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Pitt Football Recruiting: 2017 4* Safety Paris Ford Commits to Pitt

Pitt gets a huge commit in the 2017 class

Photo used with permission of StudentSports.com

Out of nowhere last night, Paris Ford announced via Twitter that he would be committing today after talking it over with his family.

Today, following a Pat Signal from Pat Narduzzi, Ford made it official:

It cannot be overstated how big this commitment is. Paris Ford is the #33 player in the country according to Rivals, at the #3 player in Pennsylvania. He chose Pitt over offers from Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan, Michigan State, and West Virginia among others. Ignoring that for a second, Ford is also very very close with guys like 2016 recruits Damar Hamlin, Miles SandersKhaleke Hudson, and other 2017 guys like David Adams and Donovan Jeter. Damar Hamlin and Ford have both publicly said they're a package deal. Whether that actually turns out to be the case remains to be seen, but many think Pitt is already the school to beat for Hamlin.

Ford knows he's the start of something bigger, and that's exactly what he wanted.

"I wanted to show people that this '#412Crew' movement can be serious if a big piece committed," Ford told Panther-Lair.com. "So I decided to be that piece."

"I'm trying to bring everyone here with me," he said. "I'm working on everyone. Every top guy. We want to bring a national championship home."

Ford is Pitt's second commitment in the 2017 class, joining Johnstown cornerback Exree Loe. And the 6'0" 180-pound safety thinks Pitt's defense under Narduzzi will be appealing to even more recruits.

"Their defense is looking real mean," Ford said. "It just shows that Narduzzi is a great coach of he's winning and he has a top ten defense with the guys they had from last year. I'm just imagining, if he can get a couple more top recruits, what he can do with this Pitt defense."

Ford could be the lynch pin for opening up the commits for a lot of guys in the area. Minutes after Ford announced he was committing, Donovan Jeter sent this out

Now, it's obviously not clear at all what Jeter is talking about, but any time a big target puts the #H2P out there is a good thing. Narduzzi still has a lot of spots left to fill in his 2016 class, but I think fans are starting to think he won't have any trouble filling them with good talent. How can you not love a staff who does stuff like this?