Pitt commit with new leader

Plantation (Fla.) athlete Darrell Strong (6-foot-4, 238 pounds) committed to play for the Pitt Panthers early in the recruiting process, but has since begun to weigh all of his options. He visited Pitt in November, and has visits planned for every weekend in January. He will make a firm decision after visiting these schools.

“Most like me at quarterback, but Pitt wants me to play tight end,” Strong commented on his reason for wavering on his decision. “I want to play quarterback, and I want to go where they want me to play quarterback.

“I am committed to Pitt, but it is not solid. I am going to visit South Florida on the ninth, East Carolina on the 16th, Temple on the 23rd, and Mississippi State on the 30th. I will be looking at basically everything while I am there.”

While he claims to be still committed to Pitt, he said another school has made a lot of progress toward gaining his signature.

“My leader now is probably Mississippi State,” he said. “They have a new head coach and I think it is a good program to be at. I am leaning to them right now.”

Mississippi State? When did the Bulldogs come into the picture?

“Actually, they were like the second school to offer, so they have always been in there.” Although MSU sports a new coaching staff, Strong is being recruited by Coach Guy Holliday, a coach that was retained by the new staff, so his recruitment has not been affected.

As a senior, Strong passed for more than 1,000 yards and 15 touchdowns, and also rushed for 300 yards and six scores. He plans to take all of his visits before making a final decision.