Pitt FB Recruiting
Pitt Appears in Good Position with 2026 DB Chakai Scott
Archie Collins and Cory Sanders have teamed up over the last handful of years to turn the Pitt football program into ‘Defensive Back U’.
While other programs and conferences might boast about certain things, the bottom line is that Pitt’s results don’t lie.
The duo of Collins and Sanders target players regardless of what star ranking they hold by recruiting services, develop them and more times than not, they end up on an NFL roster.
Damar Hamlin, Dane Jackson, Damari Mathis, Erick Hallet, Avonte Maddox, Brandon Hill and MJ Devonshire are just some of the most recent examples.
On Saturday at their third practice of the spring, Pitt hosted a number of recruiting priorities, including a talented defensive back from Florida.
2026 defensive back Chakai Scott from West Orange High School in Winter Garden, Florida made his visit trip to Pitt and the city of Pittsburgh.
Area recruiter Lindsey Lamar extended Scott an in-person offer from Pitt on January 24th and the Panthers staff have recruited him ever since. The relationship and interest developed enough that Scott made the decision to check out the Panthers in-person.
“I really was impressed with the environment at Pitt, the coaching staff and the way that they run their practices,” Scott tells PSN. “The coordination and communication with the coaching staff is just really smooth.”
“One of the things that I wanted to check out when I was there was if and how I would fit into their scheme. I was there with my cousin, and I said to him that half the stuff that they were running was stuff that we run now in high school. To me it looked like a match.”
Scott describes himself to PSN as a student of the game, along with being someone that can play any position in the secondary.
The other benefit for Scott was being able to communicate in-person with the coaching staff for the first time along with getting to be a part of an important meeting.
“I was able to go to a team meeting in the safety room with Coach Collins and Coach Sanders,” said Scott. “The biggest thing I learned was that the team meeting was a lot faster paced than high school (laughing). Just to be in there though was a dream come true.”
Scott says that while an official visit hasn’t been confirmed yet, he intends on making one sometime in June.
Felt like home 😅 #H2P💙💛 #GodsTiming #AGTG pic.twitter.com/E6poBgSKfN
— Chakai Scott (@Chakai_Scott7) March 16, 2025
Scott isn’t ready to make a college decision yet, but it’s clear that Pitt is near or at the very top of his list of schools. After Saturday’s visit and due to the relationship, that’s been formed with the coaches and the “culture and structure of the Pitt program”, I’d forecast Scott as a heavy lean to eventually commit to Pitt.
When asked if a college decision could be coming up in the near future, Scott responded by saying, “Stay Tuned”.
