Elite 5-Star Defensive End Includes Pitt as Finalist

Pitt is in the running for one of the top recruits in the class of 2025 — uncommitted or otherwise.

Javion Hilson — a 6-foot-4, 235-pound five-star defensive end from Cocoa in Cocoa, Fla. — is set to announce his college decision on Wednesday morning, which is early National Signing Day, and Pitt is in his top five.

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In a special to the USA Today Network, Hilson announced that his top five schools include Alabama, Pitt, Syracuse, Texas and Texas A&M.

“They’ve been recruiting me since my sophomore year, and we have strong relationship,” Hilson said in the article. “It was coach (Charlie) Partridge who offered me. He’s in the NFL now, but coach (Pat) Narduzzi has been involved the whole time.”

Hilson took an official visit to Pittsburgh last month, spending the weekend in town for the Clemson game, and it allowed him to check out the facility and spend time with Narduzzi and the coaching staff.

Had a great visit at @Pitt_FB today #H2P @CoachDuzzPittFB @coachdaoust @Cocoa_Schneider @J55FoFo @OfficialAthlete @mdiesel321 pic.twitter.com/NnKKKIHydA

— Javion Hilson (@javion_hilson) November 19, 2024

Hilson holds offers from Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Indiana, Louisville, Miami, Missouri, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, Rutgers, Syracuse, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, UCF and USC.

He took visits to Florida, Texas, UCF and Florida State over the summer and Pitt, Syracuse and Michigan this fall.

Pitt was one of the first programs to reach out to Hilson, extending an offer nearly two years ago in January of 2023. Former defensive line coach Charlie Partridge started the relationship, but clearly, the new coaching staff has maintained his status as a top target.

Hilson is in the midst of a standout senior season, racking up 72 tackles (43 solo), 25 tackles for loss, a team-high 15 sacks, three forced fumbles, a recovery, a pass breakup and two blocked field goals.

247Sports rates him as the 42nd-ranked recruit in the class (third-ranked edge and seventh-ranked recruit from Florida) while On3 rates him as the 49th-ranked recruit in the class (fourth-ranked edge and seventh-ranked recruit from Florida).

Rivals rates him as the 16th-ranked recruit in the class (top-ranked weakside defensive end and top-ranked recruit from Florida).

Hilson would be a massive addition to the class of 2025, the first five-star recruit since Dorian Johnson in 2013, but there’s a lot of competition. Pitt has done a good job getting a foot in the door, but it will come down to a few factor that very well could be out of Pitt’s control.

Pitt has commitments from three-star defensive end Julian Anderson and three-star defensive end Denim Cook in the class of 2025 as it stands.