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Tipton commits: The place to be

The last fortnight has seen Tre Tipton's recruitment skyrocket.
There was the Michigan State camp two weeks ago followed by an offer from the Spartans, and that theme - a strong camp performance leading to an offer - was repeated a week later at Pitt. Then he was at Pitt for a two-day visit this past week and he returned to spend more time with the coaches on Saturday.
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But Tipton saved his biggest moment for last, as the Apollo-Ridge receiver decided to end it all with a commitment to Pitt Saturday night.
"I was thinking about it and me and my mom and my coach all talked, and we just said Pitt's the place to be," Tipton told Panther-Lair.com. "I called Coach (Paul) Chryst and I told him and he was excited. He said he can't wait to start working with me."
Tipton had been favoring Pitt for a long time - he was a fixture at the Panthers' home games at Heinz Field last fall - but it was the two-day visit this past week that pushed him over the edge, since he spent those two days with current Pitt players, and that ended up being a major selling point for Pitt.
"It was the players and the people; they're all so together, all so close-knit," Tipton said. "The players are what sticks with you from the whole experience; they're the ones who will mean the most when you're there. I know that the guys that are there are the right ones for me; them and the coaches are the best ones for me.
"The coaches are of the best guys you can ever talk. They understand the process and what every young man has to do to be successful, and they're like fathers to every guy that goes there. Everything just seems right at Pitt. I wanted it to feel like a family and ball out for four years with a family. They're the ones for me."
As a junior at Apollo-Ridge last season, Tipton, 6'1" 170, caught 44 passes for 697 yards and scored 14 touchdowns. But it's not just his scoring ability that led the Pitt coaches to offer him.
"They said I could be a very good fit for them," he said. "They said they know I'm a hard-worker and wherever I can fit in, I'll be able to play there. They said they think they can utilize me all over the offense.
"The coaches said I'm a good listener and I'm able to understand what they're teaching me and incorporate it as fast as possible."
For his part, Tipton thinks he can be part of a bright future for the Panthers.
"I think I'm very capable of helping my team win games, and I think the process we're going through at Pitt will lead us to be a really good team in the future," he said. "It's just the process of the guys they're adding and what they're doing in order for them to be the best. They're just pushing themselves and pushing themselves and pushing themselves."
In addition to Pitt and Michigan State, Tipton had offers from Akron, Buffalo, Duquesne, UMass, Ohio, St. Francis (PA) and Toledo. He was considering Penn State's prospect camp this coming weekend and a return trip to Michigan State, but he said those plans are cancelled.
"I'm calling off the visits and everything," Tipton said. "I'm a Pitt guy."
Tipton is the seventh recruit to commit to Pitt in the class of 2015, joining Canon-McMillan offensive lineman Alex Paulina, Altoona linebacker Kevin Givens, Kittanning tight end Nick Bowers, Malvern Prep quarterback Alex Hornibrook, Wilmington (Del.) Alexis I Dupont receiver Quadree Henderson and Hallandale Beach (Fla.) Hallandale defensive back Malik Henderson.
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