INKED: TE Grant Carrigan signs with Pitt

Grant Carrigan became the fifth player to sign with Pitt’s football program in the 2017 recruiting class on National Signing Day at 7:15 AM, joining his classmates signing today and four early enrollees who have already been in class at Pitt. Carrigan is a 6-foot-7, 235-pound tight end who committed to Pitt shortly after receiving his offer. Here’s a brief look back at his journey as a recruit and his history with Pitt:

First mention on Panther-Lair: Carrigan first popped up on Pitt's radar as a prospect when he was a sophomore at Las Vegas (Nev.) powerhouse Bishop Gorman, but subsequently transferred to Weirton (W.V.) as a junior and Pine Richland (Pa.) as a senior. Carrigan's father played basketball at Pitt and he emerged as a football prospect for Pitt in May of 2016.

Carrigan commits to Pitt: Carrigan received his offer from Pitt on August 14th, 2016 following a visit to practice and accepted the opportunity to play at Pitt just three days later, committing on August 17th. Carrigan also held offers from the likes of Wake Forest and Kent State.

In his words: “As soon as they offered me – you know, that was a place I’ve wanted to go to for all of life and because my dad went there, so I’ve been around it for my whole life,” Carrigan said. “When they finally offered me, I could see myself going there, but I wanted to have time to think about it and see if it was the right fit for me. I talked with my family and it seemed like the best decision for me.”

Carrigan's impact: "Carrigan is a natural receiver and has a deft pair of hands in the passing game. He doesn’t often drop the football. Carrigan’s basketball background also gives him an active pair of feet and he’s light on the hoof. Carrigan has no problems adjusting to the football when it’s in the air and he can catch over his shoulder or on his back foot. That will continue to serve him well in college." Read more in the Film Room Friday breakdown.

From his coach: “I think Grant’s transition went really well. He came in really late and actually didn’t join us until mid-July when we were along the way. But he came in and he’s obviously a big physical presence. He’s every bit of 6-foot-7 and 260 pounds. We had to find where he fit in our offense and what we do. We had him at tackle there for a bit since we don’t use an attached tight end for our offense and we also played him at H-back,” Carrigan's head coach Eric Kasperowicz explained. “On defense for us, he really excelled at defensive end. It was something new for him and he got better each week. I’m sure as he continues to grow and mature physically, he’ll get even better.”