CHARLESTON, W.Va. — South Charleston’s Derrek Pitts, the top-rated senior in a deeper-than-usual class of West Virginia prospects, plans to announce his college decision Wednesday afternoon.
The Rivals four-star safety likes what he has heard from his home-state Mountaineers, though recently he also pegged Florida, Tennessee, Maryland and Penn State among his finalists.
Pitts plans to publicize his commitment in a 5:30 p.m. ceremony from Dem 2 Brothers and A Grill in Charleston.
After multiple unofficial visits to the Gainesville campus, Pitts called Florida “my dream school.” His lead recruiter there, defensive backs coach Torrian Gray, had been pursuing Pitts the past two years from Virginia Tech.
“He and I have a great relationship with each other from when he recruited me to Virginia Tech,” Pitts told GatorCountry.com. “When I first found out that he got the job at Florida, I told him that it was my dream school that I had always wanted the offer. I told him he could ask me anything about Florida and I would tell him about it.
“Everything about Coach Gray is great—he has a lot of passion.”
Pitts also raved about Tennessee, a school currently building a top-10 recruiting class with a commitment from another top in-state prospect, Spring Valley offensive lineman Riley Locklear.
“Tennessee was mind-blowing,” Pitts told Rivals earlier this month. “When I first walked in it felt good and I liked the vibe. They had a DJ that was yelling my name when I walked in on the orange carpet.”
Yet it may be Penn State that presents the strongest challenge. Under third-year coach James Franklin, the Nittany Lions have begun recovering from the Jerry Sandusky scandal with strong back-to-back classes, and their 2017 group receive a boost last week from the commitment of another four-star safety, Jonathan Sutherland.
Rivals currently ranks West Virginia’s 2017 class at No. 53 nationally—a position that could improve dramatically with a Pitts commitment. On the flip side, WVU hasn’t had much luck in-state this summer after Capital linebacker Dorian Etheridge chose Louisville and Point Pleasant offensive tackle Seth Stewart committed to LSU.
Huntington offensive lineman Billy Ross, who is challenging Pitts for the billing of top in-state prospect, reportedly has Tennessee, Florida State and North Carolina atop his list of 29 offers.