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Back in September, Aveon Grose committed to Pitt and became the first member of the team's 2022 class. But on Friday, he announced that he had reconsidered his decision and would be reopening his recruitment.
“After some thought and consideration, I have decided to withdraw my commitment to Pitt,” Grose wrote in a message posted on Twitter. “I would like to thank the coaches for the opportunity. My recruitment is open, and I will be exploring other options.”
Grose is a three-star defensive back out of Mansfield Senior High School in Ohio. At the time of his commitment, only 247Sports considered him a three-star prospect, and Rivals and ESPN had yet to assign him a star rating. Now, all three outlets concur on the rating, but Grose’s stock has fallen in the eyes of 247Sports analysts, as he was the No. 43 safety in the class and is now at No. 85.
Despite the slide in the rankings, Grose has proven to be a solid competitor, as he led Mansfield in interceptions in the 2019 season, with four, and logged 70 tackles en route to a 13-2 record and an appearance in the Division III state title game. However, 2020 proved to be a tougher season, as Mansfield went 3-6.
The 5’11”, 170-pound recruit chose Pitt over Akron, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Eastern Michigan and Toledo back in September. However, since Grose's pledge to Pitt, Akron, Cincinnati and Toledo have all landed defensive backs. Grose also noted he was interested in Big Ten programs like Minnesota and Purdue around the time of his commitment. And given all that, it is unclear where he may land.
With Grose no longer in the fold, Pitt is down to one defensive back commit in its 2022 class, as it landed Ryland Gandy out of Buford, Georgia, on Wednesday. In total, Pitt now has six commits after initially landing eight, as Elijah Statham, another early commit, also backed off his pledge to Pitt this week.