Pitt Football Winning Big Recruiting Battles and Adding Major Talent

Winning big recruiting battles is a must when trying to add major talent to any college roster and that’s something Pat Narduzzi’s team has been able to do regularly over the last couple of seasons.

The trend started last year and has continued this season as the Panthers are positioned to have their highest rated recruiting class since the early 2000’s under Dave Wannstedt. Both Rivals and 247Sports have Pitt ranked No. 21 in their most updated 2021 team rankings.

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To have such a high rated recruiting class, a team must have a staff full of talented recruiters and that’s what Narduzzi has with Charlie Partridge, Chris Beatty, Archie Collins, Cory Sanders, Tim Salem and Dave Borbely.  However, Pitt’s rise in landing higher level recruited coincided with the hiring of Collins and Beatty.

The latest big recruiting win happened Christmas morning when 4-star safety Phillip O’Brien announced his commitment to Pitt. O’Brien becomes the 5th four-star recruit in Pitt’s Class of 2021 along with Nahki Johnson, Elliot Donald, Naquan Brown, Khalil Anderson and Rodney Hammond.

Over the last year, O’Brien has collected offers from programs like Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Miami, Michigan, Oregon, Penn State, Tennessee and West Virginia.

O’Brien is just another example of a player that a Pitt having to go up against other major programs in order to secure this commitment.

Here are some of the other big wins that Pitt assistants have received over the last two recruiting classes.

CLASS OF 2021

BIGGEST OFFERS:

4-Star DE Nahki Johnson- LSU, Michigan, Penn State, Virginia Tech, West Virginia (Partridge/Sanders)

4-Star RB Rodney Hammond– Michigan, North Carolina, Penn State, Virginia Tech (Beatty)

3-Star S Javon McIntyre– Penn State, Michigan State, Tennessee, Virginia Tech, West Virginia (Sanders)

3-Star WR Myles Alston– Maryland, Ole Miss, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Virginia Tech (Beatty)

3-Star OT Terrence Enos– Arkansas, LSU, Maryland, Ole Miss, Purdue, Missouri, West Virginia (Collins/Borbely)

3-Star RB Malik Newton– Clemson, North Carolina, Penn State, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Virginia Tech, West Virginia (Beatty)

4-Star CB Khalil Anderson– Miami, Michigan State, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Penn State, South Carolina (Collins)

4-Star DT Elliot Donald– LSU, Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, Texas A&M, West Virginia, Wisconsin (Partridge/Sanders)

3-Star DT Dorien Ford– Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State, Texas A&M, Virginia Tech, West Virginia (Partridge/Sanders)

4-Star LB Naquan Brown- Florida, LSU, Miami, Michigan, North Carolina, Penn State, Virginia Tech (Beatty)

4-Star S Phillip O’Brien– Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Miami, Michigan, Oregon, Penn State, Tennessee, West Virginia (Partridge)

Note: Eight players in Pitt’s Class of 2021 held offers from Penn State, Ten from West Virginia, Six from Michigan, Seven from Virginia Tech   

CLASS OF 2020

BIGGEST OFFERS:

3-Star OT Michael Statham– LSU, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, West Virginia (Powell)

3-Star Athlete Solomon Deshields– Auburn, Michigan State, Oregon, Virginia Tech, West Virginia (Salem)

4-Star Wide Receiver Jordan Addison– Michigan, Notre Dame, South Carolina, Virginia Tech (Beatty)

4-Star DE Dayon Hayes– Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State, Texas A&M, Virginia Tech, West Virginia (Partridge/Sanders)

4-Star Safety Jahvante Royal– Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Miami, Ohio State, Penn State, Tennessee (Partridge)

3-Star Wide Receiver Aydin Henningham– Auburn, Florida, Ohio State, South Carolina, Tennessee (Partridge)

3-Star Offensive Tackle Branson Taylor– Louisville, Maryland, Michigan State, Minnesota, Missouri, Purdue, Tennessee, West Virginia (Collins)

4-Star Cornerback Rashad Battle– Baylor, Iowa, Ole Miss, Minnesota, South Carolina, Virginia Tech, West Virginia (Collins)