Manigault on Pitt: "I couldn't see myself anywhere else"

Recruiting is one of the primary tasks for new Pitt coach Kevin Stallings, and that starts with securing the Panthers’ three signees in the class of 2016.

On Tuesday, forward Corey Manigault reaffirmed his commitment to Stallings and the Pitt program

"Just wanted to let you know that I am staying at Pitt," Manigault told Panther-Lair.com.

Manigault was never officially released from his Letter of Intent, but he requested it. Stallings was set to release him late morning on Tuesday; instead, Manigault changed his plans and decided to stick with Pitt.

"I watched some film of his teams playing [and] I listened to his plan of how he uses post players,” Manigault said. “The biggest thing for me was the city and the fan base. There is nowhere else better to play and that was the difference to me. I couldn't see myself anywhere else.

"Coach Stallings says that he will let me play to my strengths and create mismatches for me with other bigs. That stuck out to me in our talk."

Manigault has spoken to Rozelle Nix and Chris Jones, as well as fellow commit Justice Kithcart. He got the impression that both current Pitt players will stay with the team, and he also felt that there is a good chance Kithcart stays as well.

Notes

- Justice Kithcart has not officially received his release as of Tuesday evening. His father, James, spoke to Stallings Tuesday morning and came away impressed. He is going to speak with Justice tonight, but there is a chance that he never follows through with the release either.

- Crisshawn Clark had to wait a little bit longer to hear from Stallings. He told Panther-Lair.com that he finally received a call from Stallings on Tuesday, and Stallings told Clark that he would release him. For now, Clark wants to open things back up and see who is interested. That includes Pitt, who Stallings said will recruit him all over again.