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As Chris wrote about last week, Pitt was in the running for 2016 running back, three-star recruit Elijah Deveaux. Despite his father Glenn having played for the Panthers, Deveaux opted to head to Duke.
Deveaux was a solid three-star recruit and according to MaxPreps, had more than 1,800 rushing yards along with 23 touchdowns last season.
The news isn't a huge surprise in my opinion. As has been covered here, the Panthers' running back rotation for the next few years is pretty full. And even if a guy like James Conner leaves early or someone changes positions, Pitt's backfield is still really full. Plus, when you factor in four-star running backs like freshman Chris James and 2015 commit Darrin Hall, there's a lot of quality there. In a nutshell, playing time could be really scarce.
Chryst will certainly try to use a few guys in his rotation as he's done at Wisconsin. Conversely, however, we've seen him do the opposite this year with James Conner taking on the bulk of the carries. He's certainly earned them with his play, but the point is that Chryst isn't married to the notion of insisting several guys play a lot.
It will be interesting to see what type of running back recruits Chryst is able to land in 2016. Guys that want immediate playing time may opt to go elsewhere.
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