Pitt FB Recruiting
Pitt Recruiting: Who Will Be in Attendance for Second Spring Scrimmage?
Pitt football will hold its second spring scrimmage of the year at Acrisure Stadium on Saturday and with all the competition on the field, recruits will line up on the sidelines to take it all in.
Pittsburgh Sports Now is tracking which prospects are expected to be in attendance, including a few quarterback commits, some top Pitt targets and other intriguing recruits.
Beau Jackson — three-star 2025 Pitt QB Commit out of Catholic Central High School in Detroit, Mich.
Jackson committed to Pitt in January as a preferred walk-on as he will take a visit to Pitt before enrolling over the summer. He picked the Panthers over offers from Bowling Green, Buffalo, CMU, Colorado, Eastern Michigan, Ferris State and Miami (Oh.).
On3 rates Jackson as a three-star recruit and the 114th quarterback in the 2025 cycle.
Angelo Renda — three-star 2026 Pitt QB Commit out of Southlake Carrol High School in Texas
Even though Renda has been committed to Pitt since January, the future Panther is making just his first visit to the program on Saturday. He picked up an offer from offensive coordinator Kade Bell and co. in early January before cementing himself as the first prospect in the Pitt class not too long after. He selected the Panthers over other offers from SMU, UTSA and Jacksonville State.
The 6-foot, 180-pound three-star talent will also return to Pittsburgh for an official visit from June 5-7.
Reston Lehman — Four-star 2026 edge rusher out of Peters Township High School in McMurray, Pa.
The more and more Lehman visits Pitt, the closer he becomes to landing with the Panthers. Lehman has already visited twice this spring and also attended a junior day in January. Lehman lives roughly 45 minutes away from Pitt and the Panthers are pursuing him harder than maybe anyone in the class.
The 6-foot-4, 230-pound Lehman has a Pitt official visit locked in from June 5-7. He’ll also visit Rutgers on March 30-June 1. The four-star prospect’s offer list stands at Penn State, Pitt, West Virginia, Maryland, Missouri, Wisconsin, Purdue, Michigan State, UCLA, Minnesota, Nebraska, Rutgers, Iowa, Syracuse, Wake Forest, Indiana, Cincinnati, Boston College, James Madison, Tulane, Ohio, Toledo, Akron, Delaware, Eastern Michigan, Buffalo, Miami (OH) and Central Michigan.
Lucas Shanafelt — Three-star 2026 DE/TE out of Peters Township High School in McMurray, Pa.
Lehman’s teammate, Shanafelt is another important target for the Panthers as he will also take an official visit from June 5-7. Pitt is recruiting Shanafelt as a tight end and the WPIAL prospect has visited a handful of times over the past few months, including a visit in January and another two weeks ago on March 15. He recently visited Rutgers on March 28.
Shanafelt holds offers from Pitt, West Virginia, Purdue, UConn, Navy, Toledo, James Madison, Eastern Michigan, Akron, Miami (OH), Kent State, Delaware, Buffalo, Liberty, Fordham, Princeton, Harvard, Penn, Cornell and Lehigh.
PJ MacFarlane — Three-star 2026 tight end out of Lakota East High School in Middletown, Ohio
Another tight end prospect that Pitt is high on, MacFarlane will visit the Panthers for Saturday’s scrimmage. MacFarlane recently received an offer from Pitt in January apart of his recruitment exploding.
On3 rates the 6-foot-5, 215-pound athlete as a three-star and the 35th tight end in the 2026 cycle. He holds offers from Miami (FL), Washington, Maryland, Missouri, Kentucky, Michigan State, Rutgers, N.C. State, Virginia, Pitt, Cincinnati, Stanford, Duke, Northwestern, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana and others.
Nyqir Helton — Three-star 2026 wide receiver out of Winslow Township High School in New Jersey.
Helton is a speedy wide receiver that will return for an official visit from June 12-14. Helton holds Pitt in his top five schools with Syracuse, Boston College, Rutgers and Illinois.
Pitt’s interest in this talented playmaker goes back to 2023 when he received a Panther offer from then wide receivers coach Tiquan Underwood. Their pursuit of him has continued with Jacob Bronowski taking over his recruitment. Bronowski made a visit to see him in January.
Ace Theus — Three-star 2026 wide receiver out of Duncanville High School in Texas.
