Alston looking to make an early impact
Myles Alston was definitely a prospect the Pitt coaching staff prioritized from the beginning when building the class of 2021. For Alston’s part, the interest in Pitt was always there for him as well.
He checked in as a three-star prospect out of Ocean Lakes High School in Virginia. He held offers from programs like Maryland, Ole Miss, North Carolina, Virginia, and Virginia Tech. But in the end, he found that Pitt stood out to him the most and made that decision back in April.
Like all 2020 recruits, he did not get to take an official visit to Pitt, but it was a program he was familiar with for a while. He got to take three unofficial visits before he committed, and that really helped set Pitt above the rest.
“Pittsburgh is different,” Alston said on a Zoom meeting on Wednesday. “I’ve been on a visit here about three times before I committed and each visit it was amazing from an academic standpoint all the way up to the facilities and I just fell in love with it.”
Aside from the school itself, former Pitt wide receivers coach Chris Beatty built a strong connection with the wide receiver from Virginia. Beatty has since moved onto the NFL and has been replaced by Brennan Marion. Alston says it has been a smooth transition already.
“It’s going well,” Alston said of working with Marion. “Coach Marion he’s coached in my state at William & Mary and Howard before, so I always knew who he was all throughout high school. I know he’s a good coach and I’ve heard nothing but good things about him and we’re building a relationship just fine.”
Alston was part of a large group that decided to enroll at Pitt early from the class of 2021. He said he knew from about when he committed that he was going to go through with that plan.
“I knew that I wanted to come in and make an impact in Pitt’s offense early,” he said on why he made that decision.
For the state of Virginia, the 2020 high school season was cancelled and left Alston without a senior year. The state has since opted to play out the season right now during the spring. Even so, Alston feels he made the right decision to come to Pitt when he did.
“I wouldn’t say I have any regrets, but I do definitely miss them,” he said about missing his senior season with Ocean Lakes High School.
During the fall, there was an organized 7-on-7 league in the Virginia Beach and that kept him busy and his mind away from not having a real season.
“It was definitely difficult,” Alston said on not playing in the fall. “Me and my teammates really didn’t like it, but we knew it was what it was and we couldn’t really change it.”
With high school in the rearview, Alston is focusing on spring ball that is set to begin later this month. He has been taking all the experience he can get from some of Pitt’s veteran receivers. He mentioned guys like Tre Tipton and Jared Wayne, but also Jordan Addison.
Like Alston, Addison enrolled a year early and became a star on Pitt’s offense in his first season. Addison often credited with the early work for his success, and Alston has been using him as a resource.
“He was in this spot last year so he kind of relates to me a lot,” he said of learning under Addison.
Of course the big thing is working with his new position coach. Marion is a high energy coach that is looking to help breathe some new life into the Pitt offense and Alston is seeing positive things right away from his new coach.
“It’s very relatable because he’s closer in age to us,” he said. “So the way he talks and the things that he’s experienced, a lot of us have experienced as well.”