It wasn't an easy decision. In fact, it took some deep soul searching for
Terrell Chestnut to decommit from Pittsburgh and begin the recruiting process again. The talented 5-10 Pottsgrove defensive back is one of the best all-around players in Pennsylvania, and one of
Tom Lemming's Top 25 cornerbacks.
Pottsgrove High's Terrell Chestnut.
Photo by Tom Lemming
With the merry-go-round coaching situation at Pitt, Chestnut felt it was time to reconsider the oral commitment he made before the season, and is now considering Miami, West Virginia, Villanova and Boston College.
"It was a very tough choice," Chesnut said. "I felt Pitt was the right situation for me. It took some thinking to decommit. It was very difficult because after Coach [Dave] Wannstedt was let go, it made me think, and see who the new head coach was. Then obviously when that whole situation came along, I really couldn't do much after that. I had to make a move. I don't know if they have a staff right now. I wish it never came down to this situation.
"I can't do anything about it since it happened. I have to do what's right for me. I consider myself a loyal person, and I really liked Pitt. But there's only so far you go with being loyal. I wanted to be loyal to Pitt and I wanted to see what was going to happen with the coaching change. But now I'm stuck. I can't wait forever. It's why I'm looking again right now. I have to open it up to other other schools and come up with some closure. I have to do what's right for me. I don't have much time at all."
Projected to play defensive back at Pitt, Chesnut will visit new Miami coach Al Golden on January 28, but before that, he will visit Villanova this weekend, followed by West Virginia the weekend of January 21 and then Miami. He's also hoping to arrange something with Boston College.
"Coach Golden did give me a scholarship offer at Temple, but they told me that they really didn't think that they had a shot at signing me when I visited Temple," Chesnut said. "I liked Temple, it was a program on the rise and Coach Golden was doing some good things there. I'll definitely think about Miami. But for now, I'm taking the process slow and I'll probably wait to commit on signing day."
As for Villanova, which also increased its recruitment of Chestnut, the Wildcats are on the verge of possibly entering the Big East Conference for football.
"Again, Villanova is a great school, and it's close to home," Chestnut said. "Villanova is on a national level at the the level they're playing at right now, so if they enter the Big East, who knows where that will lead. And West Virginia was among my final three schools when I originally selected Pitt. This whole situation hasn't been easy; it's been kind of rough. You think you're locked into going somewhere, and then everything changes."
Chestnut joins Jameel Poteat, the Bishop McDevitt standout tailback, who decommitted from Pitt after Wannstedt was fired and decided to attend Cincinnati.
"It's something that I want to take my time with, but it's also something that I'd like to also get under control," Chestnut said. "I have to do this all over again, and in a much shorter period of time. It's been hard."
