The Pitt Panthers are down to six official commits after three-star defensive back Terrell Chestnut of Pottsgrove (Pottstown, Pa.), decommitted from the Panthers yesterday.
Recruits still committed to Pitt are tight end Sam Collura (Hyattsville, MD), OG Artie Rowell (Harrisburg, PA), running back Jeremiah Bryson (Smyrna, TN), running back/cornerback Lafayette Pitts (Pittsburgh, PA), wide receiver Justin Olack (Massillon, OH) and defensive tackle Khaynin Mosley-Smith (Pittsburgh, PA).
Collura, Rowell, Bryson and Pitts are considered three-star recruits by most scouting services.
Of the six recruits, Mosley-Smith is the only lock to remain committed but Pitts and Bryson are strong possibilities to stay committed to Pitt based on being fits in Todd Graham’s aggressive scheme.
Bryson, 5-8, 170lbs is a smallish back with explosive speed that gets to the hole quickly and fits perfectly in Todd Graham’s high-octane scheme. Bryson is scheduled for an official visit to Pitt this weekend.
The Panthers coaching staff is aggressively looking to salvage the upcoming recruiting period and the focus will be on different type of players than were previously recruited by the old regime.
Graham and his staff will surely be in the mix for a handful of Tulsa commitments. Tusla currently has 21 commitments and according to rivals, 6-foot-4, 185-point wide receiver Keyarris Garrett, a Tulsa commit, is already expressing interest in Pitt and is expected to come to Pittsburgh for a visit next weekend.
Other Tulsa commits are likely to express interest in coming to play for Graham.
The highest rated Tusla QB commit is two-star recruit Joseph Calcagni (Springdale, Arkansas). The 6-foot-2, 195lbs quarterback Completed 195 of 315 attempts (61.9 percent) for 2,559 yards and 26 touchdowns in 2009 as a junior. He also rushed for 389 yards and 6 Touchdowns.
Calcagni is a spread offense type of quarterback but is not considered a BCS conference level type of quarterback, according to scouting services. However, he fits Graham’s tyope of offense and the Panthers do not have a quarterback on board who fits the Panthers new scheme which is why the quarterback position will be crucial to the Panthers recruiting efforts over the next couple weeks.
One three-star quarterback recruit that Graham recruited heavily at Tulsa is Dexter Foreman out of Manvel high school in Texas. Foreman remains uncommitted after decommitting from Colorado after the firing of their coach.
The 6-foot-2, 210-pound quarterback is said to be at the top of the coaching staff’s wishlist in luring to Pitt.
“(Foreman) really likes Tulsa’s offense. It’s similar to ours – shotgun, no-huddle, high-tempo. He’s a tremendous athlete, ” Manvel head coach Kirk Martin told the Tulsa World Jan 9.
Foreman is scheduled to visit Tulsa this weekend but Pitt is looking to get him to consider a visit to Pitt with Graham now in the fold, according to a recruiting insider in the Southwest I spoke with this evening whose has strong ties to the Texas area.
What’s going to be interesting to watch at least in this recruiting period is whether Graham has the ability to lure recruits from Oklahoma, Texas areas to name a few this quickly to Pitt.
