Darian Street planned to announce his commitment two weeks from now, but over the weekend, he decided that timeline was just a bit too long.
So on Monday, the wide receiver prospect from Bethlehem Liberty announced on Twitter that he’ll be playing his college football at Pitt.
“I’m going to Pitt,” Street told Panther-Lair.com. “I was basically down to Pitt and UConn and I loved UConn, too; the things I looked for in a school, they both had. Pitt just seems better.
“The coaches are great, they’re down to earth. And I love the area, the city of Pittsburgh. The education is great and I could see myself doing good down there.”
When Street announced that he would commit on June 18, the expectation was that he would choose the Panthers. But after visiting Connecticut over the weekend, that plan changed.
“I was going to give myself some time to think about it after the visit, but [on Sunday] it just clicked; I knew I wanted to go to Pitt,” he said. “They’re only taking two receivers for my class, and I wanted to lock in my spot. I didn’t want to miss it.
“It was a couple weeks ago when they told me they were only taking two, so I started freaking out because Pitt’s one of my top schools, and if they were fill up and I couldn’t go there, I would have been bummed. So I knew I had to make my decision soon.”
Street, of course, is the younger brother of former Pitt receiver and current Dallas Cowboy Devin Street, who finished his college career as the Panthers’ all-time leading receiver. The elder Street played at Pitt during some tumultuous years - he had three coaching staffs in five years - and that experience has impacted the younger Street’s view of current head coach Pat Narduzzi.
“He’s one of the best coaches they’ve had in a really long time. He’s setting the program in a great direction, and I think they’re really going to be good. They got into the top 25 last year for the first time in awhile.
“And he’s just getting the players a lot of things. He really cares about them and he’s a really good guy. He pushed for new facilities, new uniforms, busses to take the players around campus, he got that all for the players.”
Street has also connected with receivers coach Kevin Sherman, who has been one of his main contacts at Pitt.
“He’s really excited to work with me and he’s a really cool guy,” Street said. “He reminds me of an uncle; I think I’ll have a good bond when we get down there and I feel like I can go to him with anything.
“They compare me to Tyler Boyd a lot because of how smooth I am and how I run my routes. Devin has done a lot to teach me about technique, so I feel like I’m a step ahead of other receivers out there because of my technique.”
As a junior at Liberty last season, Street, 6’2” 173, caught 29 passes for 333 yards and six touchdowns. He picked Pitt over Connecticut and Kent State, and he was hearing interest from Wake Forest, N.C. State, North Carolina and, most recently Penn State (head coach James Franklin reached out to Street after he announced that he would be committing on Monday).
Nevertheless, Street feels like he has found his future home.
“I think Pitt’s the right place for me.”
Street is the sixth recruit to commit to Pitt in the class of 2017 and the third to pick the Panthers in the last three days. Quarterback Kenny Pickett committed on Saturday and linebacker Cameron Bright committed on Sunday. Of the six recruits in the class, Street and Pickett are the only two currently projected for offense.
