Pitt has added a surprise to its class of 2025 on early National Signing Day.
Jaylin Brown — a 5-foot-10, 195-pound three-star running back from Cardinal Newman in West Palm Beach, Fla. — committed and signed with the Panthers. He was initially committed to Louisville.
Brown committed to Pitt over offers from Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Boston College, Charlotte, UConn, Georgia Southern, Georgia Tech, JMU, Kentucky, Liberty, Louisville, UMass, Minnesota, North Carolina State, Tulane, Western Kentucky and Western Michigan.
Brown had been committed to Louisville his entire senior season but decommitted on Nov. 21 and reopened his recruitment. It only allowed the Panthers, who initially offered him back in January, to jump back into the chase.
Smith racked up 1,098 yards and 16 touchdowns as a senior at Cardinal Newman, an 8.3 yards per carry clip, and he was one of the better running backs in South Florida.
247Sports rates Brown as the 88th-ranked running back and 136th-ranked recruit from Florida while On3 rates him as the 100th-ranked running back and 172nd-ranked recruit from Florida.
Rivals rates him as the 55th-ranked running back in the class — a 5.6 Rivals Rating.
Brown joins a running back group that includes three-star Synkwan Smith and three-star Ja’Kyrian Turner, and his skillset fits the traditional running back mold more so than his new teammates, who are more in the mold of all-purpose backs.
Pitt lost a lot of running backs already this offseason, so it makes sense that the Panthers stocked up in the class of 2025.
