Here's the latest we're hearing on Pitt's pursuit of a quarterback in the recruiting class of 2024.
Right now, there are basically four primary targets (that we know of):
Tyler Cherry was also in this mix, but he committed to Duke on Saturday, so that takes him out of the mix.
Looking at those four still-available options, then, here’s what we know.
Devillier is one of the most intriguing guys on the list. A TCU baseball commit, Devillier is tall and has a big arm - two traits that seem to be important to Pitt offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti (yes, every coach wants a quarterback who is big and has a big arm, but that is really sticking out as Cignetti’s priority in this cycle).
Cignetti watched Devillier throw in person at his high school earlier this month, but I’ve heard that the session produced a lukewarm reaction. Nevertheless, Devillier had enough interest in Pitt to book himself a trip to Pennsylvania for the Elite 11 regionals in State College this past weekend. His baseball schedule forced him to miss the local regional competition, so as he looked at the Elite 11 calendar, the State College location stood out, largely because of its proximity to Pitt and the fact that coming to Pennsylvania would allow him to work an unofficial visit into the trip.
That was the plan, but it didn’t come to fruition due to a scheduling conflict on Saturday. Scheduling conflicts happen, and I’m sure Devillier knows that, but I’m getting the impression that the missed opportunity could have an impact on his relationship with Pitt. In fact, when I asked him if he was still on track to attend Pitt’s prospect camp next month - which was his plan - he said this:
“It’s possible but I’m also looking at some other schools camps as well.”
That’s a change in tone - or at least a change in certainty - since my interview with him two weeks ago. Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but if Pitt is serious about Devillier, then it will be imperative for the coaches to get him on campus for the prospect camp and possibly an official visit.
Whether he ever sets foot on campus will be a sign of the interest on both sides.
O’Neill is really intriguing, too, since he has been just about as hot as any 2024 quarterback prospect in the last few weeks. In the span of three days he landed offers from Pitt, Boston College, Maryland, Michigan State and Virginia; Texas A&M and Penn State have joined the group since then, giving him seven Power Five offers in the last 14 days.
That’s a pretty strong run, but does the surge of offers eliminate Pitt? Not necessarily. O’Neill works with Tony Racioppi, the quarterback trainer and offensive coordinator at the Hun School who also worked with Kenny Pickett, so O’Neill is certainly hearing good things about the Panthers from that connection.
Plus, he’ll be on campus for an unofficial visit this week. So he’s going to get a look at Pitt up close as he works to plan his June official visits. But he also visited Texas A&M on Monday and will be at Michigan State today. O’Neill’s interest in Pitt is sincere, but I do get the feeling that his recruitment might be on the verge of blowing up - and out of reach.
Like Devillier, Hasselbeck is committed to a different school for a different sport. In Hasselbeck’s case, the school is Maryland and the sport is lacrosse. He committed to the Terms in December, but in January, he started getting football offers. UAB came first and Pitt followed. Since then, Dartmouth, Fordham, Harvard, Bowling Green, Georgia Tech, Western Michigan, Boston College, Army, Liberty, Rice, Holy Cross, UConn, Brown, Columbia, East Carolina and Navy have offered him.
So Hasselbeck has two decisions to make: what sport he plays and what college he attends.
On the first question, I get the sense that he’s leaning to football. He has four official visits set for June: Pitt and Boston College in the first two weeks of the month (he hasn’t scheduled the order of those two yet); UAB the following week and Harvard after that. Plus, he wants to take an official visit to Georgia Tech.
That’s a lot of travel - admittedly on the schools’ dimes - to check out his football opportunities, and I think that’s the sport he’s leaning toward. I also think Pitt is pretty high on his list. Hasselbeck and his father, former NFL quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, will be in town this week to attend Steelers OTA’s, and he’s planning to spend time with the Pitt coaches on Thursday while he’s here.
Jackson is currently the highest-rated of the current targets and has the longest offer sheet with 22 scholarships to his name. In addition to Pitt, Jackson has offers from Boston College, Illinois, Indiana, Penn State, Texas A&M, West Virginia and more. He’s got a connection to the Panthers through former Pitt quarterback Rod Rutherford, who is Jackson’s trainer, and he saw Pitt in person when he attended the coaching staff’s prospect camp last June.
Jackson has said that he plans to take an official visit to Pitt the first weekend in June, and while I haven’t confirmed that the visit is officially set, that seems to be his intention, which certainly indicates a high level of interest in the Panthers. Jackson is different from Devillier, O’Neill and Hasselbeck: he’s shorter than the other three and more of a running threat, and that makes him intriguing. But Cignetti has taken a liking to him since the prospect camp last year, and he could be a different kind of quarterback among Pitt’s current roster of tall drop-back passers.
Out of those four, I think Pitt’s most likely to land Hasselbeck or Jackson. Things can always change, of course, but those seem to be the most probable outcomes.
Here’s the condensed version:
Drew Devillier - TCU baseball commit; wanted to visit last Saturday but Pitt had a scheduling conflict
Miles O’Neill - seeing a real jump in his recruitment; visiting Wednesday
Henry Hasselbeck - Maryland lacrosse commit; visiting Thursday and planning official visit in June
Trever Jackson - shorter dual-threat quarterback who works with Rod Rutherford; planning official visit in June
Right now, there are basically four primary targets (that we know of):
Tyler Cherry was also in this mix, but he committed to Duke on Saturday, so that takes him out of the mix.
