Pitt Building Trenches with 2026 WPIAL Talent

Through the years, Pitt football has often prided itself on Pittsburgh grit through the trenches.

Some of the greatest linemen that have come through Pitt were home grown talent in Western Pennsylvania, and Pitt is hoping to develop even more high-end talent with the 2026 recruiting class.

Penn Hills’ Aaron Donald is arguably one of the best defensive tackles to play the game with a Super Bowl championship under his belt and was a unanimous First-Team All-American selection in 2013.

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Also a Penn Hills alum, offensive tackle Bill Fralic put together three All-American seasons between 1981-1984 on his way to the College Football Hall of Fame and his No. 79 being retired by Pitt.

Pro Football Hall of Famers Jimbo Covert, who grew up in Beaver County playing at Freedom High School, and Russ Grimm, a Southmoreland grad, were members of a legendary Pitt offensive line in the late 70s and early 80s.

Pitt continues to identify talented linemen in the WPIAL and that’s the case for the 2026 recruiting class.

All three WPIAL commits from the past two days will be featured in the tranches with defensive tackle Lincoln Hoke, defensive end Reston Lehman and offensive lineman John Curran III.

Staying In the 412! @JCurranIII2026 @LincolnHoke76 @Reston_Lehman pic.twitter.com/cJfCqhbGeh

— Pittsburgh Sports Now (@PghSportsNow) June 8, 2025

The 6-foot-2, 260-pound Hoke out of North Allegheny High School is a promising defensive tackle and son of former Pittsburgh Steeler Chris Hoke. Not the highest-recruited player in the class, — only other Power Four offer was West Virginia — Hoke will have a chip on his shoulder and look to blossom into a talented d-tackle in the Pitt system.

Pine-Richland’s Curran is another prospect that did not boast any Power Four offers until Pitt extended one on Friday. However, his work ethic is evident as he continued to show up at Pitt camp every year before finally getting rewarded with an offer and a quick commitment to the hometown program.

Peters Township edge rusher Reston Lehman is a prospect that saw his recruitment blow up since the start of his junior year as he turned himself into a four-star talent. He held offers from Penn State, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Maryland, Missouri, Wisconsin, Purdue, Michigan State, North Carolina, UCLA, Minnesota, Nebraska, Rutgers, Iowa, Syracuse, Wake Forest, Indiana, Cincinnati, Boston College, Arizona and others.

On the defensive line, Hoke and Lehman look to be a future inside-outside duo for the Panthers that can wreak havoc in the backfield. Curran looks to be a steady anchor on the offensive line as the coaching staff develops the trio of WPIAL linemen.

Pitt’s 2026 class is not the only group that has produced specifically WPIAL linemen in the class. Shep Turk, an offensive lineman out of Thomas Jefferson High School, was the lone WPIAL recruit in the 2025 class.

Ty Yuhas, who joined Pitt in the 2024 class out of Central Catholic, and Sean FitzSimmons out of Central Valley both provide a WPIAL presence on the defensive line as well.

Like those of the not too distant past like Devin Danielson, David Green, Jake Kradel, Blake Zubovic, Gabe Houy, Dorian Johnson and many others, Pitt is looking for its 2026 WPIAL trio of linemen to make an impact in the trenches in the near future.