Ffrench is a motivated commit
All Maurice Ffrench wanted was a chance.
For whatever reason, college coaches seemed to overlook the New Brunswick (NJ) athlete, but he never had any doubt about what he could do at the next level. So he hit the road this summer looking to prove what he was capable of.
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Pitt's prospect camp gave presented that opportunity, and the coaches agreed with Ffrench that he was good enough to play in college. An offer came shortly after the camp, and Ffrench committed a week later.
"The Pitt coaches were saying people were sleeping on me," Ffrench told Panther-Lair.com. "They all said they were surprised I didn't have like 20 offers.
"I truly believe it's the school I go to. My high school hasn't been too successful since 2006; we had seasons with zero wins or one win, and after that, it seemed like nobody ever came back to my school to recruit. So I want to put my city back on the map."
But that's not all that motivates Ffrench.
"Being in the situation I've been through with my mom a single mother, that's my motivation. I don't want her to worry anymore; I want it to be better for her.
"The other thing that made me work harder was, coaches would say, 'We want to offer you but….' And they always had a reason. But really, there was no reason not to offer. I had grades, skill on the field, leadership.
"That's why I felt great about Pitt: there was no hesitation with their offer."
Ffrench said he had little hesitation about accepting the offer as well.
"After I got the offer, I had to talk to my mother even though she was always for Pitt," he said. "So I did that and didn't wait too long because I really felt comfortable being around coaches, players and fans. It was right for me, and I didn't want to lose my spot in case someone else committed.
"Pitt was the first team to really show interest in me and the coaching staff is great: they all talk to me a lot. The football team is great, too, and I think in the future it will be an even better team."
Ffrench chose Pitt over offers from Army, Central Connecticut, New Hampshire, Buffalo and Villanova, and he recently added an offer from Temple. But the Panthers had a lot that stood out to the New Jersey athlete, including their place in the city of Pittsburgh.
"You have to make sure your surroundings are where you want to be for the next four years, and when I visited Pitt, it felt like home but more cultural. Everybody is cool. I really felt like I was at home but a better one."
At Pitt's prospect camp, Ffrench, 6'0" 180, worked at receiver and cornerback, and while he will probably play defense, the coaches told him he could have a variety of roles.
"They want me to play both sides of the ball; that was another big thing for me," he said. "I didn't want to be limited to one position; I want to go somewhere and make plays. So I like playing receiver in the slot and they said they want me to play slot, cornerback, kick return and punt return.
"In high school I'm always faster than anybody on the field, so that's why I like the slot. If you throw me the ball, I'm going to get it. On defense, if you put me on the best man, I will lock him up. He won't get any catches."
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