Pitt FB Recruiting
Pitt Offer Meant a Lot to 2026 In-State Quarterback
The start of spring football practice is a big time for college football teams for several reasons. Pitt is no different.
Most importantly, coaches have their first opportunity to start working with their players as a team for the upcoming season. Considering the changes the Pitt coaching staff went through this offseason, the month of practices will be invaluable.
Almost as important as the spring practices though is the recruiting that teams can do. With the dead period lifted, teams will begin to bring recruits to spring practices for unofficial visits.
On Monday, Pitt held their first practice, and not only did they host a number of recruits, but the coaching staff also decided to make an in-person offer to one of the visitors.
2026 quarterback Gavin Sidwar (6-foot-3, 175 pounds) from LaSalle College High School in Wyndmoor, Pa. was on the South Side and received his latest Power Five offer from the Panthers. Sidwar also holds offers from Duke, Maryland, Syracuse and Virginia Tech.
“I got invited to the quarterback meeting with Coach Bell,” Sidwar told Pittsburgh Sports Now. “He was running through the players they were going to run in practice and how they should attack their defense. After the meeting was over, the quarterbacks left to get dressed for practice and coach Bell introduced himself to me. He was asking about 7-on-7 and one of my teammates with my 7-on-7 squad (Level 82). He told me that he watched my tape over the weekend and was very impressed. He said, ‘I’m going to offer you.’ Then he started talking to me about his background and how his dad was an NFL quarterback. His system is built on Mike Shanahan and Sean Payton concepts. He also told me his system is great for quarterbacks.
“I told coach thank you, I appreciate it. This offer means a lot to me because it’s an offer I really wanted. To get offered by a school in your state is a big deal. He showed me how the quarterback plays, talked about their progressions and then showed game film of what the play looks like against certain looks.
Sidwar has another reason why the offer from Pitt meant a lot to him — and his family.
“My dad’s family is from the western side of the state, and he’s a Pittsburgh sports fan,” said Sidwar. “So, this offer is a bigger deal than most may realize. I actually wear No. 7 because of Ben Roethlisberger.”
Following the huge news, Sidwell was then able to go out to the practice field and not surprisingly, he spent the majority of time with Bell and the Pitt quarterbacks.
“Obviously, it was a great day for me,” Sidwar said. “I enjoyed watching practice and how the position coaches interacted with their players. Coaches and support staff came up to me all practice which was nice.
“The theme of the practice was quick game for the offense. I watched the quarterbacks, and coach Bell was working and teaching and demanding effort and attention to detail. He’s a young coach who is relatable. He’s going to do good things there.”
During his sophomore season in 2023, Sidwar completed 186-of-285 passes for 2439 yards and 29 touchdowns. While Sidwar is excited about the recruiting attention he’s receiving, he’s more excited about getting better over his next two seasons in high school.
Final Sophomore Year Tape:
186 – 285 (65%) 2439 yds 29 tds@LaSalleFball @CoachTaggart14 @TorreySmithWR @PRZPAvic @PaFootballNews @SportsByBLinder https://t.co/Fpb8MEMSqv
— Gavin Sidwar (@Gavin7Sidwar) November 17, 2023
“As for me, I just want to win,” Sidwar said. “I think we will be a much better team at La Salle next season and I’m excited to start the season. My biggest strength is that I’m an accurate passer. I played shortstop in baseball, so I can throw from any angle. I study the game, and I process information quickly and get the ball out.”
“I play for Torrey Smith in 7-on-7. We run a lot of plays from his time with the Ravens. We run NFL concepts, not 7-on-7 plays, so he’s helped me understand progressions based on certain looks. That’s really helped me understand where to go with the ball pre-snap which is what coach Bell was covering in his meeting.”
It is great to see a Pitt coach offering a PIAA Section 12 athlete a scholarship. I hope that this part of PA becomes a priority. I looked at the top 50 recruits from 2021-22-23. That is a total of 150 players. Of those 150 players, 39 are from Section 12. Section 12 is the Philadelphia public schools, charter schools, Catholic diocese schools, and the boys Catholic Prep schools.There are 40 schools from Section 12 that field football teams. Compare that to the WPIAL that has 127 high school programs. In the Philadelphia area if you want to watch the… Read more »
Because of his background, Coach Bell seems to have an acumen for developing rapport with quarterbacks. This could be a positive turning point for Pitt’s offensive recruiting.