Pitt football lost one of its 2012 commits last week when defensive back Marchez Coates decommitted from the Panthers. He'll instead be heading to North Carolina State.
As I wrote back when Coates first committed, he didn't have any major offers at the time other than Pitt, but had begun to draw a lot of interest from other major programs including Penn State, Miami, Tennessee, and TCU. What this proves is that offering a scholarship early doesn't necessarily mean much. Recruits can feel a sense of loyalty to a school if they get an early offer from them, but it's far from a guarantee. Coates could have anticipated not getting many other offers and jumped on the Pitt one.
Or maybe he saw Pitt play the past couple of weeks.
Either way, he isn't coming to Oakland and he's clearly within his right to do that. I'm not a big fan of kids jumping ship on signing day, but when it happens this early in advance, there's nothing to complain about in my opinion.
The move also isn't likely to hurt Pitt all that much for one simple reason.
Coates was part of a huge defensive back push and would have been one of many younger guys in the fold.Todd Graham has quietly built the secondary into one of the stronger units on the team and not only has several quality recruits, including Lafayette Pitts, but a few transfers coming in as well that will be eligible next season after sitting out this year. Graham has a total of seven kids committed from last year's class and the 2012 one thus far with the potential for more.
Coates could, of course, turn into a star at NC State and be a player Pitt has to match up against once they get into the ACC. But at first glance, Pitt should still have plenty of depth at that position.