It’s been a busy and interesting 48 hours in the world of Pitt recruiting and there’s a lot of news to discuss, so I’m not going to bore you guys with a lengthy introduction to this post.
Jeter pulls his pledge
The big news of Tuesday afternoon was Donovan Jeter’s decision to re-open his recruiting and decommit from Notre Dame. The four-star Beaver Falls (Pa.) defensive lineman surprised many people, myself included, with a surprise commitment to the Irish a few weeks back after just one visit to the campus. He had been considered as strong of a Pitt lean as there was for months, if not years – he had family at the school, his relationships with Pitt were strong, he was a priority recruit, and he visited seemingly every weekend.
Jeter’s commitment to the Notre Dame football program, which was initially given on September 19th, lasted exactly 30 days – just one day shy of going one full month. It’s no secret that Brian Kelly’s Irish have struggled this season, falling to a 2-5 record with games remaining against two service academics (Army and Navy), Virginia Tech, Miami, and USC. It’s been a tough road for Notre Dame this season and it’s only going to get tougher. I spoke to a Notre Dame commit last night, one who intends to remain committed to the Irish regardless of the season’s results, on the condition of anonymity about yesterday’s news.
“I wasn’t that surprised that [Jeter] decommitted. It sucks and we’d like to have him back, but I think he maybe decided too quickly after only taking one visit. It felt a little rushed. It only took me a couple visits to know for sure that Notre Dame was it, but everybody is different,” the Irish commit said. “I’m hoping we don’t lose anybody else, but I’m not sure. The rest of the schedule isn’t easy and some guys might jump ship over one bad year.”
So where do things go from here with Jeter? Pitt, Michigan, Penn State, and Tennessee will all likely be in the mix, and Jeter has publicly stated he still has serious interest in Notre Dame and they’ll remain his top school following the decommitment. I believe him and I believe he may well continue relationships with the Irish, but it’s difficult for me to believe he ends up back there. He’s already taken his official visit and would have to return for a trip on his own dime and the relationships can become awkward after a decommitment, despite every side’s best attempts, which makes it so rare for recruits to end up back at a school they decommitted from. Michigan and Tennessee have Jeter on their radar and he may take official visits to both, but both programs are pretty far along in their recruiting classes and have several defensive linemen committed. Penn State is a school he’s shown serious interest in, but they also have multiple defensive linemen committed.
The natural choice, in my opinion, remains that Jeter will end up at Pitt. I don’t think Jeter knows where he’s going to go yet and I don’t think I know where he’s going to go yet, but I’ve said since I’ve started working in this industry that the comfort and relationships a prospect has at a school are what will decide his final choice. Jeter won’t decide again until December or maybe even the first week of January, immediately before enrolling early, so he has plenty of time. I am simply of the opinion that his long-standing relationships at Pitt, his ability to easily visit campus frequently, and Narduzzi’s increased focus on Jeter down the stretch will lead to Pitt winning out in the end, as they were widely predicted to in the first place.
Beaver County Blitz
Jeter isn’t the only Pitt target in Beaver County. Pat Narduzzi and Pitt linebackers coach/WPIAL area recruiter Rob Harley were all over the region during the bye week, visiting their top targets and evaluating players they have yet to offer. We’ve been keeping tabs on kids that Pitt goes to see throughout the week, but the big four in Beaver County are Jeter, his 2018 teammate Malik Shepherd, 2018 Rivals250 ATH Kwantel Raines of Aliquippa, and 2017 Beaver standout Darius Wise.
Narduzzi took in a practice at Beaver to evaluate Wise, who has been having an incredibly productive season as a senior. He recently picked up his first ACC offer from Virginia and there has been some buzz that Pitt could ultimately offer Wise as a slot receiver/H-back type because of his abilities with the football in his hands. It’s a situation to monitor going forward and the pressure changed a little bit with a fellow ACC program offering Wise. For Pitt to not offer him and for him to go play at BYU across the country is one thing, but a conference opponent potentially landing a player in your backyard could make you reconsider the calculus. I’m still torn on whether or not Pitt ultimately offers Wise, but we’ll continue to check in going forward.
