SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Highly recruited four-star South Charleston defensive back Derrek Pitts on Wednesday night ended a busy recruiting process by announcing his commitment to Penn State, pointing to the relationships made by the coaching staff with his family.
In what has been a strong 2017 recruiting class for the state, Pitts had been regarded by many recruiting services as the most sought after.
“Derrek has handled all of the attention very well,” said South Charleston coach Donnie Mays. “When I first told him that he was offered by Auburn, it didn’t really hit him – it was just another day. That was his mentality at the beginning.
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“But then all of the sudden it’s also Clemson, Tennessee, Penn State, West Virginia and all of these other schools,” he continued. “He was a bit taken aback, but he did a really good job of handling it. He understood the process and the more he got out and about, talking with other players, he became more comfortable with the process and it showed his maturity.”
As a junior, Pitts led the Black Eagles with 82 total tackles, including 61 solo tackles and six tackles for a loss. Offensively, he caught 33 passes for 480 yards and five touchdowns. Pitts also rushed for 305 yards and three touchdowns on 44 carries. Along with punt returns and kick returns, Pitts tallied 1,052 all-purpose yards.
“He plays at a different speed, it’s second to none,” Mays said. “He does a lot of things really well, just by instinct, which puts him above a lot of players. He’s a big kid, with room to grow – that’s the positive. He’ll continue to get taller, faster and stronger. You can see it in his body type, I would say he has a couple inches left in him. He can run very fast, but I’m sure it’ll get even better and he’s going to get a lot stronger.
“They see him as an every-down player that doesn’t have to be specialized or subbed out, because he is fast,” Mays continued. “He’s long, rangy and he can jump. He’s that guy that is in a nickel position, but he can play run downs too.”
Heading into Wednesday, Pitts had narrowed his top five choices down to WVU, Penn State, Tennessee, Florida and Maryland. He’s listed at 6-foot-1, 180 pounds and has plenty of upside at the next level.
“It’s a special moment for a lot of people, especially Derrek and his family,” Mays said. “It’s a rarity. Not too many kids are recruited like this in this area. It has been a pretty neat experience for him and it was for me.
“I’m just tickled to death that he gets to focus on his senior year and not be bombarded with Tweets, texts and phone calls about what he’s going to do,” he continued. “Now he can focus and work on the goals that he set forth for this season.”
Other in-state players that have committed to Power Five schools include Spring Valley’s Riley Locklear to Tennessee, Point Pleasant’s Seth Stewart to LSU, Morgantown’s Maverick Wolfley to WVU and Capital’s Dorian Etheridge to Louisville.
Huntington’s Billy Ross is expected to commit in the coming days to a Power Five program as well, but reportedly has narrowed Tennessee, Florida State and North Carolina to the top of his list.