Pitt FB Recruiting
Pitt Football Signs Two Recruits on National Signing Day
It was National Signing Day on Wednesday, yes, the actual National Signing Day, and while Pitt didn’t sign any scholarship recruits, a couple of new players joined the roster.
Pitt signed long-snapper Henry Searcy and kicker Trey Butkowski on Wednesday, finishing off the class of 2025 recruiting class.
Searcy — a 6-foot-3, 180-pound long-snapper from Chiles in Tallahassee, Fla. — committed to Pitt in July and cemented himself on Wednesday. Trey Butkowski — a 5-foot-10, 165-pound kicker from Lake Nona in Orlando, Fla. — did the same, unofficially joining the Panthers in December.
The signings come after Pitt secured a big class on early National Signing Day in December.
Pen to paper. ✍️ @Pitt_FB @coachjbronowski @CoachDuzzPittFB pic.twitter.com/u1DcnYPaAT
— Henry Searcy (@henrywsearcy) February 5, 2025
Searcy flipped his commitment from Syracuse to Pitt, initially announcing the decision on Instagram. He committed to the Panthers over an additional offer from Memphis.
“After a lot of thought and consideration I have decided to decommit from Syracuse,” Searcy wrote on Instagram. “I want to thank Coach Vollono for the opportunity. With that said I will be committing to Pittsburgh. Go Panthers.”
Searcy was rated as a five-star long snapper by Kohl’s Professional Camps, checking in as the eighth-ranked long snapper in the class. Kohl’s is a well-regarded specialist camp series that focuses on punters, kickers and long snappers.
“Searcy snaps one of the tightest rotating footballs in the country regardless of class,” Kohl’s wrote in its evaluation of Searcy. “He has been one of the top performers across the country at every Kohl’s Snapping Camp he attends. At the Kohl’s Southern Showcase, he finished with an average snap time of .68 seconds and put five of his nine scoring snaps through the target.
“Searcy is long and uses his levers to his advantage through his snapping motion. The sky is the limit for this young man and will be an asset for whichever program is fortunate enough to gain a commitment.”
Pitt has one more season with Nilay Upadhyayula as the starting long-snapper, and Searcy will have the fast track to filling that void in a couple of seasons.
Let’s work! @coachjbronowski @Pitt_FB @CoachDuzzPittFB pic.twitter.com/rjjeXPADbk
— Trey Butkowski (@Trey_Butkowski) February 5, 2025
Pitt picked up a commitment from Butkowski in late December, shoring up the future of the position. Butkowski committed to Pitt over offers from Arkansas State and West Georgia.
“I mean to me it was a relatively easy decision; Pitt has a long history of great kickers and coach Bronowski is a guy that I see myself progressing massively under,” Butkowski told Pittsburgh Sports Now. “Besides that it was really just the love I felt from the whole program since the first time I ever even went to a camp that ultimately aided my decision to commit.”
Chris Sailer Kicking rates Butkowski as a five-star prospect, which is indicative of an FBS freshman starter or scholarship pick. The site write-up includes that he’s a great athlete with a strong leg, capable of hitting from 55 yards and beyond, and that he’s also a capable punter.
Pitt brought in James London to fill the void left behind by Ben Sauls, and Butkowski will have a couple of seasons to grow into himself behind London.
