16 recruits 'a good fit' for Pitt and new head coach Chryst
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Paul Chryst: Holding on to the local recruits was key to his first class. -
QB Chad Voytik from Cleveland, Tenn., is one of four players in Pitt's class rated as four-star talents by Rivals.com.
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His first game is still seven months away, but Pitt coach Paul Chryst cleared his first major hurdle Wednesday when 16 high school seniors signed national letters of intent to play for the Panthers next season.
For the second season in a row, Pitt had to hold a recruiting class together through a postseason coaching change. Chryst was hired Dec. 22 from Wisconsin, but continued to coach the Badgers through the Rose Bowl on Jan. 2. He only had about a month to secure a class that had been put together -- for the most part -- by Todd Graham, who left the Panthers to coach Arizona State.
Chryst emphasized that the most important aspect of this class was finding players who were "a good fit" for Pitt. He said the coaching situation helped form a bond between the incoming players and ensured that they were coming to Pitt for the school, rather than the coaching staff.
Seven players gave their verbal commitment after Chryst was hired; nine stayed on after committing to Graham.
PG VIDEO"Our approach isn't to sell, it's to offer," Chryst said at a news conference Wednesday. "We're offering the opportunity to be a part of our team and a university like Pitt."
The class features four players rated as four-star talents by Rivals.com: linebacker Deaysean Rippy (Sto-Rox), offensive lineman Adam Bisnowaty (Fox Chapel), running back Rushel Shell (Hopewell) and quarterback Chad Voytik (Cleveland, Tenn.). Rivals ranked the class as fourth best in the Big East, behind Rutgers, Louisville and West Virginia.
Chryst credited Bisnowaty, Voytik and Shell, as well as twins Chris and Demetrious Davis (Austintown Fitch, Ohio) for helping to keep the class together amid the coaching change.
Six WPIAL players signed with the Panthers. In addition to Bisnowaty, Rippy and Shell, J.P. Holtz (Shaler), Mike Caprara (Woodland Hills) and Trenton Coles (Clairton) will be on the Panthers roster next season.
First Published February 2, 2012 12:00 am
