For Terrence Rankl, committing to Pitt was a matter of the past, the present and the future.
It started with the past, because the Massillon (Oh.) Washington offensive lineman sees a history between his hometown and Pittsburgh.
“Massillon has a great tradition with Pitt,” Rankl told Panther-Lair.com. “Bobby Grier, the first African-American to play in the Sugar Bowl, was from Massillon and he played at Pitt.”
Then there’s the present, where Pat Narduzzi’s staff and the opportunities Pitt has to offer impressed the three-star line prospect.
“I have a great connection with the coaching staff. It’s close to home - not too close but not too far, which I like a lot. My family can come see me whenever they want. And the dorms are amazing and the facilities are amazing. Plus, it’s a top-50 university. And the Steelers practice right beside them. They are next-door neighbors with the Steelers. They have the same chef; that’s dope.”
And there’s the future, where Rankl sees himself succeeding in college and beyond.
“They recruited me as a tackle, but me and Coach (Dave) Borbely have talked a lot about how versatility is key. You have to be versatile in the NFL; you have to be able to do other things. So Coach Borbs told me to start snapping. I know guard and tackle at my high school but I’m going to learn center, too, just so I can be versatile as possible.”
All of it came together to lead the 6’5” 290-pound Rankl to commit to Pitt on Thursday night. He became the first offensive lineman to join the Panthers’ class of 2021, and he chose Pitt from a list of more than 20 offers, including Power Five scholarships from Arizona State, Duke, Iowa State, Kentucky, Purdue and Vanderbilt.
Due to the emergency dead period, Rankl wasn’t able to visit all of those schools, but he saw Pitt enough to feel confident in his decision.
“It sucks that I couldn’t take all my visits, but I felt like I visited them plenty of times,” Rankl said. “I’ve been out there four or five times. I went for a junior day and I went to their camps.
“I just felt like, out of them and a few other schools, they always showed that they believed in me and that I was a top priority - not the second-best. I just felt like all the factors combined to make it right for me.”
Rankl said that Borbely, Pitt’s offensive line coach, was a key factor in that decision, as were cornerbacks coach Archie Collins, who recruits the area, and head coach Pat Narduzzi.
“With Coach Borbs, he’s a great coach. He doesn’t sugar-coat anything he gives it straight to you and he’s a dude I want to play for. He’s very experienced and he’s been at a lot of great programs.
“And Coach Narduzzi is a great guy. He recruited several players from my high school, and all my coaches that have talked to him and players that have been recruited by him, they have nothing by compliments for him.”
Rankl was the fourth recruit to commit to Pitt in the last 24 hours, following defensive end Trevion Stevenson and receiver Jaden Bradley.
“I saw they got some commitments yesterday and I was like, ‘Hey, it’s a good time to commit early so I can start recruiting,’” Rankl said. “I told the whole staff, I’m a recruiter. I’m going to get some guys.
“I had zero sacks last year, so get me a quarterback and a running back and I’ll do my job. We’re going to get some dudes.”
Rankl added that he is on track to graduate early and enroll at Pitt in January.
