Pitt Football Will Welcome Nine Early Enrollees This Winter

I remember seeing Cruce Brookins at what seemed like every spring practice last season. He was signed to Pitt, but he wasn’t enrolled yet. As a local kid, he was just able to finish his high school career while still spending time around the program.

Brookins, who maintained a redshirt after his true freshman season, emerged down the stretch. Pat Narduzzi lauded Brookins’ game, and it led to playing time over the last few games of the season. Why am I bringing this up? Well, there are a couple of “Hometown Heroes” who will not be enrolling early.

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But I still expect quite a bit of involvement with Pitt over the next few months.

There are nine early enrollees expected of the 19-man class at this point. Julian Dugger, Juelz Goff, Cameron Monteiro and Moritz Schmoranzer offensively, and Francis Brewu, Sincere Edwards, Zachary Crothers, Jeremiah Marcelin and Nigel Maynard defensively.

The ability to enroll early is huge. It’s a jumpstart on fellow signees, and for the offensive signees, it’s the chance to learn new offensive coordinator Kade Bell’s offense alongside the returners and transfers. Offensively or defensively, though, it’s simply a chance to become a collegiate athlete sooner.

But just because Cam Lindsey or Ty Yuhas doesn’t enroll early doesn’t mean they won’t be around. It’s a class full of potential, and here’s who will be enrolling early.

National Signing Day ✅

Thrilled to add 19 new Pitt Panthers today from the Class of 2024 👏#H2P ✍️ #TheHunt24 pic.twitter.com/J575nwc2tu

— Pitt Football (@Pitt_FB) December 20, 2023

Julian Dugger — QB from Penn Hills High in Pittsburgh

Here’s the quarterback. A 6-foot-3, 195-pound lefty who is better suited to play in new offensive coordinator Kade Bell’s offense than the OC who initially recruited him. Dugger is a work in progress, but he has a lot of potential as an elite athlete.

“Julian is a mid-year quarterback that we’re really, really excited about,” Narduzzi said. “Things happened for a reason. You know, we kind of waited. We thought we had somebody, didn’t really have somebody, all of those things that happen in recruiting. But we saw Julian in a 7-on-7 a year ago coming out of his sophomore year, I guess, and he looked really good.

“We’re like, ‘We’d like to get better.’ And when he came out in summer camp, here for 7-on-7, this guy’s on fire. This kid can throw the ball. He makes great decisions. He’s smart. And we’re excited to get a Pittsburgh guy in our quarterback room.”

And perhaps best of all, he has time to grow in the system. Dugger is an uber-athlete who is very well worth the signing. It’s about development now, and who better than a former left-handed quarterback like Bell?

Juelz Goff — RB from Central York High in York, Pa.

There didn’t seem to be much panic when Yasin Willis flipped his commitment to Syracuse earlier this month, and that’s likely because there’s a lot of confidence in Goff.

“Juelz Goff, running back from Central York High School. Outstanding football player,” Narduzzi said. “You know, at one point we had two, but there’s no question this was the guy. His dad will tell you, he’ll tell you, I’ll tell you, if we were going to lose one, this is the one we did not want to lose.”

Goff, at 5-foot-9, 190 pounds, is the kind of home run threat that Pitt craves. He’s the all-time leading rusher at Central York, and he’s the ideal back for a Bell offense. I think he’s an underrated recruit in the class.

Cameron Monteiro — WR from Brockton High in Brockton, Mass.

Monteiro is finally going to be able to just focus on being a wide receiver. As the best athlete at Brockton, he’s played quarterback over the last couple of seasons, but he’s someone for Tiquan Underwood to develop now.

“Cameron Monteiro, kid from Brockton High School,” Narduzzi said. “I’ve recruited two other guys through my years. It’s a tough high school up in Massachusetts, south Boston area. Mid-year wideout, played quarterback a lot of his career, there’s nothing better than having an athletic quarterback in your program that’s smart enough to do that stuff. So he’ll be a really smart receiver for us. He’s athletic, he’s tough and can’t wait to just focus on the wide receiver position.”

He isn’t the biggest wideout, at 6-foot-1, 170 pounds, but he is an athletic, intelligent receiver who will benefit from having basically an entire offseason in the system.

Moritz Schmoranzer — OL from North Cross in Roanoke, Va.

Schmo, as Narduzzi calls him, was the first recruit to officially sign with Pitt Wednesday. He informed Narduzzi of his decision at 1:44 a.m., and he FaceTimed him during his salmon lunch a few hours later.

