On Thursday Terrell Chestnut will make his verbal commitment public.

The 6-foot, 180-pound senior, a quarterback and defensive back, has narrowed his list of choices to Penn State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, West Virginia and South Carolina. He has more than 30 scholarship offers.

Last season, Chestnut, who has started since freshman year and is projected to play safety or cornerback in college, rushed for nearly 1,000 yards and scored 19 touchdowns as the Falcons went 14-1, claimed the Pioneer Athletic Conference championship and won the program’s first PIAA District 1 Class AAA title.

Rivals.com ranks Chestnut, an Inquirer first-team all-Southeastern Pennsylvania selection last year, as the state’s sixth best senior recruit.

If he chooses Pitt, Chestnut may play with standout running back Jameel Poteat. Pittsburgh reportedly has the inside track on landing the standout running back from Harrisburg’s Bishop McDevitt. Poteat, a 5-11, 195-pound senior, is set to announce his decision Wednesday. He rushed for 1,664 yards and 24 TDs last season.

Chestnut has been rumored to be leaning Pitt’s way in recent weeks. Rutgers and Penn State had been after him for a while, though Scout.com’s profile page says he has no interest in PSU. Getting a 4-star defensive back would obviously be excellent regardless of who else was recruiting him.

As for Poteat, announcing on Wednesday is a bit of a move-up on his original time-frame.

His timetable will fall anywhere from August to sometime in mid-September before he makes a choice.

“I have to put something out there, because some schools have backed off because everyone thought I was going to Pitt,” said Poteat, who plans on playing in the Army All-American game and the Big 33 game. “That’s not true. I know there’s a great tradition of McDevitt players going to Pitt, and Pitt’s a great school. But right now, everything is still up in the air. I’m not saying I’m not going to Pitt. I may still go to Pitt. But right now, I’m undecided. That’s a fact. Undecided.”

Poteat said he’ll take three official visits and he put a personal deadline on his choice to within the first two or three games of the upcoming McDevitt season.

Lots of programs like him and have given him offers. Obviously Pitt has always been considered something of a favorite with his family ties to Pitt. Not to mention recent ties to Bishop-McDevitt.

Here’s a bit on the 4-star back (Insider subs).

Has a sneaky extra gear but lacks great breakaway burst. Bottom line, Poteat may not be a game-breaker but he’s one of the top every-down backs in this class who can carry the load as well as pick up the blitz and catch the ball out of the backfield. College ready.

Can’t help but wonder if he is moving it because Savon Huggins out of New Jersey  — another 4-star tailback and the top recruit in Jersey — seems to be looking more towards Pitt. He has taken an official and unofficial visit to Pitt this spring and summer.