Byham discusses Pitt commit

At the start of recruiting, tight end Nate Byham appeared to be destined to head out of state, but the 6-foot-4, 225-pounder concluded his recruiting today by deciding to stay at home and verbally commit to Pittsburgh.

"I told coach Gattuso and Wannstedt earlier today," he said. "They were very excited and happy for me."

What made the Franklin (Pa.) Franklin Area prospect pick the Panthers over offers from Miami, Southern Cal, Tennessee, Michigan, Iowa and others?

"Playing close to home originally wasn't much of a factor for me, but now it is and it means a lot to be able to play in front of my family and people I know," he said. "Plus they have a good coaching staff coming in and they are building a strong program that I want to be a part of. I also like the business school and I know they have really good academics."

The coaches of course stood out to the Rivals 250 star too.

"I really like coach Gattuso a lot," he said. "All the coaches are really good, but he's going to be my position coach and I bonded with him more than any of them. He's a really funny guy and has a good sense of humor."

With so many offers to choose from, what made the four-star prospect want to decide now?

"I just kind of knew I was going to probably go to Pittsburgh, so why not get it out of the way now before I get bombarded by calls," he said. "I'm glad it's over, I feel I've got a lot of pressure off my shoulders and now I can concentrate on my senior year of football. I plan on trying to gain some more weight and hitting the weight room a lot more between now and next year. My realistic goal is to get up to 235 pounds by then."

The coaches haven't discussed playing time with the No. 6 tight end in the country, but if all goes well, Byham should be able to contribute early.

"Hopefully I can contribute on offense because I think their offense fits me really well," he said. "The offense coach Cavanaugh is bringing is very tight end friendly and means I can contribute a lot."

Byham hasn't scheduled an official visit, but plans to attend all of the Pittsburgh home games this year.

"I plan on watching them and hopefully see them make a BCS bowl," he said. "I want to see them have a winning program and do well this year."

The No. 12 player in Pennsylvania recorded 45 receptions for 883 yards and nine touchdowns last season. He added 91 tackles, 15 for loss, nine sacks and three interceptions on defense. Byham was named all-conference, all-district, all-region and third team all-state as a junior.

Byham is also a remarkable student with a 3.9 GPA and 1470 SAT.