Patrick Jones II of Grassfield High School in Chesapeake, Virginia committed to Pitt today over the Virginia Tech Hokies. Jones is a 6'5" 230 pound defensive end that comes in as a two-star recruit on Rivals and a three star recruit on 24/7. Despite modest rankings, he possesses an impressive offer sheet that includes Virginia Tech, Cal, Duke, Illinois, and NC State among others. The Chesapeake native is now the second Virginia prospect to commit to Pitt this year this year joining linebacker, Chase Pine.
Jones becomes the 13th member of the 2016 recruiting class. He is now the second defensive end for the class joining Pitt's other most recent commitment, Zack Gilbert. Jones is a different style of player, and checks in with an imposing size and athleticism and should be an ideal fit moving forward in the Pat Narduzzi/Josh Conklin defense. He has an impressive highlight tape, and uses his ability to overwhelm opponents at the prep level.
As we mentioned with Gilbert, Pitt's defensive end situation needs upgraded and by most assumptions it will be by next season. DeWayne Hendrix is expected to make a monster impact, and there is hope Allen Edwards is a solid player. With Gilbert and Jones joining those guys to reinforce a solid grouping of Soto, Blair, and potentially Ejuan Price for a sixth year, the Pitt pass rush has a chance to be very good for years to come.
Pitt's recruiting class continues to take shape and gain momentum. We all will likely never forget the other day when all Pitt targets took over twitter for the night. Couple that with some recent commitments from quality guys like Gilbert and Jones, and Pitt has an opportunity to make some strides these next two months. Obviously there is work left to do with some local recruits, it sure seems like they are in a good position to bring a number of those guys into the fold. This isn't a highly rated class as it stands now, but it has the makings of finishing strong and climbing the standings.