“The thing I love about this guy is he’s a team guy. … He’s an offensive lineman, but he can play defense,” Narduzzi said. “We talked when he came up for a game with his family, mom and dad came for a game as well. Talked about, ‘Coach, I’ll be on the punt team.’ He sees David Green out there on the punt team, he wants to be on the punt team as well. So he’s one of those guts that you’ll love.”

At 6-foot-4, 285 pounds, Schmoranzer has quickly grown into a high-caliber lineman. And it’s clear to see that he was recently a wide receiver, packing on weight over the last two years to play on the offensive line, with his athleticism and agility.

Francis Brewu — DL from Thomas Worthington High in Columbus, Ohio

I didn’t know whether or not Pitt would land Brewu leading up to Signing Day, and the Pitt staff didn’t either. But he was a massive win nonetheless.

“This is one of those guys in the last 48 hours, maybe 72 hours, I don’t know how long it’s been — I think it’s publicized out there on Twitter that he was visiting Michigan State,” Narduzzi said. “But this is a guy that went down to the wire. We didn’t know until sitting in the lobby here as a staff that he was with us.

“You know, we had some ideas. But you talk about hour and 40 minute conversations with me. Then he’d go hour 50 with coach Partridge. And then it was, you know, 65 minutes with coach Manalac. But the three of us really tag-teamed him for the last three days and secured his commitment, and I can’t tell you how thankful I am to have him.”

The 6-foot, 275-pound defensive tackle is a load upfront, and with the ability to come in early, it’s not unfair to think he’ll be able to carve out a role sooner rather than later. He’s that talented.

Sincere Edwards — DE from Wekiva High in Apopka, Fla.

Edwards flipped from UCF to Pitt over the summer, and he’s another defensive lineman who could be able to make an impact sooner rather than later.

“Sincere is a — it says 265 pounds, he’s actually 240 pounds,” Narduzzi said. “He’s a guy that can maybe play a little bit — he played some linebacker in high school. I would imagine at 240 you know what he looks like. But he’ll be here, and he does an outstanding job. And we’re excited about where Sincere will be in this program.”

An elite pass rusher, Edwards has the potential to be utilized as a defensive end and an outside linebacker, able to tee off on opposing quarterbacks in a variety of different sets. He’s someone that Charlie Partridge will have a lot of fun working with.

Zach Crothers — DE from Chaminade-Madonna High in Hollywood, Fla.

Crothers is one of the under-the-radar defensive line commits in the Pitt class, but he was an impactful member of Chaminade-Madonna’s state title-winning squad this season. He had a lot of tackles for loss and sacks.

“Probably the best compliment you can get, and I told them so on the phone today, I saved it for today, is, you know, I’m at Burton Catholic High School, who (Chaminade-Madonna) beat early in the year,” Narduzzi said. “And I’d imagine Chaminade has maybe ten guys sign today, and the (Burton) coach is like, ‘Coach, that guy you got out of there is the best football player on the team and the best player we saw all year.’ So again, getting a compliment like that from another staff, another team that you played is critical.”

At 6-foot-4, 245 pounds, he’s already well-built. He may just need a little season under Partridge before he’s ready to come off the edge for the Panthers, too.

Jeremiah Marcelin — LB from Miami Norland High in Miami, Fla.

I’ll admit that I didn’t know if Marcelin would sign either. He received some heavy interest from a couple of major programs down the stretch, but he chose Pitt in the end. And it’s a major pickup for the Panthers.

“He played the entire season with a broken pinky,” Narduzzi said. “Had surgery after the year. So, he’s in a finger cast now or whatever, had some pins put in there, but you talk about tough. He is a tough, physical guy that I can’t wait to watch come in here and practice this spring and see what he’s all got. He’s a detailed guy. Like I said, he’s got great size, he’s got instincts and he’s got toughness.”

Marcelin is already a very well-built 225 pounds, looking like a pro, and he has a knack for getting after the quarterback — racking up tackles for loss and sacks over the last two seasons. He has the look of a dominant pass-rushing linebacker in the system.

Nigel Maynard — CB from Stewarts Creek in Smyrna, Tenn.

Maynard is the lone defensive back who will be enrolling early this winter, and that could be the platform he needs to compete for early playing time next season.

“So, he’s got connections in Youngstown, and the connection was he came down to camp this summer,” Narduzzi said. “‘Hey, let’s go to Pittsburgh’s camp, just out of the blue.’ He came to Pitt’s camp. We loved him, we offered him, and we’ve kind of stayed on him since then. And now he’s a Pitt Panther as of 7:22 this morning. So, we’re excited to have him.”

Pitt lost all three starting cornerbacks from 2023, and there’s a serious void left behind. Maynard, at 5-foot-11, 170 pounds, isn’t the biggest guy, but he is a playmaker on the backend. And he should be able to grow exponentially over the spring.