Mike White takes a look at Pitt's first football recruit from the class of 2009.

Lakeview High School football player Cory King visited the Pitt campus earlier this week, and decided he'd like to spend his college days there.

King, a 6-foot-5, 315-pound junior lineman, made a verbal commitment to Pitt Wednesday. He is the Panthers' first recruit from the class of 2009. Lakeview is in Mercer County.

"Him and his dad are really big Pitt fans, so this doesn't suprise me," said Lakeview coach Dan York.

King also had scholarship offers from Bowling Green and Minnesota. York said Wisconsin also had been showing heavy interest lately.

"A lot of schools didn't hear about him until lately," York said. "Pitt was after him hard for a while."

King has been a starter since his freshman year. He has played offensive tackle and guard, and will play guard as a senior. He also plays defensive tackle, but was recruited to play offense. He runs the 40-yard dash in 5.4 seconds.

"Actually, he was bigger as a freshman and sophomore," York said. "He weighed 320 or 325 back then. He fought to get his weight down."