A few weeks ago some were wondering if Dave Wannstedt had lost his touch as an ace recruiter because the Panthers had gotten off to a bit of a slow start in the recruiting process for the class of 2010.

Wannstedt's answer to his critics was a simple "nothing's changed, we're going to be fine."

He wasn't lying.

Pitt received four verbal commitments yesterday, including one from the WPIAL, bringing the total number of commitments to 10.

Wannstedt has received verbal commitments from seven players in the past six days and is hoping to get a couple more early this week.

The ball got rolling early yesterday morning when Clairton High School receiver Kevin Weatherspoon, who was competing in Pitt's 7-on-7 camp/competition with his teammates, told Wannstedt he was going to play for the Panthers. He chose the Panthers over offers from Maryland, Syracuse, Akron and Toledo.

"I'm a Pittsburgh guy, my family can come watch me play here and I always knew this is where I'd end up," said Weatherspoon, who is 5 feet 11, 175 pounds and caught 57 passes for 1,470 yards and 20 touchdowns last season for the Bears as well as seven interceptions as a cornerback.

"The coaching staff really made me feel like I was a big part of things, like they really wanted me and that made a difference. I felt comfortable with the coaches right away so there was no reason to keep delaying my decision.

"I'm a Panther."

The Panthers also got commitments from Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.) teammates Bryan Murphy and Brandon Sacco.

Murphy (6-2, 235) is a defensive lineman and chose the Panthers over offers from Louisville, Maryland, Boston College, Colorado and Michigan State. Sacco (6-3, 250) is an offensive lineman and chose the Panthers over offers from Rutgers, Vanderbilt, Virginia and Miami (Ohio).

The duo are the third and fourth players from New Jersey in the class of 2010, which continues the Panthers' trend of winning some recruiting battles in the Garden State ever since secondary coach Jeff Hafley was put in charge of that area in February 2008. Hafley signed five from the state in this year's class.

Pitt's final commitment yesterday came from Broad Run (Asburn, Va.) running back T.J. Peeler, who chose the Panthers over offers from North Carolina State and West Virginia. Peeler (6-1, 200) is a big back with a lot of speed as he runs the 40-yard dash in 4.59 seconds but benches 300 pounds and squats 465.

He committed to the Panthers during an unofficial visit.