How Pitt landed Camp

If a top defensive tackle prospect from Florida has offers from across the country and commits to USC, Pitt’s probably not likely to spend much time getting involved.

But less than three months after Keyshon Camp made his verbal pledge to the Trojans, the Panthers offered him a scholarship. And while it looked like a losing battle, Pitt stayed persistent.

That persistence - in Camp’s own words, that loyalty - paid off, because when Camp decided to decommit from USC in January, the Panthers were in good position to make a run at him. In fact, Pitt’s pursuit of the Lakeland, Fla., native throughout the fall - he committed to USC in June and Pitt offered him in early September - made the Panthers an easy pick.

“Me and my father had a good understanding that if it didn’t work out with USC, Pitt would be it,” Camp told Panther-Lair.com this week.

Pitt wasn’t Camp’s only option after he decommitted from USC. Michigan made a strong run at him and Ohio State offered him in January, and those were just two of the schools that tried to make a late play for the 6’4” 280-pound defensive tackle.

But Camp didn’t get caught up in the rush of frenetic January recruiting.

“There were a lot of new schools and I was like, you weren’t there for me back then, but now you are?” he said. “Some schools tried to offer me the day before Signing Day. I mean, I haven’t visited, I didn’t have an in-home visit, I never met the head coach and yet you want to recruit me? How can I make a decision like that?

“I think I have a pretty good head, I can tell when somebody’s just talking to me and when they’re being real.”

And when he thought about the schools that were being real, he came back to Pitt. Defensive coordinator Josh Conklin, defensive line coach Tom Sims and head coach Pat Narduzzi never fell out of contact with Camp, even while he was committed to USC, and that made all the difference.

“That loyalty the biggest part,” he said. “I felt like, if I had the loyalty from the school, then I could see myself going there. If you go somewhere without loyalty, maybe you’re not really wanted, maybe you’ll get up there and they’ll forget your name.”

The Pitt coaches aren’t likely to forget Camp’s name. They’ve already spoken it several times this spring, since the Panthers’ depth issues at defensive tackle will probably lead to early playing time in Camp’s freshman year.

“I think at Pitt I can go in and work for a spot,” he said. “The coaches say there’s a big possibility to play, but the ball’s in my court. I have to produce in practice and the weight room and do all the right things; from there, they say they’re going to play the best players.

“I talk to Dewayne Hendrix a lot; I just talked to him this week, actually. He was telling me about how it was to be there and said it’s going to be hard, but if you keep pushing, you can get on the field and make an impact.”