We're still waiting (and waiting... and waiting...) for the Rivals.com team recruiting rankings for the 2018 class to actually update, but V'Lique Carter's commitment will push Pitt into a tie for the country's 42nd-best recruiting class with Iowa.
The Panthers had 1200 points in the rankings prior to the commitment, but Carter is worth 75 points as a 5.6 three-star prospect, pushing Pitt to 1275 points with 16 commits. *disclaimer for @Dr. von Yinzer that I'm well aware of his opinion of the ranking system and don't need to be reminded*
Once the system updates, there will be 12 schools within 200 points of Pitt in the team recruiting rankings: Iowa, Cincinnati, Colorado, UNC, Purdue, Mizzou, Indiana, Arizona, Vanderbilt, USC, Wazzu, and Wisconsin.
Of those 12, five (Cincinnati, Purdue, Indiana, Arizona, and Wazzu) already hold at least 20 commitments. Three more (Colorado, Mizzou, Wisconsin) are at 19 commitments.
In the formula for the Rivals team rankings, only your top 20 prospects can count towards your class ranking. So those schools won't get full points for any new commitments they receive and will only add the difference in points between their current 20th-best commit and whatever new commit they receive who may be ranked higher. They're limited in their ability to add more points down the stretch to rise in the rankings.
While Pitt does have a small class and that's a disadvantage on its own, it's actually helping them late in the rankings. Pitt will add full points for any remaining commitments they add, as there are essentially only four serious remaining potential options going into the early signing day. The pending announcements from Rashad Ajayi, Jatavious Harris, Shocky Jacques-Louis, and Jeshaun Jones will tale the tell of how many points Pitt can add in the team recruiting rankings, but here are there point values:
Harris - 90 points
Jacques-Louis - 90 points
Jones - 75 points
Ajayi - 45 points
While I think it's highly unlikely that Pitt lands Jones, if they get the clean sweep on Harris, Jacques-Louis, and Ajayi, they would have 1500 points. That would currently be good for 28th in the country if none of the schools ahead of them add any more commits (obviously they will, but just for the current math). Last year, 1500 points would have been a 43rd-place finish. However, Pitt will still have the chance to add players down the stretch in the second signing period if the numbers work out and will remain on the lookout for new recruiting opportunities.
The Panthers had 1200 points in the rankings prior to the commitment, but Carter is worth 75 points as a 5.6 three-star prospect, pushing Pitt to 1275 points with 16 commits. *disclaimer for @Dr. von Yinzer that I'm well aware of his opinion of the ranking system and don't need to be reminded*
Once the system updates, there will be 12 schools within 200 points of Pitt in the team recruiting rankings: Iowa, Cincinnati, Colorado, UNC, Purdue, Mizzou, Indiana, Arizona, Vanderbilt, USC, Wazzu, and Wisconsin.
Of those 12, five (Cincinnati, Purdue, Indiana, Arizona, and Wazzu) already hold at least 20 commitments. Three more (Colorado, Mizzou, Wisconsin) are at 19 commitments.
In the formula for the Rivals team rankings, only your top 20 prospects can count towards your class ranking. So those schools won't get full points for any new commitments they receive and will only add the difference in points between their current 20th-best commit and whatever new commit they receive who may be ranked higher. They're limited in their ability to add more points down the stretch to rise in the rankings.
While Pitt does have a small class and that's a disadvantage on its own, it's actually helping them late in the rankings. Pitt will add full points for any remaining commitments they add, as there are essentially only four serious remaining potential options going into the early signing day. The pending announcements from Rashad Ajayi, Jatavious Harris, Shocky Jacques-Louis, and Jeshaun Jones will tale the tell of how many points Pitt can add in the team recruiting rankings, but here are there point values:
Harris - 90 points
Jacques-Louis - 90 points
Jones - 75 points
Ajayi - 45 points
While I think it's highly unlikely that Pitt lands Jones, if they get the clean sweep on Harris, Jacques-Louis, and Ajayi, they would have 1500 points. That would currently be good for 28th in the country if none of the schools ahead of them add any more commits (obviously they will, but just for the current math). Last year, 1500 points would have been a 43rd-place finish. However, Pitt will still have the chance to add players down the stretch in the second signing period if the numbers work out and will remain on the lookout for new recruiting opportunities.
