Signing Day is on Wednesday. Here's a look at three big questions facing Pitt on the Monday before Signing Day.
How will Pitt finish the transfer class?
Pitt has landed six players from the transfer portal so far.
Is that it? Or will they get more?
I think they’ll get more. We can dive into scholarship numbers and that kind of thing, but that’s always a moving target that really only has to resolve itself in the summer once the freshmen arrive (there’s no hard cut-off for getting to 85 scholarships; you just can’t ever have more than 85 on scholarship are one time).
Regardless of the numbers, Pitt isn’t done in the portal. The coaches hosted 10 transfers over the weekend; four of them - Reid, Lee, Matlack and James - committed on the visit, and we think three more will end up committing to the Panthers (if they haven’t quietly done it already).
Those three would bring the total to nine transfers, and I still don’t think that will be it for Pitt. There are three other transfers who visited this past weekend, and I think the Panthers have a shot with those guys. They might not land all of them, but I think they’re in good shape to get at least one more of them. We’ll see.
But even if they just end up with those seven from the weekend (Reid, Lee, Matlack, James, Ojiegbe, Brumfield, Cooper), it’s a pretty good haul that addresses a few needs that were priorities in the transfer portal.
Will Pitt get a transfer quarterback?
This has been an eternal question dating back to before the end of the regular season - back when we were discussing not just whether Pitt would get a transfer quarterback but also whether Pitt should get a transfer quarterback.
Despite Nate Yarnell’s encouraging play in the final two games, I do expect Pitt to pursue a quarterback in the transfer portal. Yarnell seems like he has the talent to win games, but if there’s an opportunity to upgrade, then it’s worth a look, and I think the coaches will do more than just take a look.
The question is, who will they go after? A lot of quarterbacks are currently in the portal, but not many have seemingly had much contact with Pitt beyond a Twitter follow or a cursory reach-out.
As I’ve been saying, I think the quarterback Pitt gets from the portal probably isn’t in the portal yet. What’s the timeline then?
The portal opened for undergrads on Monday, Dec. 4, and it closes on Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024. Plotting it out, then, you’ve got Signing Day on Wednesday (12/20), which is kind of an irrelevant date for transfers; they can sign on that day, but they don’t have to. Ultimately, they just have to have the necessary admissions paperwork completed to enroll for classes in the spring semester. So even if Pitt doesn’t announce a transfer - quarterback or otherwise - on Wednesday - that doesn’t close the window for landing one. And the reality of this current age in college athletics is that it’s very possible and maybe even likely that some transfers will commit without visiting.
So while the contact period for visits is over, that also doesn’t close the window. The only thing that closes the window is when the portal closes on Jan. 2. A player who wants to transfer and enroll for the spring needs to be in the portal by then; otherwise, he has to wait until the spring window, which runs from April 16-30.
All of this is to say, unless there’s a new quarterback who goes into the portal today or tomorrow, they probably won’t get announced as transferring to Pitt on Wednesday. But there are still two weeks for something to happen.
And I think something will happen in those next two weeks.
Will Marcelin and Brewu stick?
Heading into Signing Day, most of Pitt’s 2024 recruiting class seems to be solidly set on signing with the Panthers. But there are two exceptions:
Brewu is a recently-minted four-star defensive tackle prospect from Ohio and Marcelin is a three-star linebacker from the Miami area. Brewu committed to Pitt in March; Marcelin committed over the summer after an official visit.
Marcelin complemented his visit to Pitt with official visits to Maryland and Louisville, while Brewu didn’t take any other official visits - until he went to Michigan State this past weekend.
As it stands on Monday morning, both Marcelin and Brewu are playing coy about their plans for Wednesday. Michigan State is obviously the top threat for Brewu, while both Louisville and Maryland have kept up their pursuit of Marcelin.
If I had to make a prediction, I would predict that Pitt holds onto Marcelin but loses Brewu to Michigan State. That’s a Monday morning prediction, and Wednesday is still two days away so anything can happen Marcelin, in particular, is unpredictable. but that’s how I see it right now.
