Recruiting Notes - September 27, 2019

Happy Friday everyone! I'm sure I won't be the only one watching the Pitt-Delaware football game tomorrow afternoon, but until then, let's talk some Pitt hoops. Plenty to report from the recruiting trail:

• For those of you who may not have yet heard, Jeff Capel and Pitt secured their first commitment of the 2020 class in Noah Collier, a 6'7" forward from Westtown, PA, currently ranked #148 in the Rivals150 rankings for the class of 2020.
• This is an important get--not just because Collier represents the third Rivals150 commit of the Jeff Capel era at Pitt, but because of how and when the commit happened.
• Unlike the 2019 class, which didn't see its first verbal commitment until February 2019 with the commitment of Rivals150 wing Gerald Drumgoole, Pitt is on the board early with Collier in September 2019.
• That lifts a huge weight off of the coaching staff and fanbase, as many of us remember how the energy shifted around Pitt recruiting after several high-profile misses during the 2019 cycle. Scoring an early commitment will be big for Capel & Co.
• Another important factor is Collier's excitement to recruit for Pitt. According to Stock Risers, Collier intends to recruit Rivals150 prospects RJ Davis, John Hugley, and Puff Johnson.
• Speaking of Hugley, he's on his official visit to Pitt right now: 

  Pittsburgh Official this weekend 💙💛

  — John Hugley IV (@thejohnhugley) September 26, 2019

• Hugley also took an unofficial visit to Pitt last weekend. Visiting two weekends in a row surely can't be a bad thing for the Panthers. One thing to keep an eye on is that 2020 three-star Center Ebenezer Duowuna is also on his official visit to Pitt this weekend according to his Rivals page. 
• Given that Pitt only has two open scholarships for 2020 at the moment, it is unlikely that Pitt would take both Hugley and Duowuna. Certainly there is a possibility that Capel pushes for a Hugley commitment by letting him know that the Panthers may need to explore other options sooner rather than later if they don't get a commitment from a big man. 
• And who could blame Capel? After missing on several PF/C targets in a row last year, and with Eric Hamilton and Kene Chukwuka graduating after this season, it makes sense that they wouldn't want to leave their pursuit of a big man up to chance.
• Pitt's top target RJ Davis is on an official visit to Marquette this weekend. 

  Other ESPN 100 prospects taking visits:
  - Moses Moody: Michigan
  - Earl Timberlake: Seton Hall
  - RJ Davis: Marquette
  - Dawson Garcia: Minnesota
  - Hassan Diarra: Indiana
  - Keon Ambrose: NC State
  - Deivon Smith: Miami
  - Terren Frank: Vanderbilt
  - Jamal Mashburn Jr.: California

  — Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) September 27, 2019

• Marquette head coach Steve Wojciechowski is a great recruiter, and it's widely thought that Pitt and Marquette are both in a strong position to land Davis. This will surely be a visit to keep in mind. Davis visited Pitt last weekend, and has a visit scheduled to North Carolina for the weekend of October 11.
• In other news, five-star wing Josh Hall, currently ranked #25 in the Rivals150 released his top 12 today and Pitt is in it:

  thank you to all the schools who have actively recruited me throughout this process... with that being said this is my final 12 ! pic.twitter.com/Y1RYUIqp63

  — Josh Hall (@jay5mula) September 27, 2019

• And if you didn't catch today's episode of the Pitt Pod, where we discuss recruiting and the beginning of fall practice, check it out: https://pittlead.podbean.com/e/pitt-pod-episode-2/

That's it for now, Pitt fans. We'll have more next week. Hail to Pitt!