Reactions, thoughts and more on the recruits who visited Pitt this weekend...
Allen Bryant
Let’s see: A 6’1” defensive back from Florida who can play corner or safety. Sounds like a recipe for success. Bryant was the first commitment from the weekend, and as we’ve often said, this staff pretty much has carte blanche when it comes to recruiting defensive backs. Bryant picked Pitt over a solid offer list that included Cincinnati, Louisville, Virginia and West Virginia, but anytime the coaches can get a DB from a school like St. Thomas Aquinas, they’ll take it.
Davion Pritchard
Like Bryant, Pritchard only has a handful of Power Five offers, but if there is any position where the Pitt staff has earned a fair amount of latitude when it comes to recruiting defensive backs (and it’s not uncommon to see other schools follow Pitt’s lead when it comes to recruiting secondary prospects). Beyond the offer sheet, Pritchard looks like a lot of Pitt defensive back recruits: tall, athletic and physical. From watching his Hudl tape, he recorded five interceptions and another 10 or so pass breakups at Austintown Fitch last season, but what’s really interesting to me is that three of those five were in the end zone. Pritchard lined up at outside corner and as a nickel, and he seems to be like most of Pitt’s recent defensive back recruits in that he can play corner or safety.
Eric Ingwerson
I’ll be the first to admit it: when Ingwerson got an offer from Nebraska and later scheduled an official visit to Lincoln, I assumed he was likely to end up leaving Pitt’s commitment list. But while I think those concerns were well-founded, there’s also some strength behind his commitment to the Panthers. He was active with the other recruits over the weekend as he worked to try to get more prospects to join him at Pitt and, as we all know, he canceled his planned visit to Nebraska. So it sounds like Ingwerson is solid.
Caleb Holmes
Florida has long been a go-to for finding a surplus of athletes, and Georgia is quickly catching up. We’ve seen Pitt’s efforts in the Peach State grow over the years, and Holmes is a big target for the Panthers in this class. He’s a top-15 offensive guard in the class of 2024 and just outside the four-star range, and his offer sheet is no joke: Auburn, Boston College, Cincinnati, Florida State, Georgia Tech, LSU, Louisville, Maryland, Mississippi State, Missouri, Oklahoma and UCF all pursued him, but from what we’ve gathered, Pitt came out of the weekend as the clear leader in his recruitment. An interior line prospect, Holmes spent all of his junior season lining up next to current Pitt freshman lineman B.J. Williams, and the two are close friends.
Trever Jackson
The lone quarterback on the first visit weekend, Jackson was the focal point for the offensive staff (especially offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti). As Jackson told us, the visit was effective: he called Pitt’s offense “perfect” and seemed to buy into the idea that Cignetti can help develop him into an NFL quarterback. While the visit didn’t produce a commitment, everything I’ve heard has been really positive, and I think Pitt is probably the favorite for Jackson at this point in time. His family wants to get some comparisons, so they’re going to visit Texas A&M and Missouri (and possibly West Virginia), so there will be some competition to hold off. But it does seem like the Panthers are in good shape for now.
Gabriel Williams
One of three four-star recruits to visit Pitt over the weekend, Williams was blown away by his experience. That follows his spring unofficial visit, when he left Pitt having had his eyes opened quite wide to what the Panthers have to offer, and it sounds like the official visit had the same effect the four-star linebacker prospect. You don’t count commitments before they hatch, so to speak, but Williams’ comments after his visit - particularly his on-the-record remarks that he is considering cancelling his other planned official visits - certainly point to the possibility of a huge commitment for the staff.
Elias Rudolph
As a four-star defensive lineman from Florida, Rudolph is right in the wheelhouse of top prospects Pitt should be in good position to land, and the weekend official visit seems to have pushed things even further in that direction. Rudolph has official visits scheduled to Michigan, Miami (FL) and Ohio State this month, but he left the door open for a return visit to Pitt.
Nicholas Marsh
The third four-star recruit to visit, we haven’t yet touched base with Marsh following his official visit, but everything we’ve heard is positive. Marsh, who ranks as the No. 8 receiver in the class of 2024, was something of a surprise addition to the visit list after he announced a top 12 this spring and it didn’t include Pitt. But the Panthers are clearly in the mix. Marsh has multiple official visits planned for the rest of the month before he makes his commitment in the first week of July.
Mason Lindsay
I think Pitt has a pretty good chance of landing Lindsay - if the coaching staff wants to push for him. But with Adham Abouraya and Jiavani Cooley already committed before the weekend, the Panthers are probably nearing a max capacity with offensive linemen. The coaches could take four in the class, but my hunch is that they’re probably okay with three at this point.
Jadon Lafontant
Lafontant is probably in a similar spot as Lindsay. Pitt has Abouraya and Cooley and seems to be in the driver’s seat with Holmes, so the question of numbers is a relevant one. Lafontant has four more visits scheduled - Boston College, Kentucky, Duke and Vanderbilt - and wants to see those schools so he has something to compare Pitt to. The Panthers impressed him this weekend, though, so the bar is set high.
