Pitt FB Recruiting
2025 Maryland LB Holds Pitt in Top 3 Following Recent Offer
Lindsey Lamar hasn’t been at Pitt long, hired as the running back on Jan. 16, but he’s hit the recruiting trail hard since. And as a fervent recruiter in the DMV, it makes sense that one of his most recent offers went to a linebacker from Maryland.
Lamar stopped by Our Lady Good Counsel High last week, and it was the first time that he met up with Justin Thompson. But he said he’d be back — with reinforcements. So, when he came back with Pat Narduzzi in tow, he wasn’t lying.
Thompson — a 6-foot-3, 225-pound linebacker from OLGC in Olney, Md. — picked up an official offer from Lamar and Narduzzi.
“It really means a lot,” Thompson told Pittsburgh Sports Now. “I’m just really blessed to be in the position I am now, and I just thank God and just knowing that Pitt just blessed me with the chance to play at the collegiate level, I’m just very thankful for the opportunity and I can definitely see myself in the future playing there. So, they’re very high on my list right now.”
Lamar and Narduzzi stopped in to watch Thompson lift, a 4:45 p.m. session after school, and it was a chance to see him in action. So, Thompson sort of knew what was coming when he was pulled aside following the workout.
“They came in there, watched me, got to see me work in person and then after my workout, they pulled me aside and told me I was offered,” Thompson said. “They said they really like what they see on film, what they see in front of them, and they just love what they’ve seen. So, it was just very amazing.”
It was an honor to meet the head coach, of course, but perhaps the most important connection was Lamar and Narduzzi setting him up with Ryan Manalac.
The talks between Thompson and Manalac, and the entire coaching staff, for that matter, will continue. But in his short time with the coaching staff and what’s learned (and known) about the program, he’s excited to continue the relationship going forward.
“I really love what they’ve got going on out there,” Thompson said. “Especially their defense because I’m a defensive guy so I just love how they’re running their defense, the program and I feel like they’re on the uprise.
“I knew a good amount especially because Aaron Donald is out there, and I really like him as a player, so knowing he went there, I knew they were a great school. And if they could produce him as a player, I knew they could produce me if I go there.”
Thompson certainly has shown why he’s drawn Division I interest during his time at OLGC. In four games recorded on MaxPreps last season, he racked up 26 tackles (12 solo) and two tackles for loss — serving as a leading contributor on the defensive side of the football.
Thompson hasn’t been rated by the major recruiting services (247Sports, Rivals or On3), but he’s a rising recruit who will be busy this spring. The recruiting rankings will arrive with it.
He currently holds offers from Charlotte, Duke, Marshall, Memphis, Pitt, South Carolina and UMass, and the majority of those offers have arrived over the last couple of weeks. He’s been hearing from all of the school that have extended offers — and enjoys how those teams have shown love in the early days of his recruiting process.
Thompson is looking for a school that feels like home, when it comes to community, culture and his potential fit into the defensive scheme. And he’ll be coming up to Pittsburgh during the spring to check out the culture and community for himself firsthand.
“As of right now, I probably have Pitt in my top three,” Thompson said. “Between South Carolina, Duke and Pitt, so they’re really high up in my choices right now. Just the type of program they have, the coaches, they produce great players, they send linebackers to the league, which is very big for me, so it shows that if I go there, I could have the chance to play in the NFL.”
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.), three-star athlete Jaiden Brown-Demery (Mest Mifflin, Pa.) and three-star edge rusher Sharlandiin Strange (Wyncote, Pa).