Pitt is hosting an intriguing prospect on Saturday in Theus, who holds a wide-ranging offer sheet. The Panthers offered in January of 2024. Bronowski followed up this past January by visiting Theus at his home in Texas.
The 5-foot-9, 170-pound recruit is rated as a three-star by 247Sports and the 76th receiver in the class. He holds offers from Pitt, Auburn, Colorado, Nebraska, Arizona State, Oregon State, Oklahoma State, Utah, Baylor, Arizona, TCU, Purdue, Maryland, San Diego State, UNLV, Memphis and New Mexico.
Najia Hill — 2026 wide receiver from Taft High School in Cincinnati, Ohio
Hill is making his first visit to Pitt on Saturday. He does not hold an offer from the Panthers, but owns offers from Maryland, Eastern Michigan and Toledo.
Amari Sabb — three-star 2026 athlete out of Glassboro High School in New Jersey
Pitt will host another important talent from the 2026 cycle in Sabb. The Panthers offered way back in April of 2023 but have continued to recruit the New Jersey native. Sabb is rated as a three-star athlete by Rivals, while checking in as the No. 21 athlete in the country.
The holds an impressive list of offers that consists of Alabama, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Miami (FL), Penn State, Ole Miss, Georgia, Michigan, Oregon, Wisconsin, Maryland, Rutgers, Kentucky, Boston College, Pitt, Syracuse, West Virginia, Duke and others.
Sam DeFrancesca — three-star 2026 tight end out of Trinity Episcopal High School in Virginia
DeFrancesca is another tight end target for the Panthers who visited during a junior day in January. He also camped at Pitt last summer and Bronowski took time to visit him in-person in January.
The 6-foot-5, 205-pound prospect owns offers from Pitt, UMass, East Carolina, Colorado State and Charlotte.
Eli Sanchez — three-star 2026 offensive lineman from Perkins High School in Ohio
Sanchez has yet to pick up an offer from the Panthers as he looks to do so on Saturday. He ranks as the 90th best interior linemen by 247Sports in the class. He holds offers from Virginia Tech, UNLV, Coastal Carolina, Ohio, Miami (OH), Akron, Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Western Michigan and more.
Raymir Coney — 2026 edge rusher from Princeton High School in Ohio
Coney is a outside linebacker/edge rusher that is looking to pick up an offer from Pitt. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound talent holds offers from Tulsa, UMass, Eastern Kentucky, Toledo, Kent State and Buffalo.
Luke Sword — 2026 kicker out of Upper Moreland High School in Pa.
Pitt will host a top specialist in Sword, who holds a five-star punter rating from Kohl’s kicking recruiting services. He also owns a four-and-a-half star rating as a kicker.
Bryce Graham — 2027 wide receiver from Cass Tech High School in Michigan
Pitt is continuing its pipeline to Cass Tech High School in Michigan after landing 2026 outside linebacker Marcus Jennings last weekend. Graham stands at 6-2, 170 pounds and holds one offer from UMass.
Arnold Mugerwa — 2027 wide receiver out of Richland Senior High School in Johnstown, Pa.
The lengthy 6-foot-3, 188-pound receiver holds just one Division I offer thus far from Virginia Tech. He’ll make his first visit to the Panthers this weekend.
Brandon Lockley — Three-star 2027 linebacker out of St. Joseph’s Prep in Philadelphia, Pa.
Lockley is a top prospect in the 2027 class and he will take the cross-state visit on Saturday to Pitt. The Panthers offered Lockley back on January 9.
The 6-foot-2, 230-pound prospect is rated as a three-star recruit by Rivals, the 18th linebacker in the cycle and No. 8 player in the state. He holds offers from Tennessee, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Syracuse, Penn State, Pitt, Michigan State, Indiana, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Wake Forest, Duke and Boston College.
TJ Maddox — 2028 wide receiver out of Winslow Township High School in New Jersey
Maddox will join teammate Helton in visiting Pitt on Saturday. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound freshman is an emerging young prospect who currently holds offers from Penn State, Syracuse, Nebraska, Southern Mississippi and Georgia State.
Roman Maurizio — 2028 offensive lineman out of Central Catholic High School in Pittsburgh, Pa.
Pitt looks to build a connection with nearby Maurizio who will visit Saturday. Just a freshman, Maurizio already stands at 6-5, 260 pounds.
