Derrek Pitts Commits To West Virginia Mountaineers


Three-star safety Derrek Pitts committed to the West Virginia Mountaineers on Monday.


It didn’t take long for the nation’s No. 33-ranked safety to figure out where he wants to play collegiate football … again.

On Monday, two weeks after he decommitted from Penn State, 3-star recruit Derrek Pitts committed to West Virginia. The South Charleston, West Virginia native is the No. 1 safety in the state and has a verified 40-yard-dash time of 4.5 seconds.

He becomes the 17th commit for the Mountaineers, who now sit at No. 54 in the 2017 recruiting class rankings. Pitts is second-highest-rated recruit in West Virginia’s class behind 3-star prospect Maverick Wolfley, the No. 25 inside linebacker in the country.

Pitts did not release a statement, but he did tweet out a graphic with the caption, “I’m coming home.”

At 6-foot-3 and 173 pounds Pitts is a physical safety who can accelerate quickly. Those attributes, combined with his instincts for the position, he possesses the ability to cover the deep part of the field.

Given his frame, there’s a chance Pitts makes the switch to outside linebacker at the next level, but he would need to pack on some serious weight in order to do that. If that happens to be West Virginia’s plan for Pitts, it’s possible the Mountaineers give him a redshirt next year and then acclimate him as a defensive playmaker come 2018.

Note: Scout rankings, ratings and photos used in this article.

MORE: Three-star Center Xavier Newman Announces Texas Decommitment