Pitt Rises for 3-Star Edge Rusher After Offer; Sets Up Official Visit

Pitt has kept a close eye on Pickerington High School North (Ohio) product Malachi Ervin since the beginning of his junior season and just last week, the Panthers’ staff finally dropped in an official offer.

The 2026 defensive end received the offer from assistant Tim Daoust this week as Pitt immediately shoots up Ervin’s board of top choices.

Blessed to receive my 16th division one offer from the University Of Pittsburgh!!💙💛#AGTG #hail2pitt @AllenTrieu @CoachHillerich @Jalen_bowens59 @pnfootball @RecruitPN @coachdaoust @CoachDuzzPittFB @Pitt_FB pic.twitter.com/KttuuV0YmH

— Malachi Ervin (@malachiervin99) May 7, 2025

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“I’ve been building a little bit of a relationship with Daoust and Manalac for a while now, but the past few weeks I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to showcase my talents on a bigger stage,” Ervin told Pittsburgh Sports Now. “It really means a lot to receive an offer from such a high-profile school with such a highly-touted defense and d-line in specific because it’s just a testament of my hard work.”

Ervin has held communication for a while now with Daoust and area recruiter and Pickerington native Ryan Manalac.

“Coach Daoust extended the offer and the main things we talked about was how I keep on getting better as a player, and him and Coach Manalac enjoyed watching me grow through the years. He also mentioned how I’ve done a great job showcasing my talent these last few weeks with winning MVP at the Columbus UA Camp and having a great day at my school’s college showcase.”

Malachi Ervin with tough reps at UA Next in Columbus. You know you cooked when you got coach hyped‼️ @malachiervin99

D-line MVP today #UANext pic.twitter.com/Wr7H80C8tk

— Billy Tucker (@TheUCReport) April 27, 2025

The 6-4, 220-pound was in attendance this past fall for Pitt-Cal. He also tells PSN that he will take an official visit to Pitt on the weekend of June 19. He has additional officials with Iowa State, Miami (OH), Buffalo, Eastern Michigan.

He holds additional offers from Temple, UMass, Ohio, Kent State, Ball State, Bowling Green, Old Dominion, Western Michigan, Toledo, Akron and Youngstown State.

247Sports rates Ervin as a high three-star recruit, the 38th edge rusher in the class and the No. 18 player out of Ohio.

Ervin put together a strong junior season with 55 total tackles (29 solo), 14 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and one recovery.

“My strength is playing five-tech hand in the ground d-end role that stuffs the run on first and second-down, and gets the passer on that second and third-and-long situation.”