Pitt FB Recruiting
To The Burgh: West Virginia Decommit WR Jeffar Jean-Noel
To The Burgh is a Pittsburgh Sports Now series detailing each uncommitted 2026 prospect expected to be at Pitt for an official visit in June.
Pitt and West Virginia will always go head-to-head for high school talent in the region and oftentimes cross paths for recruits from around the country.
Wide receiver Jeffar Jean-Noel out of American Heritage High School (Florida) is one of those prospects that both programs have pushed for and now the Panthers are picking up steam in his recruitment
A one-time West Virginia pledge, Jean-Noel backed off his commitment to Rich Rodriguez and the Mountaineers in April.
Since then, he has lined up an official visit at Pitt for this weekend, June 5-7. The Panthers and offensive coordinator Kade Bell offered the three-star talent back in June of 2024.
Bell and wide receivers coach JJ Laster have sustained a solid relationship even through his WVU commitment, which he announced in early February. The coaching duo of Bell and Laster visited Jean-Noel just a week prior to that at the end of January.
“They check up on me and I check up on them. They really care about me and they feel like I would be a great fit in their offense. As for my official visit, I just want to see where I could see myself at,” Jean-Noel told PSN in May.
On3: 3
| N/A Natl. | No. 125 WR | No. 108 FL
247Sports: 3| N/A Natl. | No. 119 WR | No. 83 FL
ESPN: 3|N/A Natl. | No. 126 WR | No. 119 FL
Rivals: 3 | N/A Natl. | N/A WR | N/A FL
Stats: As a junior, Noel caught 34 passes for 505 yards and five touchdowns.
Check out the Hudl highlights of Jeffar Jean-Noel here.
Status: Following his decommitment, Jean-Noel has yet to narrow his list of offers down. He holds a solid list of Power Four offers from Miami, Michigan, Missouri, Kentucky, Louisville, Pitt, West Virginia, Washington, UCLA, N.C. State, Wisconsin, UCF, Georgia Tech, Boston College and Purdue.
He already took an official visit at Purdue and Rivals has put in a FutureCast for him to land with the Boilermakers. Georgia Tech also received an official visit from Jean-Noel over the weekend. Along with Pitt, he has future officials with Kentucky and UCF.
Nate’s Take: Pitt already has two wide receivers committed in the 2026 class — Dylan Wester and Demetrice McCray — and the Panthers will host a handful of other receivers for official visits, so there is limited room remaining for that unit.
There are a few other receivers higher on Pitt’s board and with the other programs battling for Jean-Noel, I just don’t see this one panning out.