Da’Jaun Riggs
Pitt has a running back committed in Juelz Goff from Central York, but bringing in Riggs on the first visit weekend speaks to the coaching staff’s willingness - and even intention - to sign two backs in the class. Riggs is a big back who averaged 8.2 yards per carry and scored a touchdown on roughly one out of every eight carries. 10 of his 15 touchdown runs last season gained at least 20 yards, and four of those scores came on runs of 50 yards or more. Pitt’s offense is obviously appealing for Riggs, and that was one of his key takeaways from the official visit, but he wants to take his other three scheduled official visits - Minnesota, Wisconsin and Oregon - before he commits.
Reggie Powers
Gabriel Williams was the star of the linebacker recruits on campus over the weekend, but he wasn’t the only linebacker to visit - and he wasn’t the only priority linebacker target to come to town. Powers is listed as a safety in the Rivals database, but the Pitt coaching staff likes him as an outside linebacker, specifically the Star position that plays as a hybrid safety/linebacker. Pitt’s main competition here is all from the Big Ten: Northwestern, Michigan State and Ohio State. He took an official visit to Northwestern this spring, plans to visit Michigan State this coming weekend and will be at Ohio State at the end of the month (he is reconsidering a previously scheduled visit to Cincinnati). There seems to be a fair amount of surprise in Columbus that Powers hasn’t committed to the Buckeyes yet, and while that may be the inevitable outcome here, the fact that he remains on the board and is willing to looking at other schools leaves the door open for Pitt. The Panthers did well with Powers this weekend; he told me the defense is a good fit for him and he really enjoyed his time with freshman linebacker Braylan Lovelace, as well as the coaching staff. Pitt has a good start at linebacker with Davin Brewton; getting Williams and/or Powers could really boost the linebacker class in 2024.
Dominic Kirks
Kirks is an athletic edge rusher from Ohio, and at 6’5” 255, he’s got good size heading into his senior year of high school. There’s no question that he’s a talented player, and he’s got a solid offer sheet with Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Rutgers, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin. The question is more one of space; Pitt has two defensive ends committed - although Ty Yuhas could potentially move to tackle, which gives the coaches some flexibility - and there are several other ends currently scheduled to visit (as well as four-star end Elias Rudolph, who came in this weekend). The coaches will take at least one more end, but it’s unclear how many more they would take after that.
Allen Bryant
Let’s see: A 6’1” defensive back from Florida who can play corner or safety. Sounds like a recipe for success. Bryant was the first commitment from the weekend, and as we’ve often said, this staff pretty much has carte blanche when it comes to recruiting defensive backs. Bryant picked Pitt over a solid offer list that included Cincinnati, Louisville, Virginia and West Virginia, but anytime the coaches can get a DB from a school like St. Thomas Aquinas, they’ll take it.
Davion Pritchard
Like Bryant, Pritchard only has a handful of Power Five offers, but if there is any position where the Pitt staff has earned a fair amount of latitude when it comes to recruiting defensive backs (and it’s not uncommon to see other schools follow Pitt’s lead when it comes to recruiting secondary prospects). Beyond the offer sheet, Pritchard looks like a lot of Pitt defensive back recruits: tall, athletic and physical. From watching his Hudl tape, he recorded five interceptions and another 10 or so pass breakups at Austintown Fitch last season, but what’s really interesting to me is that three of those five were in the end zone. Pritchard lined up at outside corner and as a nickel, and he seems to be like most of Pitt’s recent defensive back recruits in that he can play corner or safety.
Eric Ingwerson
I’ll be the first to admit it: when Ingwerson got an offer from Nebraska and later scheduled an official visit to Lincoln, I assumed he was likely to end up leaving Pitt’s commitment list. But while I think those concerns were well-founded, there’s also some strength behind his commitment to the Panthers. He was active with the other recruits over the weekend as he worked to try to get more prospects to join him at Pitt and, as we all know, he canceled his planned visit to Nebraska. So it sounds like Ingwerson is solid.
Caleb Holmes
Florida has long been a go-to for finding a surplus of athletes, and Georgia is quickly catching up. We’ve seen Pitt’s efforts in the Peach State grow over the years, and Holmes is a big target for the Panthers in this class. He’s a top-15 offensive guard in the class of 2024 and just outside the four-star range, and his offer sheet is no joke: Auburn, Boston College, Cincinnati, Florida State, Georgia Tech, LSU, Louisville, Maryland, Mississippi State, Missouri, Oklahoma and UCF all pursued him, but from what we’ve gathered, Pitt came out of the weekend as the clear leader in his recruitment. An interior line prospect, Holmes spent all of his junior season lining up next to current Pitt freshman lineman B.J. Williams, and the two are close friends.
