By Mike Loveday

The Pittsburgh Post Gazette is reporting, and I just confirmed with DeMatha head coach Bill McGregor, that defensive back Jeff Knox committed to play for Pittsburgh on Sunday evening.

The 6-foot2, 190-pound Knox transferred to DeMatha before last season after playing his sophomore season at Pittsburgh Central Catholic. Knox rushed for 1,243 yards and 15 touchdowns as a sophomore running back for Central Catholic.

Pittsburgh is recruiting Knox as a safety, according to McGregor.

Another Stag made a commitment Sunday evening as well. Kyrrel Latimer, a 5-foot-11, 192-pound athlete committed to play for the University of Virginia.

Latimer was recruited to play either defensive back or safety for the Cavaliers.

Knox and Latimer are the first two DeMatha football players to commit to colleges this year. McGregor said he has more than 10 athletes with Division I offers at this point in the year.

It was a busy weekend for the University of Virginia, who picked up a commitment from one of DeMatha's rivals -- Good Counsel.

E.J. Scott, a 5-foot-10, 165-pound receiver and defensive back committed to play for Virginia on Saturday.

ESPNRise encourages comments from its users. Leave a comment below. Mike Loveday covers high school sports for ESPNRISE.com. Mike can be reached at Michael.Loveday@espn.com

By Mike Loveday

DeMatha head football coach Bill McGregor just informed me that the number of his athletes with official offers is now at seven.

The latest group of offers came in for defensive back Jeff Knox (Pittsburg), Shane Johnson (Towson) and Austin Bailey (Towson).

The University of Maryland extended offers to four Stags in Feburary: Marcus Coker, Ari Kouandjio, Mike Coley and Lorenzo Waters.

Waters has since received an offer from Virginia Tech. Coley has picked up an offer from Pitt while Kouandjio has added the University of North Carolina.

Heading up I-95, Old Mill's Josh Furman picked up his fourth official offer. The junior defensive back and linebacker picked up an offer from UNC this week.

Furman also holds offers from Pittsburgh, West Virginia and Maryland.

Updated: I just got an update from a couple of the athletes down at Good Counsel. Defensive back Louis Young and linebacker Troy Gloster both picked up an offer from Iowa today.

I spoke with one of Good Counsel's assitant coaches yesterday and he informed me that Young's father has said that Young is still verbally committed to Stanford and plans on keeping that commitment.

Young committed to Stanford in October of 2008, but reportedly reopened his recruiting earlier this year.

Update 2: Iowa appear to be extremly interested in Good Counsel, extending an offer to junior receiver E.J. Scott today.

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Mike Loveday covers high school sports for ESPNRISE.com. Mike can be reached at Michael.Loveday@espn.com

	Photo by Mike Loveday
	DeMatha's Michael Milburn goes out for the pass during the Stags third day of practice.

By Mike Loveday

Last Season: 10-2, WCAC Champion

Key Losses: The wide receiver and defensive backs took a big hit with the graduation of Kenny Tate (Maryland) and Rodney McLeod (Virginia).

Key Returnees: Tom Chroniger (QB), Pete DeSouza (OL) and Raheem Cardwell (LB).

Impact Newcomer: A couple guys make this list with the graduation of 32 seniors off last year's team. The big name might be Jeff Knox (RB/DB) who transferred in from Pittsburgh Central Catholic and rushed for 1, 243 yards and 15 touchdowns. Marcus Coker benched 185 pounds 39 times last week and Michael Meriwether is also expected to have an impact on this year's team.

Most Improved: Offensive and defensive guard Calvin McDowney has made a drastic change in his body since last season. Last year as a junior McDowney weighed in at 410 pounds. Hard work in the offseason helped the senior shed 80 pounds and is down to 330.

Names to look for: Lorenzo Waters (RB/LB) is expected to handle a majority of the carries this year and Patrick Goulden (OL/DL) should help anchor the offensive line.

My Take: When you lose defensive Player-of-the-Year Kenny Tate along with 12 other players who went to Division I programs it could be hard for a team to rebound. But this is DeMatha. The Stags have placed at least 10 players in college for the last 10 years and have maintained their level of excellence.

The combination of Waters and Knox give DeMatha a solid two-back system and the line has a good mix of youth and experience. The receiving corps is young, but I have not seen a quarterback who throws a better ball than Chroniger and his experience will prove invaluable to the offense. Pen, don't pencil, the Stags in for the WCAC championship game again this year.

Quick Quote: "I love this team. I love their hustle, their enthusiasm. This team wants to win. head coach Bill McGregor.