Jordaan Bailey backs off of commitment to Pitt

Pat Narduzzi and the Pitt coaching staff lost a key 2022 recruit on Monday, as Jordaan Bailey, a running back out of Hillsborough High School in Tampa, Florida, who committed to Pitt in June, decommitted from the program.

“First and foremost, I would like to thank the head man, Coach [Pat] Narduzzi and Coach [Cory] Sanders and Coach [Andre] Powell also Coach Graham [Wilbert] for taking their time recruiting me and believing in me when I didn’t believe in myself and building such an amazing bond with me,” Bailey said. “After a long talk with my family, I decided to decommit from [the University of Pittsburgh].”

The 6’1”, 180-pound running back is a three-star recruit, and all three major recruiting outlets consider him one of the top 75 running backs in the country. ESPN ranks him No. 66 at his position, while Rivals places him at No. 50 and 247Sports has Bailey at No. 36.

In 2021, Bailey amassed 1,042 yards from scrimmage and 11 total touchdowns for a Hillsborough team that went 10-3. It was the third time in three years that Bailey was able to accrue 1,000 scrimmage yards.

Last season, Bailey ran for 599 yards and seven touchdowns. He also added 427 yards and three scores on receptions, bringing his all-purpose yardage up to 1,026 yards and his touchdown total up to 10 for the season. And thanks in part to Bailey’s contributions, Hillsborough went 8-2. The year before that, he fared better, accruing 914 yards and 12 touchdowns on foot and added 116 yards and one score on eight catches for 1,030 yards from scrimmage. That season, Hillsborough went 8-3 overall and 6-0 in conference.

Despite a productive high school career, Bailey has been overlooked by the top programs in his home state, including Florida, Florida State, Miami and UCF. However, he previously committed to Pitt over Cincinnati and went on to earn his first SEC offer from Mississippi State on Oct. 10, so Bailey will have a couple of high-level options moving forward.