Pittburgh is only a 6 hour drive from here. There really isn't a big loyalty to the home state schools in this area. A lot of big programs have had some success here. With Pitt in the ACC, it just makes sense to try to develop a pipeline.
Tons of Steeler fans here,, and of course Mike Tomlin is from the 757, and routinely sports his Tribe gear. It's not hard to make the initial connections.