Gorman: A hometown win for Pitt

Before Damar Hamlin chose a college, he already was trending on Twitter.

The anticipation of the Central Catholic cornerback's verbal commitment Monday night was more dramatic than the announcement itself.

Not that Hamlin didn't try.

Before he finished his sentence on which university he would attend, Hamlin reached for a hat on KDKA-TV. Just when it looked like he was opting for Ohio State, he grabbed the gold hat with the Pitt script logo.

“I want to get my city back to where it should be,” Hamlin said. “I turned down some great universities, some special opportunities that a lot of people don't get, and I'm just dedicated to it.”

Pitt has promoted its hometown advantage on Twitter, using #WPIALWednesday and #412Crew hashtags. On Monday, it tweeted a video of Pat Narduzzi and his coaching staff celebrating Hamlin's choice.

“I thought that was pretty cool,” Hamlin said. “They looked like they won the lottery.”

Despite missing on Woodland Hills tailback Miles Sanders (Penn State) and McKeesport safety Khaleke Hudson (Michigan), Pitt's 2016 class includes Hamlin, Brashear's Therran Coleman, Upper St. Clair's Brandon Ford, Central's Bricen Garner and Rashad Wheeler, Aliquippa's Kaezon Pugh and Clairton's Aaron Mathews, who flipped from Penn State.

“There's no option to fail,” Hamlin said. “The WPIAL is so talented and has so many good recruits, coach Narduzzi feels like he has no other options but to succeed. If everybody from the WPIAL stays home and plays for Pitt, we'll win the national championship.”

That would be a hometown victory to celebrate.

Kevin Gorman is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at kgorman@tribweb.com or via Twitter @KGorman_Trib.