Another prospect in Beaver County without an offer is 2018 Beaver Falls (Pa.) wide receiver Malik Shepherd. Shepherd is coming off of a foot injury that held him out for the first half of the season, but he’s played a few games now this year and is starting to get some momentum. West Virginia, Temple, Iowa State, and Toledo have offered, but only time will tell if Pitt will join the list. There are a good number of in-state wide receiver/athlete types that Pitt is evaluating in 2018, including Rivals250 member Marcus Hooker, Julian Major, Isaiah Jones, Kenny White, and Ronnie Stevenson in that class.
Kwantel Raines of Aliquippa (Pa.) was the other big Beaver County stop for Narduzzi. While coaches can’t communicate directly with prospects when they visit the school, with the exception of the “bump rule”, Narduzzi’s presence indicates a continued trend of Pitt showing more interest in Raines than virtually any other 2018 prospect in America. You can read my full article on his recruitment by Pitt and where things stand here, but he’ll continue to be their top target. Expect him to be a frequent campus visitor and, in my opinion, a critical building block of Pitt’s 2018 class.
Reeves announcement approaches
2017 Steubenville (Ohio) tight end Charles Reeves has set his announcement date for October 22nd – better known as this Saturday. It’s his birthday and a good date to wrap up his recruitment after months of visits and offers and speculation and things of that nature. Reeves has gone very quiet as of late – like notably quiet despite him already being a reserved kid – and hasn’t responded to many interview requests. I’ll be going out to see him for his game this Thursday night and will hope to speak with him to preview his decision, but my prediction here remains the same. I feel that Reeves will be a Pitt Panther, becoming the third tight end in the class, and giving Pitt a huge commitment from the state of Ohio. Syracuse and Kentucky and Rutgers and whoever else each briefly popped up on the radar, but Pitt has been the constant in this recruitment for some time. Look out for a Pat Signal on Saturday.
Jeter pulls his pledge
The big news of Tuesday afternoon was Donovan Jeter’s decision to re-open his recruiting and decommit from Notre Dame. The four-star Beaver Falls (Pa.) defensive lineman surprised many people, myself included, with a surprise commitment to the Irish a few weeks back after just one visit to the campus. He had been considered as strong of a Pitt lean as there was for months, if not years – he had family at the school, his relationships with Pitt were strong, he was a priority recruit, and he visited seemingly every weekend.
Jeter’s commitment to the Notre Dame football program, which was initially given on September 19th, lasted exactly 30 days – just one day shy of going one full month. It’s no secret that Brian Kelly’s Irish have struggled this season, falling to a 2-5 record with games remaining against two service academics (Army and Navy), Virginia Tech, Miami, and USC. It’s been a tough road for Notre Dame this season and it’s only going to get tougher. I spoke to a Notre Dame commit last night, one who intends to remain committed to the Irish regardless of the season’s results, on the condition of anonymity about yesterday’s news.
“I wasn’t that surprised that [Jeter] decommitted. It sucks and we’d like to have him back, but I think he maybe decided too quickly after only taking one visit. It felt a little rushed. It only took me a couple visits to know for sure that Notre Dame was it, but everybody is different,” the Irish commit said. “I’m hoping we don’t lose anybody else, but I’m not sure. The rest of the schedule isn’t easy and some guys might jump ship over one bad year.”
So where do things go from here with Jeter? Pitt, Michigan, Penn State, and Tennessee will all likely be in the mix, and Jeter has publicly stated he still has serious interest in Notre Dame and they’ll remain his top school following the decommitment. I believe him and I believe he may well continue relationships with the Irish, but it’s difficult for me to believe he ends up back there. He’s already taken his official visit and would have to return for a trip on his own dime and the relationships can become awkward after a decommitment, despite every side’s best attempts, which makes it so rare for recruits to end up back at a school they decommitted from. Michigan and Tennessee have Jeter on their radar and he may take official visits to both, but both programs are pretty far along in their recruiting classes and have several defensive linemen committed. Penn State is a school he’s shown serious interest in, but they also have multiple defensive linemen committed.
