THE RANKINGS SO FAR - No. 15 - The class of 2011 | No. 14 - The class of 2012 | No. 13 - The class of 2015 | No. 12 - The class of 2005 | No. 11 - The class of 2004 | No. 10 - The class of 2014 | No. 9 - The class of 2003 | No. 8 - The class of 2010 | No. 7 - The class of 2009 | No. 6 - The class of 2008 | No. 5 - The class of 2016

From Pat Narduzzi's first full class, we move to his second full class, a class that features as many as 10 starters from this season's team and the top-ranked Narduzzi class in this countdown.

It's the class of 2017.

Whereas the class of 2016 was built in large part prior to Narduzzi's first season, the class of 2017 was recruited after Narduzzi had led Pitt to its first eight-win regular season in in more than five years.

Here's what the 2017 class looked like.

The star of the class, of course, is Paris Ford. the No. 5 safety prospect in the country and the highest-ranked recruit to commit to Pitt since Dorian Johnson in the 2013 class. But while Ford was a huge pickup as a four-star local prospect, the 2017 class at the time seemed to be defined even more by the recruits the Panthers didn't get.

That's because the class of 2017 was a rough one for Pitt. In addition to Ford, the Panthers got local commitments from Grant Carrigan, Tyler Sear and Gabe Houy. But the WPIAL also had Lamont Wade, CJ Thorpe, Donovan Jeter, Kurt Hinish, David Adams, Josh Lugg and Kenny Robinson in the class of 2017; all of them had offers from Pitt and none of them picked the Panthers.

It wasn't just a local problem either. 2017 was the year that Pitt tried to restock its defensive end roster and the coaches hosted the following seven defensive end targets for official visits:

Deslin Alexandre, Nathan Proctor, TyJuan Garbutt, Zion Debose, Victor Dimukeje, Guy Thomas and Kofi Wardlow.

Pitt got one of those seven to commit and ended up with just one defensive end in the class.

But the passage of time adds plenty of context, and what looked like a disappointing class at the time has turned into arguably Narduzzi's highest-performing class. Ford has become a legitimate star and has the potential to be the ACC's most exciting defensive player this season. Jaylen Twyman is an all-conference player and will likely be an early selection in the 2021 NFL Draft. Jason Pinnock and Damarri Mathis will be Pitt's starting cornerbacks in 2020. Alexandre was a starter every game last season, and if he moves into a reserve role this year, it will only be due to Pitt's overwhelming depth at defensive end. And Kenny Pickett is on the verge of being a three-year starter at quarterback.

The hits don't stop there. Cam Bright was a productive reserve linebacker in 2019 and will be a starter this season. Carter Warren was a first-year starter last year at left tackle and should retain that job this season. Either Gabe Houy or Carson Van Lynn will likely be in a starting role this year. AJ Davis was Pitt's leading rusher in 2019. And Kirk Christodoulou is the team's top punter.

What's more, the 2017 class also has relatively low attrition compared to some of the classes around it. Pitt signed 24 recruits in 2017; 17 of them are still on the roster (and of the seven who left, two - Jerry Drake and Albert Tucker - were for medical reasons).

Three years later, Pitt's 2017 class has had a remarkably strong hit rate for stars, starters and contributors. And the class could look even more top-heavy after the 2020 season.