Pitt FB Recruiting
Elite 2026 4-Star WPIAL Safety Furthers Relationship with Pitt on Visit
Over the next year or so, people from around the Pittsburgh area and Western Pennsylvania will be closely monitoring the recruitment of elite Fort Cherry quarterback and safety Matt Sieg.
The top-rated WPIAL prospect in the Class of 2026 is forming a strong relationship with the local college team in the Pitt Panthers as he made another visit for the program’s camp opener on Wednesday.
One of the aspects that Sieg pointed out about Pitt was his long-running relationship he has built with the Panthers, making them a program well in the mix of his recruitment.
“I haven’t started narrowing down stuff yet, but they are definitely among my top eight so far,” Sieg told Pittsburgh Sports Now. “They were one of the first schools to jump into my recruitment and I’ve continued to build a relationship with them. Can’t wait to get back and see where it goes.”
Assistant head coach and safeties coach Cory Sanders has been front and center in the recruitment of the 6-foot-1, 185-pound star safety prospect.
“Me and coach Sanders have a great relationship. I’ve talked with him a number of times and every time it’s a good talk,” Sieg said.
While on the South Side, Sanders had Sieg join in on the safeties meeting and also check out practice.
“It was good. Got to sit in on some meetings and see how the safeties go about their day and he walked me through a lot of stuff and helped me get some key takeaways from the meetings make and got to watch them practice. It was good to see the ins and outs of the program,” Sieg said.
Sieg is a coveted recruit that holds a four-star ranking from 247Sports, Rivals.com and ESPN. All three recruiting services list Sieg as the top talent in the WPIAL for 2026 with 247Sports giving him the highest label as the third-best player in all of Pa. and the 141st-ranked player in the cycle.
Pitt is doing whatever it can to keep a local prospect like Sieg home and he has felt the love.
“It means the world,” he said. “I’m right in their backyard, so the fact they found someone so close and they want to keep me home and be a part of what they’re building is pretty cool to me.”
To Pitt’s advantage, the Panthers have done a strong job at producing defensive backs into the NFL, especially from the WPIAL and Sieg and others have taken notice.
“It’s huge.” Sieg said. “It’s good knowing coach Sanders does produce a lot of guys and there’s a lot of local names from the WPIAL that have been a part of that list. A lot of people think Donovan [McMillon] will be next. It’s cool to see, no matter what, they keep churning out safeties to the league.”
With many suitors after Sieg including Penn State, USC, West Virginia, Syracuse, Wisconsin, Maryland, Michigan State, Rutgers and others, he knows what he wants in his future school.
“I’m looking for a place where as soon as I get there, it feels like home and I know I can be taken care of by the coaches, get a good degree and have a shot at the NFL,” Sieg said.
Pitt offers a lot of those amenities and Sieg believes Pitt will get back on track this season as a winning program.
“I think they got a lot of the puzzle pieces to build and get better. It’s 25 to 30 minutes from my house, too, so it’s got a home feeling,” he said.
The trip to check out fall camp was not the first time Sieg has experienced the Pitt program as he made his way to the South Side in the spring and was also in attendance for Pitt’s upset win over No. 14 Louisville in the fall.
Had a great time at Pitt today for the big win. I appreciate the hospitality towards my family and I. Looking forward to coming back up🟡🔵#H2P @AdamCalt @CoachBorbs @coachcsanders @CoachDuzzPittFB pic.twitter.com/en1t4Rh6oh
— Matt Sieg 4 ⭐️ ATH (@matt_sieg) October 15, 2023
As Pitt continues to push hard for Sieg, he is set to defend Fort Cherry’s first-ever WPIAL title this season. The rising junior is coming off of an outstanding season that saw him throw for 1,671 yards and 20 touchdowns to go along with 2,387 rushing yards and 40 scores.
Defensively, Sieg notched 37 tackles and three interceptions as he puts his aggressive play style on display.
“A huge part of my game is my speed and that’s what I like to use to my advantage a lot of times. I like to use my speed and power to hit people. I can also cover, too,” Sieg said.
It would be great to see these local kids staying at home and building Pitt into a national powerhouse! It’s time for a new kid on the block mentality, Bama’, Ohio State, Penn State have had their time, now it’s ours!