Pitt gets its first commit for 2017
Pitt landed its first commitment in the class of 2017 Saturday when Johnstown cornerback Exree Loe picked the Panthers.
Loe made his commitment after watching Pitt hold a scrimmage Saturday morning.
"We talked after practice, and Coach (Pat) Narduzzi was saying that he wants me to step up and be the one to get it started for 2017," Loe told Panther-Lair.com. "I was excited about being the first one, I think I can pull in more kids like Paris Ford and guys like that.
"I feel like if we all go there, we can build a national championship team."
After watching Pitt's practice and spending some time with the coaches, Loe headed back to Johnstown and thought about his options. Pitt is his only offer at this point, but the appeal of being a building block in the 2017 class and the general appeal of the Panthers swayed him to a decision.
"It just kind of hit me when I got home," Loe said. "I talked it over with my family and they supported me, so I made the call.
"Coach Narduzzi was excited. He was happy that I'm the first one to do it like he wanted me to be."
Loe's call went to Narduzzi, who wanted defensive coordinator Josh Conklin and cornerbacks coach Renaldo Hill to also hear the news. Loe worked on contacting those two coaches before he made his commitment public.
That public announcement came Sunday morning.
"I just feel like the coaches are good and have supported me and I have family there that supports me, too, so it's a good fit," he said. "My cousin is a team doctor for the Steelers, so he's close."
Loe got a close look at his future team Saturday morning. Pitt's first scrimmage of camp was a "win" for the offense, but the Johnstown junior liked what he saw from the defense as well.
"It was really good; very high-paced and a lot of electricity," Loe said. "I watched a little bit of everything. The defense really stood out but both sides were really good, honestly.
"I was up in the booth with Coach Conklin hearing him call plays. He let me a call a play, and when they ran it, they got a pick-six."
Pitt was the only school to offer Loe, 5'11" 175, but he was pulling interest from Penn State, West Virginia, Cincinnati, Wisconsin, Stanford, Virginia and Virginia Tech.
Click Here to view this Link.