Coach Pat Narduzzi sent out his customized Pat Signal tweet for the Class of 2020 six times Saturday, indicating Pitt football received verbal, nonbinding commitments from six prospects, including its first two four-star recruits this year, wide receiver Aydin Hemmingham of Deerfield Beach, Fla., and safety Jahvante Royal of St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Also, for those of you who believe Pitt doesn’t recruit well enough in western Pennsylvania, the Panthers landed a coveted local recruit when three-star Westinghouse defensive end Dayon Hayes (6-foot-3, 250 pounds) announced his commitment Saturday night. Hayes is the No. 3 player and No. 1 defensive lineman in Pennsylvania, according to Rivals.com. He is Pitt’s only Pennsylvania recruit.
I want to thank my family, coaches, teammates, and everyone who played a part in the most important decision of my life! Thanks @duzz for welcoming me to the family @CoachPartridge @coachcsanders #H2P pic.twitter.com/eSVeUpaSDJ
— DayonHayes (@HayesDayon) June 23, 2019
C O M M I T T E D?#2ManyLights0n #H2P #BallFor23 @CoachDuzzPittFB @BeattyCoach @CoachPartridge pic.twitter.com/tt9eJEj3V3
— Aydin “Alex” Henningham (@Underated_561) June 22, 2019
Pitt has 15 known players on its 2020 verbal commitment list. Six announced their pledges Saturday. Nine are from Florida or Georgia, and with the exceptions of Hemmingham and Royal, 13 are rated three-stars by Rivals.
Signing day is six months away, but Pitt has landed commitments from 12 known players in the past seven days. Prior to the weekend, Pitt’s class was ranked No. 49 nationally, according to Rivals. After Hayes committed, the Panthers were 21st, seventh in the ACC.
One of the first five to confirm commitments to the Panthers was Hemmingham, who is the 54th-ranked wide receiver in the U.S. and the 46th overall prospect in Florida. He chose Pitt among his 15 offers, including ones from Ohio State, Auburn, Florida, Kentucky, Louisville and Mississippi State.
Late Saturday night, Royal announced his commitment on his Twitter account. He is rated by Rivals as the No. 14 safety in the nation (34th player overall in Florida), with offers from 25 schools, including Florida, Georgia, Florida State, Penn State, Ohio State, Syracuse and Virginia.
COMMITED??? !! #H2P #2ManyLights0n @CoachDuzzPittFB @CoachPartridge @ARCHIECOLLINS22 pic.twitter.com/nnojCuM6ZA
— Vante⛓ (@jahvante_royal) June 23, 2019
Also confirming their commitment through Twitter were Jordan Addison of Tuscarora High in Frederick, Md.; outside linebacker A.J. Roberts of Staten Island, N.Y.; and defensive end Timothy Brown of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. They are rated three-star prospects by Rivals.
Addison (6-foot, 160 pounds) has 19 scholarship offers, including ones from ACC schools Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Virginia and Syracuse. Notre Dame and South Carolina also submitted offers.
Roberts (6-2, 210) has offers from LSU, Purdue, Boston College. Duke, Rutgers and Syracuse. He is the third linebacker in Pitt’s class.
Brown (6-4, 260) is ranked 38th nationally among strong-side defensive ends, according to Rivals. He is the 83rd overall prospect in Florida and holds offers from Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Penn State and West Virginia, among others.
Committed ?? #H2P #2ManyLights0n @CoachPartridge pic.twitter.com/wYO7zEhLPk
— Timothy Brown (@jackboy_TJ) June 22, 2019
Committed?? #H2P @BeattyCoach @Lando247365 pic.twitter.com/8wVkRUkkM1
— Jordan Addison?? (@Espn_Jordan) June 22, 2019
PITT IS IT!!!! #H2P #2ManyLights0n pic.twitter.com/9wPzQ2C4vJ
— Pat Narduzzi (@CoachDuzzPittFB) June 22, 2019
ACC i want all the smoke??? pic.twitter.com/p73KG1ekta
— Aj Roberts (@AjRoberts09) June 22, 2019
Also, four-star offensive tackle Aaryn Parks, who recently decommitted from Penn State, visited Pitt’s campus, according to Rivals.com. Parks (6-5, 294) is ranked as the No. 10 offensive tackle in the nation. He plays at National Christian Academy in Fort Washington, Md.