Looking at those four still-available options, then, here’s what we know.
Devillier is one of the most intriguing guys on the list. A TCU baseball commit, Devillier is tall and has a big arm - two traits that seem to be important to Pitt offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti (yes, every coach wants a quarterback who is big and has a big arm, but that is really sticking out as Cignetti’s priority in this cycle).
Cignetti watched Devillier throw in person at his high school earlier this month, but I’ve heard that the session produced a lukewarm reaction. Nevertheless, Devillier had enough interest in Pitt to book himself a trip to Pennsylvania for the Elite 11 regionals in State College this past weekend. His baseball schedule forced him to miss the local regional competition, so as he looked at the Elite 11 calendar, the State College location stood out, largely because of its proximity to Pitt and the fact that coming to Pennsylvania would allow him to work an unofficial visit into the trip.
That was the plan, but it didn’t come to fruition due to a scheduling conflict on Saturday. Scheduling conflicts happen, and I’m sure Devillier knows that, but I’m getting the impression that the missed opportunity could have an impact on his relationship with Pitt. In fact, when I asked him if he was still on track to attend Pitt’s prospect camp next month - which was his plan - he said this:
“It’s possible but I’m also looking at some other schools camps as well.”
That’s a change in tone - or at least a change in certainty - since my interview with him two weeks ago. Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but if Pitt is serious about Devillier, then it will be imperative for the coaches to get him on campus for the prospect camp and possibly an official visit.
Whether he ever sets foot on campus will be a sign of the interest on both sides.
O’Neill is really intriguing, too, since he has been just about as hot as any 2024 quarterback prospect in the last few weeks. In the span of three days he landed offers from Pitt, Boston College, Maryland, Michigan State and Virginia; Texas A&M and Penn State have joined the group since then, giving him seven Power Five offers in the last 14 days.
That’s a pretty strong run, but does the surge of offers eliminate Pitt? Not necessarily. O’Neill works with Tony Racioppi, the quarterback trainer and offensive coordinator at the Hun School who also worked with Kenny Pickett, so O’Neill is certainly hearing good things about the Panthers from that connection.
Plus, he’ll be on campus for an unofficial visit this week. So he’s going to get a look at Pitt up close as he works to plan his June official visits. But he also visited Texas A&M on Monday and will be at Michigan State today. O’Neill’s interest in Pitt is sincere, but I do get the feeling that his recruitment might be on the verge of blowing up - and out of reach.
Like Devillier, Hasselbeck is committed to a different school for a different sport. In Hasselbeck’s case, the school is Maryland and the sport is lacrosse. He committed to the Terms in December, but in January, he started getting football offers. UAB came first and Pitt followed. Since then, Dartmouth, Fordham, Harvard, Bowling Green, Georgia Tech, Western Michigan, Boston College, Army, Liberty, Rice, Holy Cross, UConn, Brown, Columbia, East Carolina and Navy have offered him.
So Hasselbeck has two decisions to make: what sport he plays and what college he attends.
On the first question, I get the sense that he’s leaning to football. He has four official visits set for June: Pitt and Boston College in the first two weeks of the month (he hasn’t scheduled the order of those two yet); UAB the following week and Harvard after that. Plus, he wants to take an official visit to Georgia Tech.
That’s a lot of travel - admittedly on the schools’ dimes - to check out his football opportunities, and I think that’s the sport he’s leaning toward. I also think Pitt is pretty high on his list. Hasselbeck and his father, former NFL quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, will be in town this week to attend Steelers OTA’s, and he’s planning to spend time with the Pitt coaches on Thursday while he’s here.
Jackson is currently the highest-rated of the current targets and has the longest offer sheet with 22 scholarships to his name. In addition to Pitt, Jackson has offers from Boston College, Illinois, Indiana, Penn State, Texas A&M, West Virginia and more. He’s got a connection to the Panthers through former Pitt quarterback Rod Rutherford, who is Jackson’s trainer, and he saw Pitt in person when he attended the coaching staff’s prospect camp last June.
Jackson has said that he plans to take an official visit to Pitt the first weekend in June, and while I haven’t confirmed that the visit is officially set, that seems to be his intention, which certainly indicates a high level of interest in the Panthers. Jackson is different from Devillier, O’Neill and Hasselbeck: he’s shorter than the other three and more of a running threat, and that makes him intriguing. But Cignetti has taken a liking to him since the prospect camp last year, and he could be a different kind of quarterback among Pitt’s current roster of tall drop-back passers.
Out of those four, I think Pitt’s most likely to land Hasselbeck or Jackson. Things can always change, of course, but those seem to be the most probable outcomes.
Here’s the condensed version:
Drew Devillier - TCU baseball commit; wanted to visit last Saturday but Pitt had a scheduling conflict
Miles O’Neill - seeing a real jump in his recruitment; visiting Wednesday
Henry Hasselbeck - Maryland lacrosse commit; visiting Thursday and planning official visit in June
Trever Jackson - shorter dual-threat quarterback who works with Rod Rutherford; planning official visit in June
