When South Charleston's Derrek Pitts called a news conference and announced his intentions to play football at Penn State, tremors were felt for miles.
OK, so perhaps it was more like an earthquake than a tremor in Morgantown. I can say with certainty WVU coaches believed they had a commitment in hand from Pitts, a four-star player according to Rivals recruiting service. (Do you really think so many Morgantown-based news organizations would travel to the West Side's Dem 2 Brothers and A Grill without a tip Pitts would go with the Mountaineers? I mean, I'm sure PSU coach James Franklin is a good guy and all, but...)
Whatever the case, best wishes to Pitts. Go get 'em, Lion. The announcement, however, wasn't just surprising to the folks at WVU. It stung on a broader level.
Actually, it stung on two broader levels. First, West Virginia needed an in-state "get" with Capital's Dorian Etheridge headed to Louisville, Spring Valley's Riley Locklear headed to Tennessee and Point Pleasant's Seth Stewart committed to LSU. Huntington tackle Billy Ross is still out there, but seems more smitten with Florida, Florida State, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Michigan State. (West Virginia does have a commitment from Morgantown's Mav Wolfley.)
Second, WVU could have used the jolt to boost its overall recruiting rankings. Heading into the weekend, the Mountaineers, with 11 commitments for 2017, were ranked No. 53 by 247 Sports, No. 57 by Rivals and No. 58 by Scout.
Of course, it's early yet. The national letter-of-intent signing day isn't until February. But I was curious. And while satisfying that curiosity, I noticed a couple Big 12 situations that screamed for attention.
So I called 247 Sports National Director of Recruiting Steve Wiltfong.
The first thing is Oklahoma, coming off a playoff appearance, is red-hot in 2017 recruiting. (Remember back in the Don Nehlen days when Mountaineer coaches said the effect of big bowl games wouldn't be felt for a couple years? Uh, apparently not.)
Last year, Texas finished No. 3 (Scout) and No. 7 (Rivals and 247) in team rankings. But so far this year, the Big 12 king is clearly OU, ranked No. 4 (Rivals), No. 5 (Scout) and No. 6 (247).
"They've done a great job building off last season's momentum," Wiltfong said. "Not long ago they were hitting on their top targets and competing for national championships. Now they have it gushing again. They're crushing it on the recruiting trail."
Oklahoma State and (surprisingly) Iowa State are next within the Big 12 so far in some order. But Wiltfong expects Texas to again be up there at the end.
"You know Texas is going to close strong," he said. "That's a given. You look at what Charlie Strong did last year. They are setting up a big finish again this year."
The other situation glowing like Vegas neon is Baylor's place in recruiting. That place is the basement following its school scandal. The Bears only have two commitments and rank No. 114 according to 247. That's last in the Big 12.
"They had [four-star linebacker] Baron Browning committed at one point," Wiltfong said. "They had [four-star quarterback] Kellen Mond committed at one point. They had [four-star receiver] Jhamon Ausbon committed. They were in position to sign a great class and now that whole program is in limbo and they are certainly feeling it on the recruiting trail."
Meanwhile, Houston, which is hoping to join the Big 12, is recruiting on a high level. In fact, its projected class would rank No. 3 if it were in the league now. Which is very good timing indeed.
"[Coach] Tom Herman knows how to recruit at a high level," Wiltfong said. "He was one of the best recruiters in the nation when he was an assistant coach. He worked for Urban Meyer [at Ohio State] and knows what a well-oiled recruiting machine looks like.
"They've gotten after it in Houston. They had a great season last year, but before that were just selling energy and a future. Now they have proof."
Wiltfong said "it would be ridiculous" if the Big 12 doesn't take Houston.
As for WVU, Wiltfong says fans shouldn't panic yet.
"There's a long way to go in recruiting and there are so many players out there," he said. "Coach [Dana] Holgorsen and his staff know what they're looking for. They just need to have a good year on the field to really jump-start recruiting the way they want. They need a nine- or 10-win season to really get it going on the recruiting trail."
And of the in-state kids headed elsewhere?
"Those kids are going elsewhere because West Virginia isn't playing as well as in the Rich [Rodriguez] era," Wiltfong said. "If they'd play as they did when Pat White and Steve Slaton were running around, West Virginia could close on those guys. It all comes down to winning. You asked about Houston. It's winning ballgames.
"You never know though. By signing day some of these in-state guys that have verbaled elsewhere might end up signing with West Virginia after all. Crazier things have happened."
As we find out all the time in the world of recruiting.