Pitt FB Recruiting
Gifted 2026 Wide Receiver Earns Offer from Pitt
The Pitt football coaching staff has been active over the last week in terms of extending a number of offers to junior wide receivers.
Many of those players have a similar build, being in the 5’10” to 6’0″ range and skill sets possessing extreme quickness getting in and out of their breaks.
However, one of those players broke that mold and that was Elijah West.
West is from Tate High School in Pensacola, Florida and is an imposing figure on the field as he stands 6’3″, 185-pounds. If you’re into comparisons, and no I’m not saying he has the same ability, but West looks a lot like Seattle Seahawks star wide receiver DJ Metcalf. Reason being is his size compared to most defensive backs and his straight-line speed getting up the sidelines.
GAME WINNING CATCH LAST NIGHT ‼️‼️@SportsCenter @Premier7on7 pic.twitter.com/6uRXwMu2LW
— ELIJAH WEST † (@elijahwest__) February 16, 2025
GAME SAVING CATCH🔥🔥✅✅@FlaHSFootball @PrepRedzoneFL @Andrew_Ivins @adamgorney @RivalsFriedman @NP_Florida @247Sports @dowork_sports @Coach_CJBailey @CoachReid_ @CoachFrankPonce @RonnieFouch @CoachMGSimon @OJW_Scouting @CoachUno1 @iamLowLifeKj @CoachDickert @ZachZilmJr pic.twitter.com/sKRkO21zdp
— ELIJAH WEST † (@elijahwest__) February 2, 2025
More and more people and programs are recognizing his talents as yesterday, Rivals.com elevated West to 3-star recruit status.
In terms of scholarship offers, West holds offers from Arkansas, Michigan State, Central Florida, Minnesota, South Florida, Tulane, Troy and Pitt. His offer from the Panthers came from offensive coordinator Kade Bell and wide receivers coach JJ Laster on February 27th.
“Coach JJ Laster offered me and actually we’ve been talking for a minute,” West tells Pittsburgh Sports Now. “The coaching staff watched my film, passed it around and OC Kade Bell said he liked it and then Coach JJ gave the offer.”
“When he gave me that offer, I was extremely excited to get that from Pitt. I used to like to watch Kenny Pickett when he was slinging the ball around the field.”
When talking about his strengths on the field, West started out talking about his “amazing, top-end speed.” He also mentioned his ability to go up and get “any ball and can adjust to get any ball.”
One thing that he’s been working on this offseason is his burst off the football/snap and believes once he improves that, West believes that he’ll be “unstoppable”.
West tells PSN that receiving this attention is both a blessing and humbling for him and as more programs get involved, the biggest factor in his eventual decision will come down to the bond he builds with the coaching staff.
In terms of upcoming visits, West will be heading to Troy this Saturday to watch their spring practice and has also scheduled an official visit to Tulane in June.
As far as Pitt goes, West tells me that he’s talking with the coaches about an official visit and is likely to make on June 5-7th. Look for that to be announced in the very near future.
