Two Penn Hills athletes recently committed to Division-1 football programs within the last 10 days, according to Rivals.com

Defensive stalwarts Aaron Donald and Myles Davis verbally committed to Pittsburgh and Syracuse, respectively.  Donald committed to the Panthers April 23 while Davis gave his commitment to the Orange April 19.

Donald’s commitment to Pitt is listed as a “hard verbal,” which means that the Indians’ 6’2, 260-pound defensive lineman won’t accept further offers from D-1 programs.  In 2008, Donald racked up 14 quarterback sacks and picked off a pair of passes.  He also had a long fumble return for a touchdown against Pittsburgh Central Catholic which made ESPN’s Top 10 Plays of the Day back in October.

Before committing to Pitt, Donald also owned offers from Rutgers, Akron, and Toledo, and had interest from Purdue, West Virginia, Michigan State, and NC State, among others.

Davis’ verbal commitment to Syracuse came a little more than a week ago.  He was the fourth Penn Hills athlete in the Class of 2010 that has generated Division-1 interest.  His commitment to Syracuse is a “solid verbal,” which is basically the same meaning as a “hard” verbal.

Davis, a 6’2, 225-pound outside linebacker, had quite a junior season for the WPIAL semi-finalists.  He tallied 73 tackles, 10 quarterback sacks, and recovered three fumbles. 

In addition to Syracuse, Davis had an offer from Rutgers, and interest from Pitt, West Virginia, Purdue, and Bowling Green.

In addition to Donald and Davis, Penn Hills has two other athletes generating Division-1 interest.  Wide receiver Brandon Ifill has 10 D-1 offers, and defensive back Cullen Christian is the owner of 13 offers.