Today is the first installment of the new early signing period. Not sure what anyone was expecting, but it really took off in the first year of it. It seems most kids are signing today, and thus the big day in February may lose some luster.

In particular, Pitt has 16 commitments as of today, and 15 of them have signed. Here are where things stand as of today.

Signed

Quarterback

• Nick Patti 6’1” 185 Westwood, NJ (St. Joseph Regional)

Nick Patti has been committed to Pitt since May, and is a three-star across the board. Patti played for prestigious New Jersey powerhouse, St. Joseph Regional and played some of the best competition in the Northeast. He has led his team to the state finals the past two seasons. With Tom MacVittie and Ben DiNucci transferring, Patti became one of the most important pieces in the class.

• Ricky Town 6’3” 205 Newbury Park, CA (Ventura Community College)

Rick Town came out of nowhere and committed to Pitt just days ago. Town was a one time four-star prospect that started at USC, moved to Arkansas, before eventually landing at a junior college. He has two years to play at Pitt, and should instantly become the number two quarterback behind Kenny Pickett.

Wide Receiver

• Cameron O’Neil 6’1” 185 Phenix City, AL (Glenwood)

Cameron O’Neil is a three-star receiver that Pitt picked up back in August. He had power five offers from Virginia, Illinois, and Wisconsin. Alabama isn’t normally one of Pitt’s top recruiting spots, but obviously something led them to O’Neil.

Offensive Line

• Blake Zubovic 6’4” 300 Belle Vernon, PA (Belle Vernon)

Blake Zubovic was a highly regarded linemen from the Pittsburgh area. He held offers from Penn State, West Virginia, Michigan State, and Virginia Tech among others.

• Jake Kradel 6’3” 275 Butler, PA (Butler)

Jake Kradel was the top linemen in the WPIAL from this past season. He held offers from Ohio State, Wisconsin, UCLA among others. Pitt’s recruiting efforts on the offensive line has been better in the past two classes, and landing guys like Kradel is a big reason why.

• Chase Brown 6’5” 310 Ashburn, VA (Lackawanna Community College)

Chase Brown is the type of player that may push for a starting job next season. As a junior college transfer, he has two years to play. Pitt also has to replace three starters up front, so it’s certainly possible. Brown had an impressive offer sheet highlighted by TCU, Tennessee, and West Virginia.

Defensive Tackle

• Devin Danielson 6’1” 290 Pittsburgh, PA (Thomas Jefferson)

Devin Danielson may arguably be the best player in the class. He gets rave reviews and has the offer sheet to back it up also. He picked Pitt over Wisconsin, Michigan State, West Virginia, and UCLA. He played for perennial Pittsburgh-area power, Thomas Jefferson and helped lead his team to a WPIAL title in each of the past three seasons.

• David Green 6’0” 255 Pittsburgh, PA (Central Catholic)

Pitt continues to have a strong presence with neighbor, Central Catholic. The high school based in Oakland has been sending kids to Pitt a lot in recent years. Green is a bit undersized, but should grow into a college level interior linemen. Actually played a lot of fullback in high school, so he’s on the athletic side for the position he’s been recruited to play.

• Tyler Bentley 6’2” 300 West Chester, OH (Lakota West)

Pitt has recruited very well at defensive tackle lately, so not many people expected to land a third one in this class, but that’s exactly what happened. Pitt flipped Tyler Bentley from Kentucky to add another talented player to the mix. Pitt fought off Louisville in the late stages to land him as well.

Defensive End

• John Morgan 6’2” 250 Upper Marlboro, MD (DeMatha)

John Morgan committed to Pitt way back in June. He plays for national powerhouse, DeMatha Catholic in the Washington D.C. suburbs. Morgan should add depth to defensive end immediately.

• Noah Palmer 6’3” 215 Jefferson Hills, PA (Thomas Jefferson)

Noah Palmer is high school teammates with Devin Danielson, and helped added to the success of Thomas Jefferson in recent seasons. He was not as highly recruited, but it appears the coaches like what he can bring to the table. He’s on the lighter side for a college defensive linemen, he’ll need to bulk up a little to play.

Linebacker

• Wendell Davis 6’0” 220 Richmond, VA (Benedictine)

Wendell Davis has good size, and that looks like it can translate to the college level. He committed to Pitt back in June, and there hasn’t been much talk about him one way or another since then. Davis seems like a good one.

Defensive Back

• Judson Tallandier 6’0” 180 Upper Marlboro, MD (DeMatha)

Judson Tallandier committed back in the fury of commitments in early June Pitt usually has. He is teammates with John Morgan at DeMatha. Tallandier had offers from Georgia, Arizona, and Maryland. He is on the bigger side and could land at either safety or cornerback.

• Marquis Williams 5’8” 160 Pompano Beach, FL (Cardinal Gibbons)

Pitt landed Marquis Williams back in August, and he proceeded to have a huge senior season and looks like one of Pitt’s better commitments. Williams has been one of Pitt’s most loyal commitments, and when Nebraska called last week to offer, he shut it down pretty quickly.

• V’lique Carter 5’9” 170 West Palm Beach, FL (Oxbridge Academy)

Carter was committed to Iowa State until he visited to Pitt last week and made the switch. He is a hard hitter given his size, and could land at corner or safety.

Unsigned

Tight End

• Matt Alaimo 6’5” 235 Montvale, NJ (St. Joseph Regional)

Matt Alaimo was slated to sign today, but that did not happen. It is a concerning development, but Pitt will have to continue to recruit the talented tight end up until the traditional signing day in February. It sounds like in-state Rutgers is pushing hard for Alaimo. With the rest of the class signed, and space limited going forward, Pitt could put a lot of resources into Alaimo’s recruitment.

Now What

Pitt is in the final three for Shockey Jaques-Louis, who is committing to a school tonight at 6 p.m. Jaques-Louis is a talented receiver from Florida, and has Kentucky and Tennessee in his final three along with the Panthers. Many think he is a Pitt lean, and he should see how that goes tonight.

Beyond that, Pitt will have over a month to address any other needs in this class. Space is very limited, and basically they need more kids to transfer for anything else to happen. Pitt had ten seniors this past season, and lost Jordan Whitehead, Brian O’Neill, and Quadree Henderson. Tom MacVittie and Ben DiNucci have also transferred recently, along with Chawntez Moss being dismissed from the program.

I’ll keep track of any developments from here.