BREAKING: Local lineman Blake Zubovic commits to Pitt
Belle Vernon (Pa.) offensive lineman Blake Zubovic, a local 2018 prospect in the WPIAL, committed to Pitt on Wednesday afternoon after a meeting with Pat Narduzzi on Pitt's campus.
Pitt continued its steadily growing roll of momentum on June 14th, picking up a commitment from local Belle Vernon (Pa.) offensive lineman Blake Zubovic on Wednesday afternoon. Zubovic, one of the standout WPIAL prospects in the impressive 2018 class, chose Pitt over offers from Virginia Tech, Penn State, Maryland, Michigan State, and a long offer list that included several other programs.
After a visit to campus and a sit-down meeting with Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi on Wednesday morning, Zubovic announced his decision to commit later that day. Zubovic had previously announced a top five of Pitt, Penn State, Virginia Tech, Maryland, and Michigan State with an undetermined commitment date, but pointed towards late June as his most likely decision date.
Zubovic is the ninth prospect to commit to Pitt in the 2018 recruiting class, joining a pair of other offensive lineman in junior college offensive tackle Chase Brown and his close friend and fellow WPIAL product, Butler (Pa.)'s Jake Kradel. While Brown has not yet been rated, both Kradel and Zubovic are considered to be 5.7 three-stars by Rivals.com.
The commitment from Zubovic will give Pitt an additional 90 points in the Rivals team recruiting rankings, boosting the Panthers from 510 points and a tie for the 44th spot with Arkansas to 600 points and a tie for the 38th spot with another SEC program, Ole Miss. Given that Brown has not yet been rated, Pitt's point total is artificially lower than it otherwise would be and will boost when he is evaluated.
Among programs with nine of fewer commitments in their 2018 class, Pitt is tied for tenth in the national recruiting rankings with Ole Miss. They trail Oklahoma, Washington, USC, UCLA, Florida, TCU, Maryland, Michigan State, and Auburn and are tied with Ole Miss.
Zubovic is a 6-foot-3, 308-pound prospect and is expected to play guard at the college level, a topic that will be discussed at length in the IMPACT article breaking down his commitment. He is ranked as one of the top 15 players in the state of Pennsylvania and one of the top 35 offensive tackles in the country by Rivals.com.