Pitt FB Recruiting
2024 3-Star QB Target Miles O’Neill Taking Unofficial Visit to Pitt This Week
Miles O’Neill said that Pitt stood in a high place amongst the teams recruiting him after picking up an official offer nearly two weeks ago. He just needed to actually head out there and see it for himself.
Well, O’Neill — a 6-foot-6, 220-pound three-star quarterback from the Hun School in Princeton, New Jersey — told PSN that he will be taking an unofficial visit to Pittsburgh Wednesday, which happens to come as the Pittsburgh Steelers will be practicing.
He also told PSN that he has not scheduled an official visit yet.
Pitt joined the likes of Boston College, Columbia, Connecticut, Maryland, Michigan State, Pennsylvania, Princeton, Temple and Virginia in extending offers, and he’s picked up additional offers from Memphis, Penn State, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt since.
He received his offer directly from Frank Cignetti Jr. after a throwing session at the Hun School, and it was the first time that he’d met a Pitt coach in person. Cignetti definitely left a strong impression on him when it comes to Pitt, but it’s been Jon DiBiaso who has been that main point of contact so far.
“Just hopped on a FaceTime with him yesterday actually after the throwing session,” O’Neill told PSN earlier this month. “I’ve been talking with coach DiBiaso for probably a couple of weeks, so not too long but starting to pick up talking with him more.”
DiBiaso, who spearheads Pitt’s recruiting efforts in the northeast, has begun to build a “great” relationship with O’Neill. He’s been a teacher so far, infirming O’Neill about Pitt, its rich culture and how Pitt could help get O’Neill where he wants to go. “And I love what I hear, so I’m just really excited,” O’Neill said.
But O’Neill already had somewhat of a Pitt connection even before he started talking to Cignetti and DiBiaso. His quarterback coach — and new offensive coordinator at the Hun School — is Tony Racioppi, Kenny Pickett’s quarterback coach.
“My quarterback coach coaches Kenny Pickett, so he’s told me a lot about Pitt, so I know that it’s legit football, it has a great business school, which is what I want to major in, and it seems like a great opportunity,” O’Neill said.
O’Neill has thrown with Racioppi about six times now, and he’s left every session feeling better and better. He was a big draw in transferring to the Hun School from Massachusetts. It’s their relationship, and his desire to improve at every aspect of the position, that has left him confident he’ll be able to dominate teams in his senior season.
Racioppi is certainly excited to work with O’Neill this fall, too.
“Of all the kids I’ve had over the years, we’re talking over 20 years of high school and college coaching and obviously training the quarterback, he might be the most physically gifted high school kid I’ve ever had,” Racioppi said.
O’Neill spent his junior season at Marblehead High in Massachusetts, leading the Magicians to an 8-2 record, and he’ll play at the Hun School for his senior season. In three games recorded on MaxPreps, he completed 51-of-77 pass attempts (66%) for 653 yards with nine touchdowns and three interceptions.
He’s a big-bodied quarterback with a very strong arm — and plenty of room to improve as he’s working with Racioppi this offseason. And he’s also a very capable athlete who has played safety on the defensive side of the ball.
247Sports and Rivals haven’t ranked O’Neill yet, although he holds a 5.6 Rivals Rating. On3 rates him as the 35th-ranked quarterback and the 13th-ranked recruit from New Jersey.
O’Neill’s rapid rise over the last month has led to some serious interest from some big-time programs across the college football landscape, but Pitt has done enough to bring him in for a visit — and if it goes well, it could result in an official visit next month.
O’Neill will also be visiting one day before 2024 quarterback target Henry Hasselbeck will be taking an unofficial visit to Pittsburgh. So, Pitt’s quarterback recruiting is beginning to reach a breaking point.
Of course, there is not a quarterback commitment in the class of 2024 to this point.
