Pitt FB Recruiting
Athletic 2025 3-Star Michigan LB Includes Pitt in Top Four
DiMari Malone has narrowed his recruiting chase to just four schools, and Pitt has made the cut.
Malone — a 6-foot-2, 220-pound three-star linebacker from Dakota in Macomb, Mich. — has set a top four of Illinois, Michigan State, Minnesota and Pitt, Spartan Tailgate’s Corey Robinson reported Sunday night.
He also holds offers from Akron, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Central Michigan, Indiana, Kansas, Marshall, UMass, Miami (Oh.), Rutgers, Toledo, West Virginia and Western Michigan.
The relationship with Pitt is still relatively fresh, with Archie Collins extending an official offer on Jan. 22, but the bond has progressed far enough to earn contender status. However, Pitt is not in the driver’s seat when it comes to his process. He hasn’t even made it out to Pittsburgh yet.
Malone took an official visit to Illinois already, and he has another scheduled for June 7 at Michigan State. Pitt must secure one of Malone’s official visits to be considered a serious player in this race.
The interest from Pitt is no surprise though. Malone plays the type of linebacker/safety hybrid role at Dakota that the Panthers coaching staff values in its outside linebackers. He’s powerful enough to get after opposing quarterbacks and athletic enough to drop back — effectively — in coverage.
Malone took one carry for a 5-yard touchdown and hauled in a 20-yard reception, but his impact last season came on the defensive side of the ball. He recorded 73 tackles (41 solo), eight tackles for loss, a sack, three interceptions, six pass breakups, three forced fumbles, two recoveries and blocked a field goal.
247Sports rates Malone as the 759th-ranked recruit in the class (62nd-ranked linebacker and ninth-ranked recruit from Michigan) while neither Rivals nor On3 have ranked him yet — though he does hold a 5.6 Rivals Rating.
It appears that Michigan State is the team to beat for Malone’s services, the only in-state school to make the cut, but that could certainly change with a visit to Pittsburgh, which has not yet occurred in any capacity.
Robinson further reported that Malone will make his commitment decision sometime before his senior season at Dakota.
