Pitt : Central Valley Football Standout Jordan Whitehead Commits to Pitt
By Kipper
@pghsportsforum
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/P...s/201410030199
"By Craig Meyer / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The end of a college recruitment process shrouded in secrecy came at a Texas Roadhouse the night before Jordan Whitehead was set to make the biggest decision of his young life.
For months, the choice had weighed on the Central Valley star. Even as he sat for dinner with his coach, Mark Lyons, his phone vibrated so much with texts and calls from coaches that it nearly fell off the table.
But it was there that he finally said what had long been internalized -- he was staying home.
Facing a selection he compared to saying no to your best friend, Whitehead committed to Pitt Friday in a news conference at the Monaca school.
"One day this week, it just hit me that Pitt was it," he said. "Once you get that feeling, nothing can tell you no."
Whitehead is a consensus four-star prospect and is rated by Rivals.com as the 30th-best defensive back in the 2015 class. At No. 248, he is just one of two WPIAL players ranked in the Rivals Top 250.
He selected the Panthers from a final list of schools that included West Virginia, Penn State and Ohio State. Before Whitehead publicized his decision, it was announced he had been selected for the Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl Jan. 4 in Carson, Calif.
Whitehead said he plans on graduating early so he can be at Pitt in time for spring football, a move that partially comes from a belief that he can play an immediate role in a currently thin secondary.
"That's the kind of kid he wants to be, an impact player," Lyons said. "He doesn't want to be a number."
Through everything, Whitehead felt the pull to stay home, be it from a desire to be close to his family or the stream of texts he received from the likes of Pitt running back James Conner.
In the end, it was too strong to ignore.
"You want to get the best guys from the area going down there and playing for the city," Whitehead said. "You can't do wrong with that."
First Published October 3, 2014 3:26 PM"