Trever Jackson
The lone quarterback on the first visit weekend, Jackson was the focal point for the offensive staff (especially offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti). As Jackson told us, the visit was effective: he called Pitt’s offense “perfect” and seemed to buy into the idea that Cignetti can help develop him into an NFL quarterback. While the visit didn’t produce a commitment, everything I’ve heard has been really positive, and I think Pitt is probably the favorite for Jackson at this point in time. His family wants to get some comparisons, so they’re going to visit Texas A&M and Missouri (and possibly West Virginia), so there will be some competition to hold off. But it does seem like the Panthers are in good shape for now.
Gabriel Williams
One of three four-star recruits to visit Pitt over the weekend, Williams was blown away by his experience. That follows his spring unofficial visit, when he left Pitt having had his eyes opened quite wide to what the Panthers have to offer, and it sounds like the official visit had the same effect the four-star linebacker prospect. You don’t count commitments before they hatch, so to speak, but Williams’ comments after his visit - particularly his on-the-record remarks that he is considering cancelling his other planned official visits - certainly point to the possibility of a huge commitment for the staff.
Elias Rudolph
As a four-star defensive lineman from Florida, Rudolph is right in the wheelhouse of top prospects Pitt should be in good position to land, and the weekend official visit seems to have pushed things even further in that direction. Rudolph has official visits scheduled to Michigan, Miami (FL) and Ohio State this month, but he left the door open for a return visit to Pitt.
Nicholas Marsh
The third four-star recruit to visit, we haven’t yet touched base with Marsh following his official visit, but everything we’ve heard is positive. Marsh, who ranks as the No. 8 receiver in the class of 2024, was something of a surprise addition to the visit list after he announced a top 12 this spring and it didn’t include Pitt. But the Panthers are clearly in the mix. Marsh has multiple official visits planned for the rest of the month before he makes his commitment in the first week of July.
Mason Lindsay
I think Pitt has a pretty good chance of landing Lindsay - if the coaching staff wants to push for him. But with Adham Abouraya and Jiavani Cooley already committed before the weekend, the Panthers are probably nearing a max capacity with offensive linemen. The coaches could take four in the class, but my hunch is that they’re probably okay with three at this point.
Jadon Lafontant
Lafontant is probably in a similar spot as Lindsay. Pitt has Abouraya and Cooley and seems to be in the driver’s seat with Holmes, so the question of numbers is a relevant one. Lafontant has four more visits scheduled - Boston College, Kentucky, Duke and Vanderbilt - and wants to see those schools so he has something to compare Pitt to. The Panthers impressed him this weekend, though, so the bar is set high.
Da’Jaun Riggs
Pitt has a running back committed in Juelz Goff from Central York, but bringing in Riggs on the first visit weekend speaks to the coaching staff’s willingness - and even intention - to sign two backs in the class. Riggs is a big back who averaged 8.2 yards per carry and scored a touchdown on roughly one out of every eight carries. 10 of his 15 touchdown runs last season gained at least 20 yards, and four of those scores came on runs of 50 yards or more. Pitt’s offense is obviously appealing for Riggs, and that was one of his key takeaways from the official visit, but he wants to take his other three scheduled official visits - Minnesota, Wisconsin and Oregon - before he commits.
Reggie Powers
Gabriel Williams was the star of the linebacker recruits on campus over the weekend, but he wasn’t the only linebacker to visit - and he wasn’t the only priority linebacker target to come to town. Powers is listed as a safety in the Rivals database, but the Pitt coaching staff likes him as an outside linebacker, specifically the Star position that plays as a hybrid safety/linebacker. Pitt’s main competition here is all from the Big Ten: Northwestern, Michigan State and Ohio State. He took an official visit to Northwestern this spring, plans to visit Michigan State this coming weekend and will be at Ohio State at the end of the month (he is reconsidering a previously scheduled visit to Cincinnati). There seems to be a fair amount of surprise in Columbus that Powers hasn’t committed to the Buckeyes yet, and while that may be the inevitable outcome here, the fact that he remains on the board and is willing to looking at other schools leaves the door open for Pitt. The Panthers did well with Powers this weekend; he told me the defense is a good fit for him and he really enjoyed his time with freshman linebacker Braylan Lovelace, as well as the coaching staff. Pitt has a good start at linebacker with Davin Brewton; getting Williams and/or Powers could really boost the linebacker class in 2024.
Dominic Kirks
Kirks is an athletic edge rusher from Ohio, and at 6’5” 255, he’s got good size heading into his senior year of high school. There’s no question that he’s a talented player, and he’s got a solid offer sheet with Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Rutgers, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin. The question is more one of space; Pitt has two defensive ends committed - although Ty Yuhas could potentially move to tackle, which gives the coaches some flexibility - and there are several other ends currently scheduled to visit (as well as four-star end Elias Rudolph, who came in this weekend). The coaches will take at least one more end, but it’s unclear how many more they would take after that.
