Wright committed with 'a sense of urgency'
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When Kyi Wright announced his top three on Wednesday, he did so thinking that his commitment would come in a few weeks, probably sometime in July.
But by Thursday morning, the Farrell athlete looked at the recruiting landscape and decided to push up that timeline. So he called Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi and committed to the Panthers.
“I thought it was better for me to commit now,” Wright told Panther-Lair.com. “Seeing how many commits they were having, I thought it was the right decision.”
Wright’s commitment continued a hot streak for Narduzzi and the Pitt staff. After landing 11 commitments over a four-day span from Friday to Monday, the Panthers’ 2019 class was quickly filling up. That recruiting buzz reached Wright, and he started thinking seriously about certain opportunities that might not exist for much longer.
“I saw the commits and started to think about it a lot more,” he said. “I felt pretty high on them for awhile now, it was just a matter of talking it over with my family and my coach and making the decision.
“I was noticing the players they were filling up on and I didn’t want to let the opportunity pass by.”
So Wright, citing “a sense of urgency,” became Pitt’s 13th commitment in the 2019 class Thursday morning, joining a group that has been largely built on out-of-state recruits. Just two of the Panthers’ first 12 verbals came from Pennsylvania prospects (Berks Catholic linebacker Brandon George and Loyalsock Township defensive end Bam Brima); Wright makes it three from in-state, and he’s also the first recruit from western Pennsylvania to pick the Panthers.
That proximity was one of the factors in his decision.
“I have a great relationship the coaches and I feel like we can really do something special at Pitt in the next few years,” he said. “And being close to home so my family can see my play, that’s big for me, too.”
Wright’s top three consisted of Pitt, Wisconsin and North Carolina, and he also had offers from Maryland, Syracuse, UCLA, Wake Forest, Akron, Cincinnati, Miami (Oh.), Temple, Toledo and Youngstown State. He said he has developed close relationships with linebackers coach Rob Harley, tight ends coach Tim Salem, offensive line coach Dave Borbely, who has taken over his area recruiter, and head coach Pat Narduzzi.
“The relationship with Coach Narduzzi is great,” Wright said. “I think he’s an amazing coach and I think the Pitt football culture is starting to change with him being the head coach.”
At 6’3” and 240 pounds, Wright has some position versatility. He’s listed as an outside linebacker in the Rivals.com database and ranks as the No. 23 prospect in the nation at that position, but earlier this spring, the Pitt coaches told him they liked him as a tight end.
When he committed on Thursday, Wright and Narduzzi talked again about position.
“Right now, Coach Narduzzi calls me a big athlete, so we’re still not sure which position I would play,” he said. “We talked about linebacker [on Thursday], but they said that can change depending on what I want to play when I get there.
“I like linebacker the best, honestly. I would play middle linebacker or the boundary linebacker in their defense.”