Pitt makes top nine of Virginia safety Maurice Freeman

Pitt made headway with yet another recruit out of Virginia on Wednesday, as Maurice Freeman, a safety out of Oscar Smith High School in Chesapeake, released his top nine and included Pitt. The other eight programs in the mix for Freeman include Appalachian State, East Carolina, Florida Atlantic, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Liberty, Old Dominion and Ole Miss.

The 6’0”, 190-pound safety is considered a three-star recruit, according to 247Sports, which also ranks him as the No. 39 safety in the 2021 class and the No. 15 recruit in the state of Virginia. With that said, Rivals has a dissenting opinion on Freeman and rates him as a two-star prospect.

Over the course of his recruitment, Freeman has drawn a total of 19 offers. Arguably, the safety’s most notable cut on Wednesday was Virginia Tech. The Hokies staff was among the first 20 to reach out to Freeman but ultimately failed to convince him to consider Blacksburg. Other notable teams no longer in contention include Louisville and James Madison.

As for Pitt, the program is in particularly good standing with Freeman, according to the recruit himself, due in part to the work of its coaches in building rapport and the presence of other recruits from his region of Virginia.

“They are one of the top ones on the list,” Freeman said of Pitt on Wednesday, per Brian Dohn of 247Sports. “There are a lot of people from the 757 going there, like Rodney [Hammond] and Malik [Newton]. I am close with Rodney and Malik. I talk to [Pitt coach Rob Harley] almost every day.”

While Freeman’s statement on Pitt suggests there’s a good chance he ends up in blue and gold, he also told Dohn that he is close with the Indiana, Old Dominion, Ole Miss and East Carolina coaching staffs. So Pitt may have some catching up to do to land him, and the staff will have about one month to pitch him on the program, as his decision date is Aug. 1.