The first Wednesday in February used to be a big day at Pitt and everywhere else across college football.
The fax machine whirled, spitting out national letters of intent. Coaches from Walt Harris to Todd Graham to Pat Narduzzi stalked the halls outside their office, seemingly attached to their phones by glue, welcoming high school seniors to Pitt.
“Hey, big dawg, you ready to win a national championship,” Graham bellowed 10 years ago, almost to the day.
It was a mere moment, but exciting at the time.
These days, most of the heavy lifting in recruiting occurs in December. Pitt signed 23 high school seniors six weeks ago during that first signing period, an NCAA innovation adopted in 2017. It signed none Wednesday, the start of the second official period when prospects can sign.
Still, this is Pitt’s largest class in four years. More importantly, it’s ranked by Rivals.com 22nd in the nation — Pitt’s first top-25 class since 2006 — and fourth in the ACC (behind only Clemson, Miami and North Carolina).
Pitt’s 2021 class of incoming freshmen looks good on paper, but finding prospects in the NCAA transfer portal is just as important and sometimes more immediately impactful.
Such might be the case for two players Pitt introduced Wednesday on Zoom conference calls.
Marcus Minor, an offensive lineman who started 17 games at Maryland from 2017-20, could step into the vacancy created at left guard after Bryce Hargrove exhausted his eligibility.
M.J. Devonshire, a former Aliquippa defensive back who was one of the state’s top high school players in 2018, will compete for playing time at cornerback and kick returner. He spent the past two seasons at Kentucky.
Minor (6-foot-4, 310 pounds) was recruited by Narduzzi from Dematha Catholic in Hyattsville, Md., but Minor chose Maryland to stay close to home.
“At the time, it wasn’t a big choice for me,” he said. “I think I was too young to understand what went into a good college program.”
Minor has an immediate comfort level at Pitt. He was recruited to Maryland by Pitt offensive line coach Dave Borbely, a former member of the Terrapins staff.
“I wasn’t paying attention to the long run to help my football goals at the time,” Minor said. “I passed up Pitt for the time being, but I do know everything happens for a reason. That’s why I’m here now and ready to make big steps to go forward.”
Naturally, Minor, who has two years of eligibility left, wants a chance to go the NFL.
“Being here is going to give me the opportunity to push myself and get where I want to get,” he said. “I want to go to the league. That’s my end-all, be-all.”
In the meantime, he said he’ll settle for “All-ACC first team, All-American.”
“I want to be one of the best linemen to come out of Pitt.”
Devonshire, who has four years of eligibility, will compete for time in a secondary that lost cornerback Jason Pinnock and safeties Damar Hamlin and Paris Ford. Cornerback Damarri Mathis is returning after missing 2020 with an injury, and he will be joined by Marquis Williams and A.J. Woods, who last year started eight and three games, respectively, as sophomores.
Devonshire said he has matured since deciding to attend Kentucky, where he appeared in nine games during the 2020 season.
“The first time around, I was a kid,” he said. “I wasn’t sure what I was looking for. I was just going into it like it was a video game, like it was a fairy tale.
“Being older and more mature, you’re able to make a better decision that fits you.”
Devonshire said he was talking to Pitt and Penn State after entering the transfer portal. He said his conversations with Pitt secondary coach Archie Collins made a difference. They were as much about life as football and reminded Devonshire of what Collins told him when he was in high school.
“His pitch never changed,” Devonshire said. “The stuff (Collins) said when I was younger, it really didn’t affect me. I didn’t think too much of it. Now that I’m older, I can understand what he’s saying. That was definitely a big thing in getting me back home.
“My dad always tells me when he gets on me about something I might not understand at the moment, but as I get older, I would understand.
“(Speaking with Collins) was one of those moments.”
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