Texas CB commits to Pitt

Pitt landed another cornerback commitment for the 2018 class on Sunday when Houston (Tex.) Cy-Fair prospect Erick Hallett committed to the Panthers.

Hallett was a late addition to Pitt’s recruiting board. New defensive coordinator Randy Bates knew Hallett from recruiting at Northwestern, and when Pat Narduzzi told Bates he needed another cornerback in the class, Hallett was the name he suggested.

Hallett took his official visit to Pitt last weekend and got an offer at the end of the visit.

“I liked it a lot,” Hallett told Panther-Lair.com after the visit. “There are great people up here, they have great facilities and it’s a great city. The people were really what stood out. The people were really amazing; you can really connect to them. They’re great people.

“I really liked it there; it’s a really good place to be, a really good place for the people.”

Hallett is the fourth defensive back to commit to Pitt in the 2018 class, joining Judson Tallandier, Marquis Williams and V’Lique Carter, who signed in December. Williams is strictly a cornerback (although he could line up as a nickel), while Tallandier and Carter are corners with the potential to play safety.

The additions of those four players further boosts a secondary that has been a multi-year project for Pat Narduzzi since he arrived at Pitt in 2015. The Panthers signed four defensive backs in the 2015 class, six in the 2016 class and three in last year’s class. Not all of those 13 players are still on the team, but most are, and the result of those efforts is a deep and talented secondary.

Hallett, Tallandier, Williams and Carter will keep that strengthening in the defensive backfield on track.

With Hallett on board, Pitt now has 18 commitments in the 2018 recruiting class, plus one more new scholarship in Indiana receiver transfer Taysir Mack.