New TE commit: Pitt is "as good as it gets"

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Pitt hit the daily double with tight ends on Thursday when Neshannock’s Tyler Sear decided to join the Panthers.

Sear’s commitment followed the verbal pledge of Pine-Richland’s Grant Carrigan, who also committed on Thursday. Pitt offered both Sear and Carrigan on Saturday, but Sear’s situation was unique since his commitment also involved decommitting from Temple.

“I’m excited to commit to Pitt,” Sear told Panther-Lair.com. “I’m a little upset that I had to go back on my word with Temple, but I had to do what’s best for me.”

Carrigan’s commitment likely helped Sear make his decision, since Pitt intends to only take two tight ends in the 2017 class - a fact that Sear was aware of.

“I knew they were taking two and I knew I wanted to be one so I took my opportunity,” he said.

In addition to Pitt and Temple, Sear had offers from Air Force, Akron, Cincinnati, Kent State and Toledo. He had been in regular contact with the Pitt staff for some time, and on Saturday, the coaches made it official with an offer.

From there, it didn’t take long for Sear to get on board.

“When I got the offer, I was pretty into Pitt,” he said. “I was considering it for awhile now, and I figured I would just go ahead and make the decision.

“It’s close to home. It’s my hometown team. It’s in the ACC. It’s as good as it gets football-wise and academically. It’s the perfect fit for me. I’m really blessed and excited to have the opportunity.”

Sear, 6’5” 255, was listed as the No. 2 tight end in the WPIAL by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review entering his senior season at Neshannock. Last year he caught 12 passes for 199 yards and four touchdowns. With him on board, Pitt now has 14 commitments in the class of 2017. Four of those 14 commitments are from the WPIAL.