Let’s face it, this would have been a bigger stunner if it didn’t happen. Lucas Nix will be making it public that he will verbally commit to Pitt. It’s not just because his brother is a redshirt freshman linebacker at Pitt, or his coach being a former Pitt offensive lineman. The younger Nix been at practices and Pitt camps almost as much as the players already on scholarship. He has been close to the Pitt coaches for quite some time.

Or as his HS Coach, Bill Cherpak put it to Pittsburgh Sports Report,

“There won’t be a press conference or anything like that. It’s not like it’s a secret that this was going to happen.”

Nix plays both sides of the ball, but will likely be an offensive tackle at Pitt. Both Rivals.com and Scout.com list him as a 5-star recruit and one of the top OL in the country. God knows the lines are where the help is desperately needed (I don’t suppose he can play center?).

What Nix represents is the re-establishment of Pitt as a power player in recruiting WPIAL offensive linemen. The 6-foot-6{1/2}, 298-pound Nix is a prototypical left tackle prospect who ranks as a top-30 player and a top-6 tackle nationally, according to both Rivals.com and Scout.com.

That was the Achilles’ heel for Walt Harris and his staff. For all the skill players they assembled, for whatever reason, they couldn’t lure the WPIAL’s top linemen. In back-to-back years, Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt and offensive line coach Paul Dunn – both former Panthers’ offensive linemen – have changed that dramatically.

It started with the late signings of Moon’s John Bachman and West Allegheny’s C.J. Davis in the Class of 2005 and has included Baldwin’s Jason Pinkston last year and Keystone Oaks’ Chris Jacobson this year.

Next, Pitt needs some more D-linemen.