The natural choice, in my opinion, remains that Jeter will end up at Pitt. I don’t think Jeter knows where he’s going to go yet and I don’t think I know where he’s going to go yet, but I’ve said since I’ve started working in this industry that the comfort and relationships a prospect has at a school are what will decide his final choice. Jeter won’t decide again until December or maybe even the first week of January, immediately before enrolling early, so he has plenty of time. I am simply of the opinion that his long-standing relationships at Pitt, his ability to easily visit campus frequently, and Narduzzi’s increased focus on Jeter down the stretch will lead to Pitt winning out in the end, as they were widely predicted to in the first place.
Beaver County Blitz
Jeter isn’t the only Pitt target in Beaver County. Pat Narduzzi and Pitt linebackers coach/WPIAL area recruiter Rob Harley were all over the region during the bye week, visiting their top targets and evaluating players they have yet to offer. We’ve been keeping tabs on kids that Pitt goes to see throughout the week, but the big four in Beaver County are Jeter, his 2018 teammate Malik Shepherd, 2018 Rivals250 ATH Kwantel Raines of Aliquippa, and 2017 Beaver standout Darius Wise.
Narduzzi took in a practice at Beaver to evaluate Wise, who has been having an incredibly productive season as a senior. He recently picked up his first ACC offer from Virginia and there has been some buzz that Pitt could ultimately offer Wise as a slot receiver/H-back type because of his abilities with the football in his hands. It’s a situation to monitor going forward and the pressure changed a little bit with a fellow ACC program offering Wise. For Pitt to not offer him and for him to go play at BYU across the country is one thing, but a conference opponent potentially landing a player in your backyard could make you reconsider the calculus. I’m still torn on whether or not Pitt ultimately offers Wise, but we’ll continue to check in going forward.
Another prospect in Beaver County without an offer is 2018 Beaver Falls (Pa.) wide receiver Malik Shepherd. Shepherd is coming off of a foot injury that held him out for the first half of the season, but he’s played a few games now this year and is starting to get some momentum. West Virginia, Temple, Iowa State, and Toledo have offered, but only time will tell if Pitt will join the list. There are a good number of in-state wide receiver/athlete types that Pitt is evaluating in 2018, including Rivals250 member Marcus Hooker, Julian Major, Isaiah Jones, Kenny White, and Ronnie Stevenson in that class.
Kwantel Raines of Aliquippa (Pa.) was the other big Beaver County stop for Narduzzi. While coaches can’t communicate directly with prospects when they visit the school, with the exception of the “bump rule”, Narduzzi’s presence indicates a continued trend of Pitt showing more interest in Raines than virtually any other 2018 prospect in America. You can read my full article on his recruitment by Pitt and where things stand here, but he’ll continue to be their top target. Expect him to be a frequent campus visitor and, in my opinion, a critical building block of Pitt’s 2018 class.
Reeves announcement approaches
2017 Steubenville (Ohio) tight end Charles Reeves has set his announcement date for October 22nd – better known as this Saturday. It’s his birthday and a good date to wrap up his recruitment after months of visits and offers and speculation and things of that nature. Reeves has gone very quiet as of late – like notably quiet despite him already being a reserved kid – and hasn’t responded to many interview requests. I’ll be going out to see him for his game this Thursday night and will hope to speak with him to preview his decision, but my prediction here remains the same. I feel that Reeves will be a Pitt Panther, becoming the third tight end in the class, and giving Pitt a huge commitment from the state of Ohio. Syracuse and Kentucky and Rutgers and whoever else each briefly popped up on the radar, but Pitt has been the constant in this recruitment for some time. Look out for a Pat Signal on Saturday.
