Pitt FB Recruiting
‘It All Felt Right:’ John Wetzel Explains Flipping Commitment to Pitt
Everything moved quickly for Latrobe’s John Wetzel during a new phase of his recruitment.
After settling in and signing with the Marshall Thundering Herd, a coaching changed prompted some more thinking about his future in college football.
Wetzel then got a release from his National Letter of Intent, which led to several schools showing interest, including one that did not extend an offer the first time around — the nearby Pitt Panthers.
A week ago, Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi and the staff started reaching out and put in motion an on-campus visit that occurred Wednesday. That visit turned into a commitment for the three-star safety prospect as he signed with the Panthers in the 2025 class.
“It was a great visit,” Wetzel told Pittsburgh Sports Now. “I got to talk to the safeties coach, the linebackers coach and had a great meeting with Coach Narduzzi. I got to look at the whole campus, where I’m going to be staying and it all felt right.”
Excited to say I have committed and signed to the University of Pittsburgh! H2P!🔵🟡@CoachDuzzPittFB @Coach_Manalac @coachcsanders @Pitt_FB pic.twitter.com/oL85Pv8cV0
— John Wetzel (@John_Wetzel10) May 22, 2025
Wetzel always had aspirations of playing for Pitt, so when he became available, Narduzzi did not want to pass up the opportunity again.
“It means a lot,” Wetzel said about playing for Pitt. “Coach Narduzzi said all the right things. He said he wished he could have got on me sooner, but it happened like things happened and I think God has a plan for everybody and luckily all of it worked out in the end.”
The 6-foot, 195-pound safety will join Pitt as a safety, but says he has the ability to move to linebacker in the future.
“That was one of the big conversations I had with the linebackers coach and Coach Narduzzi — and even the strength coach,” he said. “After seeing my build and my shoulders, they know they can put a good bit of weight on me to keep me fast and agile.
“I think I’m going to start out at safety. They have a lot of good linebackers my first year and it looks like a couple of them are going to get drafted. If I happen to grow into a linebacker, then I’ll have a chance to play.”
As a three-star prospect, Wetzel fetched offers from West Virginia, Cincinnati, Boston College, Buffalo, Eastern Michigan, Delaware, Akron, Kent State, Temple and others. However, he committed to Marshall in June of 2024. After nearly a year as a verbal pledge and then a signee, Wetzel felt it was the right decision to move on.
“It was a weird time period for me because it was during basketball season, so I was focused on that and wasn’t thinking about college. I knew I had a place to go in Marshall. I set up an OV to meet the new coaching staff. After a long conversation with my parents and the coach and the rest of the staff, I thought it would be best for me after the coaching change to decommit. After that, got offers from a couple schools, including Pitt and I’m committed there now,” Wetzel said.
As a senior, Wetzel starred on both sides of the ball for the Wildcats. At quarterback, he threw for 914 yards, while adding 1,076 rushing yards on the ground. Defensively, he totaled 81 tackles, five for loss and returned a touchdown for an interception. He was named to the Class 5A All-State team.
Wetzel’s first day on campus is June 9, but he plans to work out on the South Side with the team prior to that.
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