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Pitt secures verbal commitments from gaggle of recruits | TribLIVE.com
Pitt

Pitt secures verbal commitments from gaggle of recruits

Jerry DiPaola
Jerry DiPaola
5118847_web1_web-Narduzzi
Chaz Palla | Tribune-Review
Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi on the sideline against Youngstown State Saturday, Sept. 2, 2017 at Heinz Field.

On a busy recruiting weekend with 14 prospects making official visits to campus, Pitt landed six verbal commitments in an approximate span of 24 hours that ended Saturday night.

What does it mean?

Before Lakeland, Fla., defensive back Shadarian Harrison triggered the commitment blitz Friday, Pitt’s two-man 2023 recruiting class was ranked No. 78 in the nation by Rivals.com. By the time, coach Pat Narduzzi and his staff called it a day, Pitt had six more verbal commitments — all rated 3-stars by Rivals — and had vaulted to No. 22. The class is ranked third in the ACC behind only No. 10 Louisville and No. 12 Wake Forest.

The list included Harrison, cornerback Brice Pollock of Snellville, Ga.; safety Shelton Lewis of Stockbridge, Ga.; wide receiver Kenny Johnson of York; defensive tackle Isaiah Neal of Baltimore; and defensive end Antonio Camon of Tampa, Fla.

Harrison has scholarship offers from 20 schools. He played quarterback and defensive back last season for Kathleen High School, competing in Florida’s second-highest classification. He rushed for 844 yards and six touchdowns and threw for 370. Harrison is likely to play cornerback in college.

At 6-foot-2, 175 pounds, Harrison has the size Narduzzi seeks in his cornerbacks and joins a long line of past and present Pitt defensive backs from Florida, including Damarri Mathis, Brandon Hill, P.J. O’Brien, Marquis Williams, Jahvante Royal and Noah Biglow.

Harrison has offers from Power 5 schools Tennessee, West Virginia, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa State, Louisville, Oregon State, Nebraska and Vanderbilt.

Johnson (6-1, 185) is ranked the No. 16 overall prospect in Pennsylvania and No. 76 wide receiver in the nation by Rivals. He has offers from Boston College, Penn State, Louisville, West Virginia and Virginia Tech.

Pollock (6-1, 180) has 28 scholarship offers, including from Georgia Tech, Penn State, Michigan State, West Virginia and North Carolina. He is ranked the No. 54 cornerback in the nation and No. 42 prospect in Georgia.

Neal (6-3, 270) chose Pitt over offers from Georgia Tech, Louisville, Duke, Michigan, Ohio State, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech and West Virginia and several others. He is ranked No. 9 overall in Maryland and the No. 32 defensive tackle in the nation.

Camon (6-3, 250) is ranked No. 71 overall in Florida and the 38th strongside defensive end in the nation. He has offers from Penn State and West Virginia, plus seven other ACC schools, including Florida State and Wake Forest.

Lewis (5-11, 180) has offers from Boston College, Duke, Georgia Tech, Louisville, North Carolina and N.C. State.

Before the weekend commitments, Pitt had secured verbal commitments from quarterback Kenny Minchey of Hendersonville, Tenn., and wide receiver Zion Fowler of Jersey City, N.J. Both are also rated 3-star prospects by Rivals.

All commitments are unofficial until prospects sign national letters of intent in December.

Jerry DiPaola is a TribLive reporter covering Pitt athletics since 2011. A Pittsburgh native, he joined the Trib in 1993, first as a copy editor and page designer in the sports department and later as the Pittsburgh Steelers reporter from 1994-2004. He can be reached at jdipaola@triblive.com.

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