George is No. 11 for Pitt
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After a run of commitments from recruits who took official visits to Pitt this weekend, the coaching staff capped Sunday with a verbal pledge from a prospect who was on campus last weekend.
“I just loved the feel of everything there,” Reading (Pa.) Berks Catholic linebacker Brandon George told Panther-Lair.com after he announced his commitment Sunday night. “It just felt like home. There are some places you visit and you’re like, ‘This is it.’ That was Pitt for me.”
George got his offer from Pitt after impressing the coaches at a prospect camp last weekend. And while he knew he liked what the Panthers had to offer, he also wanted to take a little time before making a commitment.
So he returned to Reading and spent some time thinking about his decision.
“I felt it when I was there, but there’s always that time when you want to sleep on it, make sure it’s the right feeling, not just heat-of-the-moment.
“It wasn’t heat-of-the-moment. It was home.”
On Sunday afternoon, George and his family sat down and discussed his options.
“We were like, why not do it today?” he said. “Plus, it was Father’s Day, so it was a nice gift for my dad.”
George is the third linebacker to commit to Pitt in the 2019 class, joining Orlando (Fla.) Windermere Prep’s Khadry Jackson, who also got an offer from Pitt last weekend and committed on Sunday, and Miami (Fla.) Northwestern’s Leslie Smith, who committed last Sunday.
Whereas Jackson and Smith are outside linebackers, the Pitt coaches see George, 6’3” and 236 pounds, playing in the middle of the defense, and that’s just fine by him.
“I like playing there. I play that in high school so it will be a nice transition for me. Their style isn’t too far off from how we play: all downhill, fill a gap, deliver punishment.”
George, Jackson and Smith will all be playing for Pitt linebackers coach Rob Harley, and George said he likes Harley’s style.
“I really like him. He’s all intensity, no downtime, no taking a break, just go, go, go, go, go 100% of the time. I really take to that. High intensity, high effort all the time.
“Coach (Pat) Narduzzi is the same. I like the way he’s intense and down to earth. And there’s no salesmanship with him: when you talk to him, that’s who he is all the time. That appealed to me.”
With George on board, Pitt now has 11 commitments in the 2019 recruiting class. He is the first of those 11 pledges to hail from Pennsylvania.