After the Virginia High School League canceled high school football in the fall, Pitt running back commit Malik Newton announced Thursday on Twitter his intention to skip his senior season and join the Panthers for the winter semester.

With VHSL canceling all fall sports, and most likely to play football in the spring, I would like to announce that I will not be playing and I will be enrolling into college in December‼️? respect my decision❤️

— Malik Newton (@maliknewton2002) July 16, 2020

There are currently three options under consideration for athletics to resume in Virginia, and none include fall football. There is a possibility that the VHSL will move football to the spring in hopes to avoid the covid-19 outbreak, but Newton prefers to get a head start on his collegiate career.

Newton, 6-foot, 225 pounds, is the two-time All-Tidewater Player of the Year. He ran for 2,060 yards and 32 touchdowns last season. He has collected 4,053 career yards at Lake Taylor High School.

Newton is rated a three-star prospect by Rivals.com.

Meanwhile, Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi lost a verbal commitment Thursday when two-star linebacker/defensive end Trevion Stevenson of Hampton, Va., said he has decommitted. Stevenson, who has 41 scholarship offers, gave Pitt a verbal commitment in April without visiting campus.

After talking with my family and coaches, I have decided to decommit from the University of Pittsburgh. I would like to thank Pitt’s coaching staff for the opportunity and the fans for all of the love during this process. Pitt has been grade “A” from the very beginning.

— Trevion Stevenson (@tjstevenson11) July 16, 2020

Pitt’s 2021 class numbers 17 players and is ranked No. 31 in the country (eighth in the ACC), according to Rivals.

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