Pitt FB Recruiting
Fast Rising 2025 DB Picks Up Offer From Pitt Coaching Staff
Graceson Littleton had been called out of class before, but when he was called out of class in the middle of the day at Wharton High, he didn’t know what to expect.
He certainly wasn’t expecting a handful of college coaches, and his own head coach at Wharton, to be waiting for him. But it turned out that Pat Narduzzi and Cory Sanders were waiting to talk to him. And it was the first time his Wharton coach was there for the conversations with a college coaching staff.
It ended up being a very exciting talk. Of course, Narduzzi and Sanders were there to extend Littleton an official offer.
“It’s my second Power Five offer, feels pretty cool, they came up to the school, so it was cool the way it happened,” Littleton told Pittsburgh Sports Now. “That was my first time it’s happened the way it did.
“They called me out of class, and I went to my football office, and it was my head coach, their head coach and the safeties coach, and they were just telling me they like my speed, like my coverage skills and I have great recovery. They told me they like film, they’ve just been basically looking over me, and they asked me a couple of questions; what my best traits about myself were, and then after that, they said they’d like to offer me.
“The exact words were we have a scholarship offer for you here, and since it’s my second Power Five offer, they don’t want me to get too in my head and remember that were my second before all the others came.”
It was the first time that Littleton had ever talked to the Pitt coaches, but it certainly was a day to remember in the end.
Blessed to Receive an Offer from the University of Pittsburgh #H2P @CoachCSanders @CoachDuzzPittFB @3DSportsGroup @Coach_Baham @Pitt_FB @DemetricDWarren @AdamGorney @ChadSimmons_ @247Hudson @RivalsFriedman @MohrRecruiting pic.twitter.com/aK9UQaVMwR
— Graceson Littleton (@GrayLittleton) January 19, 2024
Littleton added Pitt to a list of offers that currently includes Akron, Kansas State and Middle Tennessee State, and with the interest he’s received of late, it’s only a matter of time before his recruiting process blows up.
As a kid from Florida, he wasn’t too familiar with Pitt (he had to look up the conference the Panther play in during his research), but there was a moment recently — even before the official offer — that alerted him to Pitt.
“Actually a couple of days before, I saw a corner for them, he was declaring for the draft, so I thought that was pretty cool,” Littleton said. “A coincidence for sure. And one of our running backs he was talking about how one of their running backs coaches following him, so I actually had them on my mind a little bit before that.”
The cornerback, Littleton believes, is Marquis Williams. No. 14. Williams, who was one of the more underrated cornerbacks in the ACC over the last couple of seasons, is headed for the NFL Draft. And it’s players like Williams, and M.J. Devonshire and A.J. Woods, that attract Littleton to a program.
He wants to go to a school that produces NFL defensive backs, and he certainly heard from Narduzzi and Sanders about the defensive backs that Pitt has sent to the next level over the last few seasons.
Littleton made an impact defensively for Wharton as a junior, racking up 30 tackles (27 solo), a tackle for loss and an interception.
The major recruiting services (247Sports, Rivals and On3) haven’t rated Littleton at this point, but that will change in the coming weeks and months — especially as his recruiting process heats up this spring.
There haven’t been talks about a visit at this point, but Littleton has stayed in contact with the Pitt coaches since the offer — sending tape on Twitter and just maintaining contact. And the Pitt coaches plan to check in on him soon.
“(Sanders) said he definitely wanted me to get up there for an official visit,” Littleton said. “He said he’s gonna come back down in May, I think he said, and he said he wants me to get down there and go on on official visit and see what it’s all about.”
Pitt is firmly in the mix for Littleton, along with the schools that have extended offers, but his recruiting process has picked up in a major way over the last week. It started with the Pitt offer. Oklahoma, Iowa State and Arkansas State have all been in contact. He’s checking out USF’s Junior Day, and there’s a good chance he’ll make it out to West Virginia for its Junior Day.
He plans to spend the summer months (May, June and July) to take his official visits, and as of this moment, there’s no plans to narrow down his interests. That won’t start until May-ish.
He’s looking for a school that he feels comfortable with — with the coaches and players and defensive scheme alike. And of course, he’d like the opportunity to play early on in his collegiate career. It certainly doesn’t hurt if a school is early to recognize his ability and extend an offer either.
“I’d say they’re one of my favorites just because they’re my second Power Five offer, so it’s definitely the first or second biggest offer,” Littleton said. “So, I definitely have to do more thinking about that.”
Pitt has not yet landed a commitment in the class of 2025, but the recruits in the class are beginning to come to the forefront.
The Panthers are in the mix for four-star linebacker Dayshaun Burnett (Pittsburgh, Pa.), three-star athlete Emmanuel Taylor (Virginia Beach, Va.), three-star offensive lineman Raphael Greene (Cincinnati, Ohio), four-star wide receiver Jadyn Robinson (San Juan Capistrano, Cal.), three-star running back Jeffrey Overton Jr. (Woodbridge, Va.) and three-star edge rusher Sharlandiin Strange (Wyncote, Pa).
