Pitt’s 2009 recruiting comes alive

By Darrell Laurant  |   Tuesday, July 01, 2008  |  Comments( 0 )

Pittsburgh Panthers
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The Pitt Panthers were justifiably proud of their 2008 recruiting class, led by prep All-America wide receiver Jonathan Baldwin from nearby Aliquippa -- but as of mid-June, the 2009 effort seemed dead in the water. As Big East rivals Rutgers and South Florida were gobbling up future players, Pitt's list was stuck at two.

No longer. At the end of June, Dave Wannstedt and his staff coaxed verbal commitments from three in-state prospects -- wide receiver Devin Street (Bethlehem), two-way lineman Juantez Hollins (Aliquippa) and defensive end Jack Lippert (Central Dauphin).

Moreover, four-star defensive lineman Tyrone Ezell of Homestead Steel Valley had reportedly narrowed his choices to Pitt and Ohio State.

Street, also coveted by Boston College, Rutgers and Connecticut, is a big-play receiver with small forward size (6-foot-4, 175 pounds) and sub-4.4 speed, a similar player to Baldwin. The 6-4, 265-pound Hollins and the 6-4, 248-pound Lippert were both gradually developing players who were receiving more and more college attention and probably would have gotten multiple offers as seniors.

But, Hollins said, signing with Pitt "was just something I felt like I needed to do."

Lippert, meanwhile, told the Pittsburgh Press-Gazette, "I just picked a day. I woke up on Monday and thought, 'Today's a good day (to commit)."

As for Street, he described himself as "A competitive guy. I hate losing, and I don't lose."
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