With the 102nd version of the Backyard Brawl rivalry game between Pitt and West Virginia just days away, tonight we preview Pittsburgh native Cullen Christian’s commitment that’s coming on Tuesday. We also check in with Jewone Snow, who has scheduled a second visit to Morgantown in time for the Brawl, update Ivan McCartney’s recruiting and get Bob Huggins’ take on David Nyarsuk.

Christian to Pick from Pool of Three

Penn Hills High School senior corner back Cullen Christian will make his commitment Tuesday evening, culminating an exhausting recruitment process, one that’s been headed by dozens of prospective schools giving chase.

“It’s been overwhelming and tiring,” Christian told EERSports.com on Monday. “I can’t wait to get this out of the way.”

The nation’s No. 18-ranked corner back by ESPN Scouts Inc pared down the list of pursuers to Michigan, West Virginia and UCLA.

Michigan has been on Christian’s radar since he got into football. “It was just my favorite school growing up,” he said.

Christian has developed a close relationship with UM secondary coach Tony Gibson. “Yeah, we’re tight. I got the best bond with the coach,” said Christian.

Speculative college football analysts have recently doubted whether or not UM will retain head coach Rich Rodriguez, whose Wolverines have turned in a combined 8-16 record since he arrived in Ann Arbor, in 2007. “It affected me to a certain point,” Christian said. “I honestly don’t think he’s going to get fired. He really only had one year of recruiting. He really needs a chance. They got my class that’s coming in.”

Christian said Rodriguez acknowledged the situation, but reassured him of his status with the university.

“He made it clear that he would be around,” Christian said. “I know that they’ll give him another shot.”

On the WVU side of Christian’s recruiting, the prep star commented, “The coaching there is really good. I like coach [David] Lockwood. He’s a real detailed defensive backs coach.”

And for UCLA, Christian said, “I really like the atmosphere. I like how the school was really diverse. That’s how it was with Michigan, as well. All the schools … I feel like they have a lot of opportunity.”

In actuality, Christian said he has already made his decision, but a formal announcement is expected to be made Tuesday, at 6:30 p.m. eastern time, live from Comfort Inn, in Pittsburgh. Christian said he has already spoken with reporters from Pittsburgh’s Fox Sports Network, who will be on hand to broadcast the news.

Snow Slated for Morgantown

McKinley High School (Ohio) linebacker Jewone Snow saw his season end on Saturday, when his team fell to Massillon, 10-7, in its regional championship game. Snow’s recruiting, however, is not quite wrapped up, but WVU has made the cut for his final two.

“My top schools are WVU and Purdue,” Snow told EERSports.com on Monday. Snow sorted out his two finalists after receiving around 30 scholarship offers.

He took an official visit to WVU back on Oct. 17, when the Mountaineers welcomed in Marshall. Shortly after his visit to WVU, Snow said he hoped to set up an unofficial visit, later this fall. Those plans have been finalized.

“I’m visiting WVU on Friday, against Pitt,” Snow said. “It’s a little less than three hours [away].”

Snow said he’s familiar with the Backyard Brawl rivalry between Pitt and WVU. “I watched it before. It was somewhat like the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry.”

This year, Snow said he has not yet seen Pitt play, but he expects to take in a good football game.

“I’ve only seen WVU play,” he said. “They looked good. They’re quick. They are flying to the ball. It’s down in Morgantown. It will be a great game.”

A commitment from Snow is expected before National Signing Day, but a specific timetable has not yet been set.

Snow completed his senior season at McKinley (8-5) with more than 160 tackles, five forced fumbles, an interception, eight pass breakups and eight tackles for loss, he said.

McCartney Talks Oregon and WVU

Heralded wide receiver prospect Ivan McCartney still appears to be wide open with his recruitment and has not named his list of finalists. He has, however, taken official visits to both Oregon and WVU, earlier this fall.

“The one to Oregon was great and the distance wasn’t a factor,” McCartney told EERSports.com affiliate InsidetheU.com. “The only thing I questioned was off-campus lifestyle but when I was up there, I understood that they wasn’t in school yet. That could have been the reason I didn’t get a lot of off campus experience but other than that, everything was great. I loved West Virginia and it was just awesome being up there. I felt real comfortable and it felt close to home.”

InsidetheU.com reports McCartney is slated to visit Florida on Nov. 28. It’s unlikely that McCartney will commit until the spring.

Huggins Sees High Potential in 7-foot-1 Sudan Signee

WVU added its second basketball recruit for the 2010 class last Wednesday, when 7-foot-1, 230-pound center David Nyarsuk sent in his inked National Letter of Intent for the Mountaineers.

Nyarsuk is currently a senior at Beckley’s prep powerhouse, Mountain State Academy. He is originally from Juba, Sudan.

Last Friday, Huggins commented on Nyarsuk:

“I don’t know if it’s just that he’s a 7-foot guy. He’s a guy who can change the game for us … what we haven’t had because we’ve been so small.

If somebody got a second shot against us, there was a pretty good chance they were going to get a third or a fourth and the second one probably wasn’t as contested as it needs to be. I think David can do that. He can change shots right around the rim.

We can keep somebody on the floor that can do that with him, Danny [Jennings] and Deniz [Kilicli] on the same team. You’ve got three guys who have the ability to alter shots around the rim.

He’s going to have to have a great summer to get stronger. I think his biggest weakness right now is just going to be his lack of physical strength. We said that about Kevin [Jones] and all those guys. He’ll work at it. That’s what I love about him. He really wants to be good.”

Nyarsuk and point guard Noah Cottrill were the only two recruits WVU added in the early signing period, which ended last Wednesday. Recruits can’t resume signing with teams until April 14, 2010.