A couple verbals that everyone is well aware at this point. Over the lost weekend, Pitt got a verbal from Luke MacLean out of Michigan. He’s a 3-star on all of the recruiting sites. Some sites list him as a weak-side D, and others as an inside linebacker. The answer is: yes.

“It feels great,” MacLean said. “I’m excited about the decision. It feels like the right place and I’m fired up about it.”

MacLean (6-3, 235 lbs) is listed as a three-star on both Rivals and Scout. He also had offers from Cincinnati and Indiana, as well as several MAC schools. MacLean’s high school coach Joe Delaney said he was close to an offer from Michigan State, but that Pitt was always the team to beat.

“All along, he was really fired up about the chance at Pitt that he might have with the new coaches there, so I think that’s eventually what turned the corner for him,” Delaney said.

MacLean said the Pitt coaching staff told him he would be a defensive end/linebacker hybrid. In fact, he said that on his visit, defensive line coach Inoke Breckterfield told him, “I’ll be fighting over you with the linebackers coach when you get here.”

[Emphasis added.]

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Over the past ten years Pitt has had a nice run of really good tight ends. Or at least potentially good tight ends. Not necessarily amazing, high NFL talent tight ends — Kris Wilson excepted — but really, really good college tight ends. Some high-end recruts like Mike Cruz, Brock DeCicco and Andrew Devlin didn’t pan out for various reasons (desire, system change, injury).

Darrell Strong should have been great with his size, strength and speed, but never got out of the doghouse or showed the fire to match the potential. Nate Byham and even Eric Gill were solid all-around players at the position who could block and catch. Dorin Dickerson exploded at the TE/H-back spot.

There has been the potential for something great at that position every year. This year, though, may have Pitt with its best group of TE’s since the Byham and Dickerson tandem. Actually, the potential is even higher when you consider that they may get used much more.

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