Several highly touted recruits chose Pitt over the summer

Several athletes committed to Pitt over the summer, for both football and basketball. The Pitt News brings you a recap of the summer’s top commitments… Several athletes committed to Pitt over the summer, for both football and basketball. The Pitt News brings you a recap of the summer’s top commitments.

Football

—Pitt received two commitments in two days from some of Pennsylvania’s best recruits.

Running back Jameel Poteat committed on July 28, and defensive back Terrell Chestnut announced his decision the following day. Both are four-star recruits, according to Rivals.com, a site that ranks prospective college recruits based on their statistics and evaluations from a team of experts.

Poteat is a running back from Harrisburg, and last year, during his junior season at Bishop McDevitt High School, he rushed for 1,664 yards and scored 24 touchdowns. At 5-foot-11 and 195 pounds, he says his inspiration was former Panther running back LeSean “Shady” McCoy, who also went to Bishop McDevitt.

“[McCoy]’s like my big brother,” Poteat said.

But McCoy was only a small influence on Poteat’s decision. The team’s recent success was more important, he said.

Chestnut was also an influence. He plays quarterback at Pottstown’s Pottsgrove High School. In the past two seasons at Pottsgrove, he ran for 2,248 yards and scored 40 touchdowns. He also passed for 1,438 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Poteat said he and Chestnut are best friends.

“Since my freshman year, we’ve been saying we are going to go to the same school,” Poteat said.

—Bill Belton, a four-star receiver from Winslow Township High School in Atco, N.J., picked Pitt over Penn State, Florida, Oregon and Nebraska.

—Marquise Wright, a four-star defensive tackle from Paramus Catholic High School in Paramus, N.J., picked the Panthers over Miami, Cincinnati, North Carolina, Penn State and Oklahoma.

—Max Issaka, a three-star defensive end from Woodbridge, N.J., committed to Pitt over Rutgers, Michigan State, North Carolina State and Virginia. He is the fifth player from New Jersey to commit to Pitt in this recruiting class.

—Kyshoen Jarrett, a four-star cornerback from East Stroudsburg South High School in East Stroudsburg, Pa., chose Pitt over numerous Big Ten, Big East and ACC offers. These commitments, along with others, landed Pitt’s 2011 recruiting class at No. 22 in ESPN’s ranking.

Basketball

-Durand Johnson, a 6-foot-6 small forward from Brewster Academy in New Hampshire, chose Pitt over 21 other scholarship offers from schools such as Maryland, Louisville, Georgetown and Xavier.

Rivals.com gave rates Johnson, the team’s third recruit for the class of 2011, three starsas a three-star recruit.

-Malcolm Gilbert, a center from Bryn Athyn, Pa., verbally committed to the Panthers last week.

The 6six-foot-11eleven, 230- pound three-star recruit is entering his senior season at Academy of the New Church, and he chose Pitt over Ohio State, Wake Forest and Virginia.