Pitt Football
Pitt Football Class of 2025 Breakdown: Mentally Tough CBs
College football recruiting takes long, tiresome hours to narrow down the prospects that coaches want to land.
That rings true and then some with Pitt cornerbacks coach Archie Collins, who watches every single game and every single play of the top recruits on his board and it’s because he is looking for something specific: mental toughness.
As a cornerback joining Pitt, it is known that Pat Narduzzi and his defensive staff play their cornerbacks on an island and that is why Collins wanted to see the mental fortitude from his 2025 signees, Mason Alexander and Shawn Lee Jr.
“I like to see how guys respond after they have problems during the game,” Collins said on National Signing Day in December. “To me, it’s how you respond. Do you have the next play mentality. Both of these guys play good ball, so they have good competition. They’ve both been in position on where they do not play the best. I love to see them on game footage to how they react towards it because if they can do it in high school usually it’ll translate to college as well.”
Alexander – a 5-foot-10, 180-pound recruit from Hamilton Southeastern High School in Indiana – is Pitt football’s highest-rated recruit in the 2025 cycle, holding four-star ratings from Rivals and ESPN.
During the fall, Collins spent time visiting Alexander and not only witnessed the pure skill and athleticism he has, but also his character.
“We went up to visit him before he had a game. It was a Friday morning, and he was out there working out. They work out strenuously as a team. He was walking around, talking a lot of stuff to the guys, getting guys motivated but at the same time, doing it all with a grin, which I think is the first part of understanding who he is as a character person – a kind person, a family person,” Collins said.
Photo courtesy of Mason Alexander’s X account.
Once on the field, Alexander dials in on the task at hand and showcases his talent.
“Once he steps on that field, another switch goes off. When he was a junior in high school, he ran a 10.7 100-meter, which that shows his explosion. He has a good change of direction. When he’s playing on the field, that other guy comes out of him that physical nature that you got to play this game with,” Collins said.
Alexander totaled 52 tackles and an interception during his senior year. As a junior, he picked off three passes.
“The one thing about him is his 10.7 shows up on film,” Collins said. “With his change of direction that he has and his explosion, he’s able to track things down very very quickly. If he gets in bad shape during a play, he can get back to it and make a play. He’s aggressive mindset is what stood out to me the most.”
With Alexander and Lee, Pitt is bringing in a pair of playmakers in the secondary.
Lee was a dynamic player at Harrisburg High in 2023, commanding the offense at quarterback, along with his duties at defensive back.
“I love his attention to detail that he approaches the game with. When you watch him play quarterback and him being able to direct his offense in high school and then bring that mentality over in being a leader is another great quality to have,” Collins said.
At quarterback, he passed for 2,256 yards and 26 touchdowns, while rushing for 1,451 yards and 19 scores. On defense, he recorded four interceptions.
“One thing that stuck out about him was he was a two-way player in high school,” Collins said. “He has the ability to make plays. He shows the ability to be special, to make plays and played both ways and did an outstanding job at both.”
Photo courtesy of Archie Collins’ X account
Similar to another Harrisburg native and legendary Pitt running back, Lee required a postgraduate year at Milford Academy in New York.
“He comes from the same area as LeSean McCoy, obviously the Pitt legend that he is. I thought it was very cool for LeSean McCoy to reach out to him after he got his offer, which is a great thing to be associated with a legend like Shady McCoy. They have a lot of good family connections with his father,” Collins said.
Despite only stepping in at the cornerback position during his junior season, Lee has quickly grown into that role thanks to his work ethic.
“The one thing about him is he’s well-grounded from a good family. He’s always ready for the next step. With him having a workman attitude, he says, ‘This is what I got to do, this is my plan and I’m going to go execute it.’ Every time I talk to him, he’s always trying to learn something else. He’s always trying to work on a part of his game. The kid loves football, which is a great attribute to have,” Collins said.
Both Lee and Alexander will begin to work with Collins and the Panthers as early enrollees in January.
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