National Signing Day 2011: New Coach Todd Graham Inks 5 Recruits at Pitt

After being named the head coach of the Pitt Panthers, Todd Graham had to get right to work. Graham has to make up for lost time on the recruiting trail after the Pitt recruiting class dwindled down to a mere eight commitments.

Graham has been busy the past couple of days, locking up commitments from five players, all on the offensive side of the ball.

Committed to Pitt are running backs Malcolm Crockett, Isaac Bennett and Corey Davis, wide receiver Darius Patton and tight end Sam Collura.

Graham needed to upgrade the running back position, with Ray Graham the only scholarship running back returning.

Crockett is a 3-star recruit from Washington D.C. that decommitted from Cincinnati and quickly signed with Pitt. Bennett is from Oklahoma and planned on attending Tulsa but will follow Graham to Pittsburgh.

To land Davis, Graham dipped into Texas, a place Pitt normally doesn’t have success recruiting.

Patton comes to Pittsburgh from Poland, Ohio. He’s a 3-star recruit that had 80 receptions in his junior season. With the loss of Jon Baldwin to the NFL draft, the Panthers could use an upgrade at the position.

Finally, Graham got a commitment from Collura, who had offered a soft verbal up until then. Collura is a 3-star tight end who could eventually become a part of the Panthers' passing game.

While the overall numbers still aren’t there at the moment for the Panthers, reports are that Graham has as many as 20 potential recruits visiting the campus this week.

As signing day quickly approaches, this upcoming week could prove very important for the future direction of the Pitt program.