Still-growing Leechburg senior Braylan Lovelace commits to Pitt

Randy Walters saw the flash plays on defense, the long runs on offense. And that athleticism — it was a sight to behold.

But a little more than two years ago, Leechburg’s football coach noticed something else about Braylan Lovelace, who made a verbal commitment Saturday to enroll at Pitt next year.

“You don’t have to be around the kid long to see he’s a talented kid,” Walters said. “The big thing about him, he’s a special kid. He’s a great student. He has a great personality, great leader. He’s just good with everybody. People follow him naturally.”

COMMITTED???????? #H2P @Pitt_FB @CoachDuzzPittFB @Coach_Manalac @CoachBorbs @210ths @pmwgraphics @CoachWalters07 pic.twitter.com/dqHrJhVBxN

— Braylan Lovelace (@BraylanLovelace) June 19, 2022

Walters said Lovelace will be a leader on the field and in the locker room during the upcoming season.

Armed with 12 scholarship offers to places such as Virginia Tech, Toledo, Army, Brown, Columbia and Penn, Lovelace hasn’t changed personality, Walters said.

“He does all this real naturally.”

Pitt recruited Lovelace (6-foot-2, 200 pounds) to play star (outside) linebacker, a position that also demands the skills of a safety. But he lines up at middle linebacker and running back at Leechburg. Or, anywhere else Walters needs help.

“We’ll use him all over the place. We’ll put him back at safety on long downs,” he said.

Before Walters was hired in 2020, he watched video of Lovelace’s freshman year and was immediately impressed.

“He was a tall, skinny, gangly kid,” Walters said. “He could cover ground. He is such a long strider. You could just see flashes of talent, even as a freshman.”

On a team that typically only dressed between 20 and 26 players in a game, Walters said “all freshmen play.”

“I always say, ‘If you can get hit and you’re willing to hit, there’s a pretty good chance you’re going on the field.’ ”

Lovelace fit that description long before Pitt got wind of him.

Ultimately, Walters expects Lovelace to transition into a good safety.

“Boston College when I talked to them, they talked running back. They talked linebacker,” he said. “I’m not an expert like those guys are. But I’ve been doing this a long time, coached a little bit of college ball … I told them if I was to forecast him into the future five years, if things go well and he had an opportunity to be drafted, I look at him as a safety.

“He’s going to be 220 pounds by the time he’s a sophomore.”

Walters is proud of Leechburg’s weight room, but he’s eager to see what happens when Pitt’s strength coaches start working with Lovelace, who’s only 17.

“He’s real strong in the legs, over 400-pound squat, over 400-pound deadlift,” the coach said. “He’s able to go up and get the ball. He’s able to contort his body real well. Phenomenal hands.

“The kid loves to eat, loves to work out. Those guys (strength coaches) are experts at doing both things. He’s not done growing.”

For Lovelace, the visit to Pitt’s campus over the weekend sold him.

“The players treated me like family. I’ve never met them in my life,” he said. “They brought me in like a brother.

“The coaches, they bring a lot of good energy. I feel like Pitt is a place where I can develop as a player and also as a person, mature myself into an adult when I get there.

“Everybody treats each other the same. Everybody always is trying to help somebody. Whenever you need something, you can just go to one of your teammates and they’re get you right all the time.”

Lovelace, rated a 3-star prospect by 247sports.com, is the first WPIAL player on Pitt’s 11-man (and growing) recruiting class of 2023.

Coach Pat Narduzzi received five commitments Saturday, but only Lovelace, Florida running back Montravius Lloyd and three-star Rasheem Biles of Pickerington Central (Ohio) High School made their decisions public. Biles (6-foot-1, 184 pounds) is rated the 40th athlete in Ohio by Rivals.com. Purdue and West Virginia are among 12 schools that have offered Biles a scholarship.

Pitt’s ‘23 class is ranked 26th in the nation by Rivals.

100% locked ! #h2p ???????? @Pitt_FB pic.twitter.com/o7WnUcOZI6

— Rasheem “The dream” Biles ????. (@Rasheembiles) June 19, 2022