Pitt 4-Star 2025 QB Target Builds Relationship with New OC

Pitt football has made a lot of changes over the offseason, particularly on the coaching staff, but that doesn’t mean that previous recruits haven’t received attention from the new coaching staff.

Class of 2025 quarterback Matt Zollers is one recruit that new offensive coordinator Kade Bell has built a relationship with since joining the program in early December. Bell, who spent the past three seasons at Western Carolina, took over from Frank Cignetti Jr., who was fired by Pat Narduzzi in November following a 3-9 season.

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Zollers is excited to see how Bell implements his new offense at Pitt next season, which he describes as “fast” and one where the quarterback throws the ball all over the field.

“He’s been really good, he’s very straight up,” Zollers said about his relationship with Bell. “The type of offense he runs sounds very intriguing to play in. He seems like a very nice person. I’m going to try to go up for a visit soon, so I finally get to meet him, but I FaceTimed him a couple times, talked to him on the phone a couple times and  have been texting him a lot.” 

Zollers already has a family connection with Pitt, too, as his older brother Zach is a walk-on defensive lineman. His brother has helped him understand how the program is run and what to expect if he chooses to commit.

And while Zollers has progressed his relationship with a new offensive coordinator, he’s visited Pitt before — twice in the 2023 season. He visited for the Cincinnati game on Sept. 9 and the upset win over then-No. 14 Louisville on Oct. 14.

“(The visits) were good,” Zollers said. “It was really cool to see everything. After the second one, they won. So, I got to go into the locker room to see what happens after a win. So, that was cool to see. They were nice.”

Zollers stands at 6-foot-4 and 205 pounds and plays quarterback at Spring-Ford High School in Royersford, Pa. He completed 182-of-290 pass attempts (62.8%) for 2,917 yards with 37 touchdowns to just two interceptions as a junior. He also carried the ball 65 times for 420 yards and seven touchdowns.

He led Spring-Ford to a 9-3 record and a perfect 5-0 record in the Pioneer-Liberty Conference in PIAA Class-5A competition. Despite the individual success, receiving first-team All-League and All-Area honors, Zollers wishes it would’ve ended better for him and his teammates.

“I think it went pretty well,” Zollers said. “There were some games we should’ve won that we unfortunately did not win. I feel like I had a decent season.”

Recruiting services unanimously rate Zollers as a four-star recruit. 247Sports ranks him at No. 6 in Pennsylvania, No. 13 at his position and No. 194 in the class, respectively, while Rivals rates him as the 10th best player in the state and the No. 22 quarterback in his class, respectively.

The rankings make sense when looking at his stats, but also at his tape. Zollers has a strong arm which allows him to not only throw far down the field to streaking wideouts but also with great accuracy, placing passes into tight windows. His ability to move quickly in the pocket makes it difficult for defensive players to bring him down, and his speed in open space demonstrates his great athleticism.

Following the end of the season, Zollers took up to a month off from football before getting back to throwing twice a week. He is playing basketball right now, excelling with Spring-Ford, who are 11-3 overall and 5-0 in the Pioneer-Liberty Conference.

“It really helps with your footwork,” Zollers said on playing basketball helping his football mechanics. “All the moving around you have to do. You have to weave in and out of the lanes, stuff like that, go up for rebounds, it really helps.”

Pitt was the first Power Five school to offer Zollers, but others have also inquired about his services. The ones that have pushed for his commitment so far are Penn State, Syracuse and South Florida, but he has also received offers from Old Dominion, Temple and Virginia Tech. Along with Pitt, he has made visits to Penn State and Old Dominion.