Jonathan Baldwin is Pitt's 12th Verbal

Despite never having a winning record in any of his first three seasons as head coach at Pitt, Dave Wannstedt continues to kill on the recruiting trail. With true freshman LeSean McCoy and Pat Bostick looking the part of four-year starters, The Stache added another play-maker to his offense.

6-6, 240 lb Jonathan Baldwin of Aliquippa High (Aliquippa, PA) gave his verbal pledge to Pittsburgh Monday. Wannstedt - ironically born in Baldwin, PA - gets the tight end to commit over other powerhouses like USC, Michigan, Florida, Miami and Notre Dame. How he ranks:

Rivals: #34 overall, #3 tight end
Scout: #138 overall, #11 wide receiver
ESPN: #24 overall, #1 tight end
PrepStar: #38 overall, #3 tight end

Although some people feel that he is a WR prospect, Baldwin should be a tight end. Two reasons. First he is a phenomenal blocker and if The Stache were to move him split out wide, he would lose the in-line blocking ability of this young talent. He has great initial burst off the line generally locking up his assignment. He is a great seal blocker.

Second, Baldwin lacks top end speed and open field elusiveness. His speed and athleticism, for a tight end though, are perfectly adequate.

As a pass catcher is well above average. He has nice ball skills as he is at his strength when the pass is a jump ball. Smaller defensive backs will not out climb Baldwin for the ball. He will be a great red zone target as his leaping ability and timing are solid also.

Wanny has been a huge roll the last week landing commitments from 4-star RB Cameron Saddler (Monroeville, PA), 3-star WR Mike Shanahan (North Hundington, PA), JUCO QB Greg Cross and 3-star QB Zach Stroudt (Dublin, OH). Now if he can learn to coach they might win a game or two.

Photo by Pittsburgh Post Gazette