A little odd by the end of last week. Deonte Gibson, a Cleveland-area DE had committed earlier and by Thursday/Friday two more DEs had made verbals to Pitt.

First Max Isska out of New Jersey picked Pitt over Rutgers.

The deciding factor in making a nonbinding commitment to play for the Panthers, who are picked to win the 2010 league championship in a Big East media poll, was that Issaka simply wanted to be farther from home.

“Believe me when I say it was so tough,” said Issaka, who announced his decision to become the fifth New Jersey player to commit to Pittsburgh’s 2011 recruiting class on Friday.

“Everybody wanted me to go to (Rutgers). I wanted to go there for a certain point. It was like back and forth. So I finally decided what I wanted to do was stop talking (to others) and just think for myself for one minute about where I want to go, where I can start new.”

Issaka (6-foot-3, 240 pounds) had several scholarship offers, including ones from Michigan State, Maryland, UConn, Central Florida, Duke and Temple. He was also being recruited by Miami, Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina and Cincinnati.

Issaka is a 3-star DE by both Rivals.com and Scout.com. Rivals.com also ranks him the 13th overall recruit from NJ. Issaka is something of a tweener, almost certainly will be redshirted. Depending on his development in the weight room could stay at DE or end up at linebacker (Insider subs).

Issaka is a prospect who could play defensive end in college or make the move to linebacker. He has solid size for both positions and which spot he plays will likely have to do with the scheme and needs of the program he attends.

After Issaka committed, another 3-star DE narrowed his choice down to Pitt or Iowa (Insider subs). Quinton Jefferson out of Woodland Hills made it known that he had eliminated schools like WVU, Wisconsin, BC and Cinci.

“I’ve narrowed it down to Pitt and Iowa,” said Jefferson. “Hopefully I’ll decide before my first game. Right now they are very close. I just have to sit down and make a good decision.”

Jefferson has visited both schools.

“I went out to Iowa at the beginning of the summer,” he said. “It was nice. It was a good experience. I got to be around the coaches and the players. Coach [Kirk] Ferentz is a great coach. He’s laid back and he really cares about his players.

“I’ve been to Pitt a number of times. The coaches are nice. My cousin, Brandon Ifill, is a cornerback there. I have friends on the team there too.”

Well, that choice may have been made for him, because Clairton DE Desimon Green — yes, another consensus 3-star recruit — wasn’t taking any chances on being frozen out from Pitt.

It was only a few days ago that Clairton’s Desimon Green said he would wait until next month to make his college decision. He planned to make a visit to Texas Tech Labor Day weekend and then choose a school from one of his three finalists – Pitt, Texas Tech and Michigan State.

Green changed his plans tonight. He made a verbal commitment to Pitt.

His decision gives Pitt three defensive end recruits over the past few days. Deonte Gibson of Lakewood, Ohio, committed earlier in the week. Max Issaka of Woodbridge, N.J. committed today.

Green also said the other day that he thought Pitt would take commitments from two more defensive ends. This was after Gibson committed.

Even with the possibility of moving a couple of the DE recruits elsewhere on the defense, I think Jefferson may end up getting a cold-shoulder from Pitt at this point. There seems to be little to indicate that he is that far above the other 3 DEs in terms of size, potential and recruiting evaluations.

Green seems to be a bit on the raw side, and also could be moved to linebacker (Insider subs).

He is a kid with a long and rangy frame. He could land at outside linebacker or at defensive end. He needs to add bulk and looks to still be growing into his body, but displays the frame to add plenty of good size with time in a college weight program. He seems to play a lot from a “two”-point stance and flashes good quickness off the ball. He is at his best vertically attacking and is a kid with good straight-line speed.

The article relating Jefferson narrowing his choices also mentioned a Ohio DB that has Pitt on his list. Chris Dukes out of Cincinnati has Pitt on top of his list.

“Right now I have nine offers,” Dukes said. “I’ve narrowed it down to a top four. Pitt, Louisville, Boston College and Colorado are the four schools. I’ll pick from those four unless somebody else offers.”

The 5-10, 180-pounder is going into his third year as a starter at cornerback for Colerain, one of the top prep football programs in the state of Ohio. Dukes intercepted two passes during his junior season.

He has visited Pitt and Boston College. Dukes plans to make at least a couple official visits and might visit all four.

When asked to name a favorite, Dukes said, “I would say it would be Pitt because of Darrelle Revis and what he has done. He went to Pitt. I really like the coaches up there too. Coach [Dave] Wannstedt knows what it takes to get to the NFL and he’s a good person.”

[Emphasis added.]

I would consider that a soft lean to Pitt. The 3-star DB does not have any offers from higher profile schools, and his “top-4” are essentially the best programs that offered him. The other offers are all MAC schools and Marshall (C-USA).

He’s got some potential, but not size at 5-9 to 5-10 (Insider subs).

Its hard not to come away impressed with Dukes as a total football player when watching him perform at corner. Has a lot of physical tools to develop as an underneath boundary or zone corner and is a savvy defender. He lacks a few inches of ideal height but is well-defined, strong and aggressive out on the perimeter.