The recruiting process for college football begins well over a year in advance of National… The recruiting process for college football begins well over a year in advance of National Letter of Intent Day, the first day that high school seniors can officially sign on to play for a college the following season.

But Pitt head football coach Todd Graham took office just three weeks ago, meaning he and his staff had to squeeze a year’s worth of recruiting into a short amount of time. So after the handshakes were over and Graham was introduced to the fans at a press conference and a basketball game, he hit the recruiting trail.

Graham announced a 20-person recruiting class yesterday, featuring two four-star players and 10 three-star players, according to Rivals.com. Eighteen of those players have already sent their signed letters of intent, generally the last major step of the recruiting process.

“My coaching staff has done a tremendous job in a short period of time to turn this thing around,” Graham said during a press conference at Heinz Field yesterday. “They called upon existing relationships as well as created new relationships.”

Of the 18 recruits who signed yesterday, only four were from former head coach Dave Wannstedt’s original class of 17 — a class considered by many to be the best in the Big East.

The rest of Wannstedt’s recruits decided that the firing of the coach who recruited them, along with the subsequent hiring and firing of Mike Haywood, was too much turmoil for them.

Two more players are already on campus — defensive linemen Khaynin Mosley-Smith and Zenel Demhasaj. Mosley-Smith and Demhasaj will be able to practice this spring with the team.

Courting contenders

Graham started the recruiting process by visiting players in their homes, then returned to Oakland for the recruits’ official visits to the campus. He said he visited 24 homes in two weeks.

Jokingly, Graham thanked his pilots for all the hours they spent flying him around the country. Pitt recruited players from a variety of states such as, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, D.C., New York, Ohio, Alabama, Florida and Georgia. Graham said the coaches wanted to focus on nationwide recruiting.

“We have a great brand, we have a great, great tradition [at Pitt],” he said. “We went to a lot of states in the South and Pitt is very well received. But our focus is to win and to own Western Pennsylvania and that’s something we’ve got to work on immediately.”

Winning over Western Pennsylvania started with Lafayette Pitts, a defensive back from Woodland Hills, Pa., who de-committed from Pitt during the coaching changes. But Pitts, one of the top prospects in Western Pennsylvania, returned to the Panthers when he faxed his letter of intent yesterday.

“We thought he was one of — if not the best — players in the area,” Graham said. “He was a ‘must’ for us.”

Graham emphasized the qualities that he looked for in each of his recruits.

“Our approach is that we [have a] high octane, fast-tempo and explosive style of football. Blue-collar and hard-edge,” Graham said. “These are the characteristics that you will find in this class. Our main focus from a position standpoint was speed and explosive power.”

He added that he wants the Pitt program to focus on bringing in men of character.

“Our focus in this class is first and foremost character, work ethic, discipline,” he said. “I’m so excited about this group that they bring a winning attitude to already a very, very fine group of men.”

With the departure of Dion Lewis to the NFL, Graham found it necessary to address the running back position in the 2011 class.

He was also adamant on getting defensive backs, his position in college at East Central University in Ada, Okla. Pitt’s secondary was clearly a sore spot and Graham looked to add depth to the position with yesterday’s commitments.

“The running back position was a big focus for us and you see we signed four running backs,” Graham said. “The defensive backs were a big focus for us as well. You see six defensive backs that we signed.”

With the new additions, the Panthers have stocked up at these two valuable positions, and one of those freshman running backs could potentially get carries next season to spell probable starter Ray Graham.

“All those running backs are guys that we think have an opportunity to fit in with what we do,” Graham said. “We do a lot of different things when it comes to the backfield.”

Many of the younger players could make it onto the field to be playmakers because of that speed and athleticism. Graham said that with his unique football philosophy — what he described as a no-huddle football team — the coaching staff wasn’t concerned about rankings. They wanted to find players that fit the philosophy and approach Pitt will bring to the field next season.

“I’m excited. I can’t wait,” Graham said. “Our staff can’t wait to get started. I think [the fans] are going to be really, really pleased with the product we put on the field.”