Pitt Building a Fence around the WPIAL
by Karlo Zovko
Posted February 18, 2014 8:41 pm
Altoona, Givens, Kevin Givens, LaVar Arrington, Pitt, pittsburgh panthers, preps, WPIAL, WPIAL Insider, WPIAL pipeline
It has been said for years that local D1 colleges around Western PA want to build a strong WPIAL pipeline and keep top recruits pouring in. However, no school can really solidly that pipeline. This year may seem different. With Tony Gibson at WVU, Terry Smith at PSU, and Coach Rhule at Temple all trying to build a WPIAL pipeline, the hometown Pitt Panthers have been fending them off so far for the 2015 class.
Pitt recently landed coveted Altoona OLB Kevin Givens. Givens had offers from Pitt, UMASS, Western Michigan, and Temple. Penn State was showing strong interest and it was rumored they would have offered this summer, the speculation was Givens was Penn State’s to lose.
When asked what made him commit to Pitt, Givens responded with, “I liked everything about the campus, the coaches felt at home to me.” He also went on to say as of now no other offers would sway him away from Pitt. When asked bluntly; If Penn State offered would you reconsider? Givens gave a hard “no.”
Givens projects as an OLB in college. It has been thrown around that Givens is the best backer from the WPIAL since Lavar Arrington. That alone is an accolade. Givens is a preps.com favorite. It’s unlikely his recruitment will slow down, especially with camp season coming up. If Pitt can keep Givens for another 11 and a half months, they’ll undoubtedly have a special player on their roster.
Pitt also has landed Canon-Mac Gaurd Alex Paulina, along with Kittaning TE Nick Bowers. Givens is the 3rd Western PA commit in the class.
So far, there are only 3 WPIAL commitments, all hailing to Pitt. Could this be the year Pitt finally solidifies the WPIAL pipeline? Be sure to check back at preps.com to find out.
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Altoona, Givens, Kevin Givens, LaVar Arrington, Pitt, pittsburgh panthers, preps, WPIAL, WPIAL Insider, WPIAL pipeline