Pitt gets its Quarterback
Pitt's run of April commitments continued on Thursday night as the Panthers picked up a commitment from Nate Yarnell, a 6'6' and 200-pound quarterback from Lake Travis High School in Austin (TX). Yarnell chose Pitt over offers from Utah, Houston, and Nevada along with a few others.
Yarnell threw for 1,489 yards and 14 touchdowns a season ago for Lake Travis. He came off the bench to replace the injured Hudson Card, a 2020 Texas signee and started six games. His team went 6-0 in those starts and he helped take Lake Travis to the postseason.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Yarnell was unable to take a visit to Pittsburgh just yet. He was able to take a virtual tour recently and got a feel for the facility. The bulk of his recruiting has been done over the phone with offensive coordinator Mark Whipple, who offered Yarnell back on March 29th.
Yarnell recently spoke with Panther-Lair.com and acknowledged the unique circumstances he and many other recruits are facing. It is not ideal to commit without seeing the school in-person, but he recognized these aren't normal times.
When asked if he could commit to a program without seeing it, he had already begun to prepare for that. “I think it’s very possibly I could do that; it’s just part of adapting to the situation," Yarnell said in a recent interview. "Really, all bets are off. I’m just going to try to do what I think is right and make my decision when the time is right and I’m ready. Anything can happen.”
Yarnell will immediately become one of the anchors of the class as the quarterback. Pitt was unable to secure a commitment from a 2020 high school quarterback and was fortunate to land Arizona State transfer Joey Yellen to make up for it. The coaching staff prioritized getting a quarterback in the fold early for this recruiting cycle.
Pitt landed four commitments last week, and have landed two today to bring the class total up to nine members as it stands today. The coaches have worked hard on the offensive side of the ball to date with a quarterback, running back, two wide receivers, and an offensive linemen all committed to this point.
The Pitt coaches have now secured commitments from players from five different states: Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and now Texas. Yarnell becomes the first Texas native to commit to Pitt since Erick Hallett did in the class of 2018.