Chooo, Chooo....isn't this a dead period for recruiting??
Not @ Pitt....Pitt's recruiting momentum didn't drop off when June ended, as the Panthers added another verbal commitment on Monday.
"I did it," Woodland Hills defensive tackle Khaynin Mosley-Smith told PantherLair.com. "I had to get it off my chest. I wanted to visit Syracuse so I did that but it wasn't anything like Pitt.
Khaynin Mosley-Smith is commitment No. 13 for Pitt. "I woke up this morning and said I'm ready to go."
Mosley-Smith, a fast rising diamond in the rough @ 6'1" 287, chose Pitt over offers from Syracuse, Ohio, Eastern Michigan, and Toledo, as well as heavy interest from West Virginia, Purdue, and Michigan State, Minnesota among others. In the end, it was the familiarity and comfort level at Pitt won out.
"It was the family vibe I had with them. You could see it at the camps: I was always talking to them and they were always around and I've been talking to them since I was in tenth grade."
While Mosley-Smith is close with all of the Pitt coaches, his official recruiter is offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti, and that was who he called with the news Monday afternoon.
"I called Coach Cignetti today and we were talking and I said I was ready to go," Mosley-Smith said. "So he said, 'Okay: call the big dog. So I called Coach Wannstedt and he was in Chicago but he said he was excited and he'll talk to me when he gets back."
Pitt offered Mosley-Smith after a strong workout at the Panthers' prospect camp in mid-June, but despite a strong leaning to Pitt, he kept his commitment in check until he could be sure.
"When they offered I had to hold myself back because Pitt was always my number one school but I wanted to wait," he said. "Then on the last day of the passing camp, Coach Wannstedt took me in the coaches meeting room and showed me the depth chart and where I would fit on the d-line. He put me and Aaron Donald right in there, and that put me over the top.
"I waited a little bit because I wanted to see what else would come around, but the main reason I wanted to get it off my chest today is so I can focus on my grades this year and not have to think about where I'm going."
Mosley-Smith fits Pitt's recent trend of preferring defensive tackles who are smaller but are quicker and more athletic. He reportedly ran a 4.9 40, and said that his current weight of 287 will "probably drop 10 or 15 pounds" by the time his senior season starts this fall.
Mosley-Smith is Pitt's 13th commitment overall, the 11th commitment since June 14th, and the second commitment in as many days. North Olmsted (Oh.) offensive lineman Matt Rotheram committed to Pitt on Sunday. Sto-Rox wide receiver Andrew Carswell was Pitt's other July commitment, giving his verbal pledge on Thursday.
