, because I think Dayon Hayes is going to follow in those footsteps. Just like Ford and Hamlin set an example for him of staying home and playing for the city, he can - and will - set the example for the guys in the next class. West Mifflin’s Nahki Johnson is already on board. Next up are Elliot Donald and Dorien Ford. Those are two big-time defensive linemen in the WPIAL, they’re top targets for Pitt and they are two recruits whose commitments could go a long way in adjusting the perception of Pitt in western Pa. It would be a whole lot tougher to claim that all the big-time recruits leave town if guys like Donald and Ford chose to stay home.
9. Going back to McIntyre’s commitment for a final thought: with him on board, Pitt now has three commitments from juniors and it’s not even February yet. I have been on this job since 2005, and I can’t remember another year when Pitt had three junior commitments before Signing Day; this is a first. But maybe we should have seen this coming. The Panthers had some momentum off the appearance in the ACC Championship Game and then boosted the recruiting staff by hiring Chris Beatty, and we saw the immediate impact of that when Beatty got a lot of top juniors from Virginia to visit in the spring. Since then, things haven’t really slowed down. Nahki Johnson committed over the summer. Rodney Hammond (one of Beatty’s guys) committed in the fall. McIntyre committed this weekend - and he was part of a big group of top junior prospects on campus. There’s some strong momentum with Pitt and underclassman prospects, and it’s been building for quite some time.
10. And so the pretty good offseason continues for Pitt. The Panthers got all of their commits to sign in December. They returned all three underclassmen who could have left for the NFL. They landed a transfer quarterback. They got a fifth year for Damar Hamlin. They held onto some coveted assistant coaches. And now they’ve got another junior commitment. You can include the disaster-avoided win over Eastern Michigan, too, because even if you think Pitt should have blown out EMU, a win is a win - and it’s definitely better than a loss. And why not include Saturday, too? Pitt had 10 of the top 25 prospects in Pennsylvania for the 2021 class on campus; nothing bad about that, especially since they got a commitment out of it.
There’s a lot going right for the program.
