Blake Zubovic discusses his commitment: "I just love Pitt."

SEE ALSO: Blake Zubovic is Pitt's ninth commitment of the 2018 class | IMPACT: What will Zubovic bring to Pitt's recruiting class? | Recruiting Notebook: Is Pitt's summer momentum set to continue? | Rivals250 standout Kwantel Raines discusses Pitt camp visit

Blake Zubovic made waves in the city of Pittsburgh yesterday as the local offensive lineman announced his intentions to verbally commit to play football for Pitt. A 6-foot-3, 308-pound offensive guard prospect from Belle Vernon (Pa.), Zubovic committed to Pitt over the rest of his top five (Penn State, Virginia Tech, Maryland, and Michigan State) while making a day visit down to Pitt’s campus.

“Well, first I talked to coach Pete for a little bit – just basic, general stuff. Then I talked to coach Narduzzi and my whole family went with me. We just small talked a bit and since it was his first time meeting my little sisters, he talked with them for a while,” Zubovic said. “When I announced my commitment, he jumped up and hugged me and he hugged my whole family. It was a really cool moment. We walked out of his office and he said ‘We got one!’ The entire coaching staff jumped up and started cheering, it was pretty cool.”

Zubovic’s recruitment didn’t last long – he received his first two offers on February 1st and committed to Pitt approximately four and a half months later – in large part because of his comfort with the idea of playing for his hometown school.

“It just felt like home. It’s really hard to put my finger on it, but it’s just this gut feeling. I can see myself playing there. It’s the whole WPIAL, local player going to Pitt and being successful. It’s more than an idea. I just felt very at home and I love this coaching staff,” Zubovic said. “I like the other recruits and commits that I talk to. I just love Pitt. I’ve always been a fan.”

The fact that Pitt was the first program to extend a full scholarship to Zubovic was something that the Belle Vernon standout never forgot during his process.

“It was huge. Like I said, I’ve been a Pitt fan my whole life, so it was surreal for them to give me my first offer. It was actually insane. That was really special and it stuck with me,” Zubovic explained.

While Pitt offered Zubovic the opportunity to play for a team he’s been a life-long fan of, to stay at home, and to play in front of family and friends, that doesn’t mean it was an easy choice for the local product. Pitt had to beat out their rival Penn State as well as foes like Michigan State, Virginia Tech, and Maryland, among others.

“This decision wasn’t very easy for me at all. It was probably the hardest decision I’ve ever made between these five schools. All five of them were pretty close, but at the end of the day, it’s just my straight-up gut feeling. I feel at home at Pitt and that’s the easiest way to explain. I’ve been a Pitt fan my entire life and it’s just something that’s special to me,” said Zubovic said. “It’s weird because I really did like, for example, Penn State. But being a Pitt fan, you don’t know how hard it is to see yourself playing for Penn State when you’ve been a Pitt fan your whole life. It’s nothing against any of the coaches because they all made my top five for a reason and there were things I loved about each school, but at the end of the day, I followed my gut to where I felt right. I felt at home and I felt genuine and good.”

Zubovic will nearly immediately step into the shoes of a fellow Belle Vernon product when he arrives at Pitt for the 2018 season. A fellow Leopard alum, former Pitt Panther offensive guard Dorian Johnson started for four years at Pitt and achieved first-team All-American status following the 2016 season. While Johnson is now preparing to begin his NFL career with the Arizona Cardinals, he’s made sure to provide somewhat of a mentor role for Zubovic in the recruiting process.

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“I got to talk to him in person once and many times through Twitter and text. I did ask him a while back what he thought of Pitt, just to get his opinion. Dorian said he loved everything about it and it was an easy choice for him. The one thing that I liked that he said is that coach Peterson doesn’t switch up on you and that he’s the same coach that he is throughout the recruiting process,”Zubovic explained. “There are people who are different people when they’re recruiting versus when they’re coaching, so it’s good to hear he’s an honest, genuine guy. The only negative he said, really, is that you don’t get too big of a turnout at Heinz Field. But to be honest, that doesn’t matter to me. I’m there to play ball.”

With over a year remaining until he starts his career at Pitt, there’s still plenty of time to go for Zubovic to experience his senior year of high school. He’ll be dedicated to improving throughout the offseason and his senior season of football, but that doesn’t stop him from looking ahead to what’s yet to come at Pitt.

“I’ll enroll in June of 2018. I’m projected to play guard, but I do have the option to play tackle and that’s what I’ve played so far. I’m kind of a flip player and I can play either at a high level, so it’s wherever I’m needed at. Right now, that seems like guard. Playing time, you can never get promised anything. Coaches can never promise you playing time. I know I’m going to work my butt off and if that means I start in my freshman year or if it means I’ll start in my senior year, we’ll see about that,” Zubovic said. “I’d say I’ll probably redshirt my freshman year. It’s pretty common, especially for linemen. You go through a lot of development in terms of strength, technique, and speed. It’s probably the most of any position. When you come in, you’re not nearly as strong as these guys. No matter how strong you are in high school, these college guys have been working with strength staffs for two or three years and they’re just freaks. But I can’t wait to work my butt off and see where it takes off.”

In the interim, Zubovic will be focused on adding more talent to Pitt’s recruiting class alongside him. After the commitment of New Jersey quarterback Nick Patti started a recruiting avalanche for Pitt – eight commitments in 35 days – players like Patti, Butler (Pa.) offensive lineman Jake Kradel, and others have been dedicated to recruiting more talent to Pitt. Zubovic has his own list of targets in mind, including one prominent player he feels could be on the verge of committing.

“Brian Asamoah, I’ve been talking to a lot and he’s very close to committing to Pitt. I think he would fit great and coach Narduzzi would love for him to be there. He’s a great person. Just from talking with him and texting with him a bit, he just seems like a great kid. I’d love to be his teammate. That would be one of the kids I’ll try to get, as well as Kwantel Raines. He’d be a great fit here,” Zubovic said. “I got to meet him several times in person through junior days and stuff. My other target is Devin Danielson. The problem with Devin is – you know, Kwantel and Brian I think are definitely leaning Pitt – but Devin is quiet. Like I’ll text players and they’ll tell me stuff that they don’t like to tell to the media, but Devin doesn’t like to say much. I know he likes Pitt a lot, but he never tells you the full story, so I’m working on him, but we’ll see.”

Zubovic is rated as a 5.7 three-star prospect on Rivals.com, checking in among the top 15 prospects in the state of Pennsylvania and the top 35 offensive tackles in the country. He is Pitt’s ninth commitment and third offensive lineman in the 2018 class, joining Kradel and junior college offensive tackle Chase Brown.