Jordan Whitehead is one of the top cornerbacks in the nation, and top overall prospects in the state of Pennsylvania. The Central Valley senior has been one of the most celebrated and hotly recruited players in the Pennsylvania Class of 2015, and he decided to end speculation about where he would play collegiately with a traditional announcement on Friday.

The pick? Whitehead will be a Panther, assuming he eventually signs a letter of intent with the University of Pittsburgh, as he pledged to do on Friday.

Whitehead made his choice in the time-honored hat-donning fashion, though he did so without parading multiple lids on a single table. Instead, Whitehead pulled a single, classic-fonted Pittsburgh hat from underneath the table and placed it on his head as he announced that he would attend the University of Pittsburgh.

Pitt-backers and recruiting analysts were quick to react to the announcement on social media.

I don't have to say how huge it is for #Pitt to land Jordan Whitehead. — Chris Peak (@PantherLair) October 3, 2014

Wow, huge for Pitt to get Jordan Whitehead. Bigger than huge. Super, duper huge. — Chris Dokish (@ChrisDokish) October 3, 2014

Pitt lands Cen. Valley DB Jordan Whitehead. Great catch for Pitt. He plans to be at Pitt second semester. — Mike White (@mwhiteburgh) October 3, 2014

Can Jordan Whitehead play for Pitt tomorrow night? Am I the 45,675th Pitt fan to make this joke on the twitter dot com? — Chris Jiuliante (@stoosh10) October 3, 2014

Hey, nice recruiting win for former #PennState WR Bobby Engram, landing Jordan Whitehead to #Pitt. — Kevin McGuire (@KevinOnCFB) October 3, 2014

Whitehead instantly becomes one of Pittsburgh’s most high-profile and high-potential recruits, keeping him out of the grasp of schools like Penn State, Ohio State and West Virginia in the process. Incredibly, at least one source reported that Whitehead admitted to not speaking with Pitt coach Paul Chryst about his commitment.

In the end, that didn’t matter. Staying close to home and the ability to make an immediate impact have helped deliver Whitehead to the Panthers, where he’ll be expected to pay dividends starting in the 2015 season. He plans to enroll in the spring semester to get a head start on summer training camp.