Pitt FB Recruiting
‘My Dream of Going to the NFL Can Come True Here’: 2024 LB Commit Davin Brewton Found a Home at Pitt
Davin Brewton wants to play college football, and he wants to eventually make it to the NFL. He’s just about halfway there now.
Brewton — a 6-foot-1, 225-pound three-star linebacker from Red Bank Catholic in Red Bank, New Jersey — left Pitt’s Junior Day with the Panthers leading his recruiting chase, but he didn’t commit. He’s known for a little over a month now that he wanted to commit to Pitt, but still, he wanted to be 100% sure.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers selecting SirVocea Dennis in the 2023 NFL Draft may have been the straw that broke the camel’s back in this case.
“I think Pitt is really the one, and just from talking to coach Manalac, coach Duzz and coach Underwood, they just kept giving me that great vibe, and it was just so much different from other coaches and college,” Brewton told PSN. “It just really made me feel like I was at home, and then seeing Voss get drafted in the NFL was an even bigger thing that pushed it for me, seeing how many people they produce into the NFL.”
So, Brewton couldn’t wait anymore. He finally committed to Pitt Thursday night.
Time (2) Commit- Through The Grace of God and Hard-Work I am Committing to The University of PITT!!!!🔵🟡💙💛 @Pitt_FB @CoachDuzzPittFB @Coach_Manalac @TiUnderwood @BatesBacker @CoachLangeRBC #h2p pic.twitter.com/mh0UUJvRWX
— Davin Brewton (@dav_brewt) May 4, 2023
Brewton picked Pitt over offers from Marshall, Maryland, Massachusetts, Syracuse, Tulane and West Virginia — and interest from Penn State and Rutgers. He did his due diligence in visiting Maryland and WVU, but his mind came back to Pitt every time.
The relationship he was able to build with Pat Narduzzi, Ryan Manalac and Tiquan Underwood was unmatched. “It was the family vibes, the coaches were real cool, knew what they were doing,” Brewton said. “It was just the automatic love. So, it just had a whole different feeling for me.” He didn’t feel that kind of love anywhere else.
He fulfilled the first part of his childhood dream, committing to play at a Division I program, and as he watched Dennis live out his own NFL dream, it only reinforced that Pitt would be able to help him achieve the second part of his childhood dream.
“It really was like, ‘Wow, my dream of going to the NFL can come true here.’ It’s a great outlet and they put the most NFL players out in the ACC,” Brewton said. “So, that was a real eye opener for me and just how coach Manalac is a great linebackers coach and he produced Voss to become this great, smart linebacker. It was a no-brainer.”
Dennis filled that ever-so-important Mike linebacker spot at Pitt for the last two seasons, earning All-ACC and All-American honors as a team captain, and that’s exactly where the Pitt coaching staff sees Brewton over the next few seasons.
“We have a lot in common,” Brewton said in January. “Not the tallest person ever, but we’re both dawgs. We both find the ball; we both just want to attack. The thing I love about Pitt and the linebacker room is everything is about being physical and just trying to put someone put on the field.
“They showed a lot of things that I love doing, so that was the good part about it.”
Brewton serves as the centerpiece in Red Bank Catholic’s defense, filling the middle linebacker role, and in just five games recorded on MaxPreps, he recorded team-highs in tackles (42), tackles for loss (nine) and sacks (two) and he added a fumble recovery.
As an ‘undersized’ linebacker, he flashes aggression and a nose for the football on every single play, consistently making a beeline for the ball carrier. It’s hard to teach, but it’s easy — for Brewton — to describe.
“Definitely that hard-nosed dawg who wants to hit to hit and kill the person with the ball,” Brewton said. “Flying around sideline to sideline, never take plays off. I’m a hunter out there, I’m hunting and I’m gonna get my food.”
Brewton is a hunter. And he appreciates having a hard-nosed, aggressive coach like Narduzzi — and it was easy to commit to Pitt when he knew Narduzzi won’t be going anywhere for a while, too.
Brewton knows when he’s at Pitt, Narduzzi will be there. And now he just wants to show more recruits in the class that Pitt is the place to be. It’s time to pull out the recruiter hat.
He’s taking his official visit from June 22-24, and he will certainly be wearing that recruiter hat. If not just because he wants to bring more and more recruits to play alongside him then to help them experience the joy he felt in being able to commit to Pitt.
“It means the world,” Brewton said. “Ever since I was a little kid, my dream was to play college football and go to the NFL, so I checked off one of my goals by committing to one of the best D-I programs in all of college football history. It just means the world to me. It’s a huge moment for me and my family.
“I will not let (Pitt fans) down and I will do everything in my power and my heart to get them to an ACC championship and a national championship.”
Viewing Brewton’s reel, he makes up for a lack of natural athleticism with sheer aggressiveness and football intelligence. Very similar to Dennis. Plus, you’ve got to love the kids attitude (high confidence, not cocky). His playing style actually reminds me a little of Polamalu, and that’s a very good thing.