How will Pitt finish the transfer class?
Pitt has landed six players from the transfer portal so far.
Is that it? Or will they get more?
I think they’ll get more. We can dive into scholarship numbers and that kind of thing, but that’s always a moving target that really only has to resolve itself in the summer once the freshmen arrive (there’s no hard cut-off for getting to 85 scholarships; you just can’t ever have more than 85 on scholarship are one time).
Regardless of the numbers, Pitt isn’t done in the portal. The coaches hosted 10 transfers over the weekend; four of them - Reid, Lee, Matlack and James - committed on the visit, and we think three more will end up committing to the Panthers (if they haven’t quietly done it already).
Those three would bring the total to nine transfers, and I still don’t think that will be it for Pitt. There are three other transfers who visited this past weekend, and I think the Panthers have a shot with those guys. They might not land all of them, but I think they’re in good shape to get at least one more of them. We’ll see.
But even if they just end up with those seven from the weekend (Reid, Lee, Matlack, James, Ojiegbe, Brumfield, Cooper), it’s a pretty good haul that addresses a few needs that were priorities in the transfer portal.
Will Pitt get a transfer quarterback?
This has been an eternal question dating back to before the end of the regular season - back when we were discussing not just whether Pitt would get a transfer quarterback but also whether Pitt should get a transfer quarterback.
Despite Nate Yarnell’s encouraging play in the final two games, I do expect Pitt to pursue a quarterback in the transfer portal. Yarnell seems like he has the talent to win games, but if there’s an opportunity to upgrade, then it’s worth a look, and I think the coaches will do more than just take a look.
The question is, who will they go after? A lot of quarterbacks are currently in the portal, but not many have seemingly had much contact with Pitt beyond a Twitter follow or a cursory reach-out.
As I’ve been saying, I think the quarterback Pitt gets from the portal probably isn’t in the portal yet. What’s the timeline then?
The portal opened for undergrads on Monday, Dec. 4, and it closes on Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024. Plotting it out, then, you’ve got Signing Day on Wednesday (12/20), which is kind of an irrelevant date for transfers; they can sign on that day, but they don’t have to. Ultimately, they just have to have the necessary admissions paperwork completed to enroll for classes in the spring semester. So even if Pitt doesn’t announce a transfer - quarterback or otherwise - on Wednesday - that doesn’t close the window for landing one. And the reality of this current age in college athletics is that it’s very possible and maybe even likely that some transfers will commit without visiting.
So while the contact period for visits is over, that also doesn’t close the window. The only thing that closes the window is when the portal closes on Jan. 2. A player who wants to transfer and enroll for the spring needs to be in the portal by then; otherwise, he has to wait until the spring window, which runs from April 16-30.
All of this is to say, unless there’s a new quarterback who goes into the portal today or tomorrow, they probably won’t get announced as transferring to Pitt on Wednesday. But there are still two weeks for something to happen.
And I think something will happen in those next two weeks.
Will Marcelin and Brewu stick?
Heading into Signing Day, most of Pitt’s 2024 recruiting class seems to be solidly set on signing with the Panthers. But there are two exceptions:
Brewu is a recently-minted four-star defensive tackle prospect from Ohio and Marcelin is a three-star linebacker from the Miami area. Brewu committed to Pitt in March; Marcelin committed over the summer after an official visit.
Marcelin complemented his visit to Pitt with official visits to Maryland and Louisville, while Brewu didn’t take any other official visits - until he went to Michigan State this past weekend.
As it stands on Monday morning, both Marcelin and Brewu are playing coy about their plans for Wednesday. Michigan State is obviously the top threat for Brewu, while both Louisville and Maryland have kept up their pursuit of Marcelin.
If I had to make a prediction, I would predict that Pitt holds onto Marcelin but loses Brewu to Michigan State. That’s a Monday morning prediction, and Wednesday is still two days away so anything can happen Marcelin, in particular, is unpredictable. but that’s how I see it right now.
