Clairton's Boyd, Belle Vernon's Johnson among WPIAL players to commit to Pitt

PITTSBURGH — Belle Vernon’s Dorian Johnson and Clairton’s Tyler Boyd were among the WPIAL players who officially committed to the University of Pittsburgh Wednesday on National Signing Day.

Clairton's four-star wide receiver stuck to a verbal commitment he made a month ago during the U.S. Army All-American Bowl and signed a national letter of intent to attend Pitt Wednesday morning.

“I want to stay with my brothers,” said Boyd, who was joined by teammates Terrish Webb and Titus Howard, who also signed with Pitt on Wednesday morning.

The signing puts an end to a whirlwind month for Boyd.

Despite making his only official visit to Pitt, Boyd made a verbal commitment to the Panthers on Jan. 5, planning to join current Clairton teammates Titus Howard and Terrish Webb and former teammates Trenton Coles and Kevin Weatherspoon already at Pitt.

At the time of his verbal to Pitt, Boyd said that he planned to take official visits to both Michigan State and Tennessee. However, Boyd canceled both visits and appeared to be set on Pitt.

But Boyd surprised many by making official visits to West Virginia and Tennessee on back-to-back weekends at the end of January. Boyd did not make his final decision until Tuesday afternoon and chose to be a part of Paul Chryst's second recruiting class at Pitt.

Boyd was one of the most sought-after players in the WPIAL after leading Clairton to a state-record 63 consecutive wins, including four straight WPIAL and state championships.

Boyd (6-foot-2, 175 pounds) was forced to play running back the past two years out of necessity and put together two stellar seasons.

He rushed for 2,584 yards, caught 12 passes for 218 yards and scored 51 touchdowns this past season. He was named the Tribune-Review and Pennsylvania Sportswriters Class A player of the year.

Boyd finished his career with 5,755 yards rushing, good for fifth place on the WPIAL all-time list. He also set a WPIAL record with 117 career touchdowns.

There weren’t nearly as many questions surrounding Johnson’s decision. The prized offensive tackle seemed fully committed to the Panthers from the beginning, and made it official just after 1 p.m. Wednesday

Pitt also received a letter of intent from South Fayette’s Zach Challingsworth on Wednesday.

Challingsworth, a wide receiver, told Channel 11’s Bill Phillips that he knew he always wanted to play at Pitt. Challingsworth said he faxed the university his letter at 7:04 a.m.

Challingsworth also said he plans on converting his family into Pitt fans. His mother went to West Virginia University, and his father attended Penn State University.

“My mom got rid of all of her WVU gear and replaced it with Pitt stuff,” Challingsworth said.

Channel 11’s news exchange partners at TribLIVE contributed to this report.

WPXI