I’m not sure if it is his offer sheet, where he is from, or the fact that he is the third verbal in five days, that gives the recruiting a sense of momentum. Either way, there seems to be a lot of excitement from Pitt fans that Chase Pine is the sixth verbal for Pat Narduzzi and the staff.
Pine was on Pitt’s campus two weeks ago for a prospect camp. That experience gave him the opportunity to work with linebackers coach Rob Harley, and Pine cited Harley as another big factor in his decision.
“It’s the way that he coaches; he showed me video of how he coaches and when I went there, it was just like that: he’s an energetic coach and that’s what I like,” Pine said. “I was talking to Coach Harley about their defense, and it’s a defense where you really can’t do anything against it. And the fact that they’re getting good players for defense is going to make it good.”
Pine picked Pitt over a considerable offer sheet that included scholarships from Buffalo, Cal, Charlotte, East Carolina, Georgia, JMU, Marshall, North Carolina, N.C. State, Old Dominion, Syracuse, Toledo, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest and West Virginia.
He said that his top three schools prior to committing were Pitt, Georgia and West Virginia, but he felt like he fit into the Panthers’ defense best.
“They want me to be an outside linebacker who plays against the run and rushes the passer and can drop into coverage,” Pine said. “And there should be a good chance for early playing time, which was important to me.”
A third of the ACC along with programs from the Pac-12, SEC and Big 12 after him.
