Pitt Continues to Impress Central Catholic Star LB Colsen Gatten

The prevailing thought by many when Pitt originally extended an offer to talented Central Catholic linebacker Colsen Gatten was that their chances of getting a commitment was slim to none.

Gatten was a player that would be receiving a boatload of Power 4 offers. His father, Aaron, played college football at Penn State and Pitt’s track record with major Central Catholic recruits hasn’t been strong lately.

While all of that is true, that hasn’t stopped Pat Narduzzi and Ryan Manalac from heavily pursuing Gatten, a three-star prospect, with the hopes of him one day him becoming their starting middle linebacker.

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It’s a good thing Pitt didn’t listen to what was being said because thanks to relentless recruiting and a strong bond that’s developed, Pitt is in the running for one of the most talented linebackers in the state.

Colsen Gatten Pitt OV

Over the weekend, Pitt received 10 verbal commitments and while Gatten wasn’t one of them, that doesn’t mean he didn’t enjoy his time and was impressed with Pitt.

“Pitt definitely made me feel like a priority this weekend and definitely made me feel that they really need me,” Gatten tells PSN. “With everything they showed me, every time I go there, Coach Manalac impresses me more. I just think that his philosophy and the way that he coaches, there’s proof of how he develops his player and gets the best out of them and to be All-Americans. They’ll be two or three more in the upcoming years. I just love the way Pitt plays defense, they’re aggressive and they play fast.”

Gatten stressed how Pitt made him feel like a priority and I asked him to talk more about that and specifically what he meant.

“Every time I go to Pitt, they make me just feel some type of way. The way they treat me and my family and make us feel so comfortable. They make us feel a way that sometimes you don’t feel at very many places,” he said.

One of if, not the biggest reason Pitt has a chance with Gatten is the relationship that he’s developed with Manalac. Gatten and his family can’t say enough about Manalac as both a person and as a potential coach.

Courtesy Colsen Gatten

“Starting off, when I first met Coach Manalac back in my sophomore year, I just knew that he was a really good coach,” said Gatten. “He was a successful coach and has always been able to develop linebackers, but once I really got to know him is when our relationship really grew. He’s a big family guy; he’s a guy that I’m really comfortable being around. I can talk to him about anything; we can talk about football and daily life stuff. Over relationship has really grown a ton over the last year or two honestly.”

Unlike most from out of state, and especially since he goes to high school in Oakland, Gatten is very familiar with Pitt and their South Side facilities. With that being the case, that didn’t mean that Gatten entered this official visit without a checklist of things that he wanted to see or learn.

“A couple of big things that my family and I are looking for whenever we’re looking into a school are development. That’s a big deal for me, knowing that I’m going to be developed in the right way. Coach Manalac has proven that he develops his guys, and he’s built a really strong room of linebackers at Pitt. The second is the culture of the program. Everyone in Pittsburgh roots for Pitt football, Pittsburgh is a winning town and a great sports town. The history of sports in Pittsburgh is really strong. The third thing is relationships and obviously with that I have with Coach Narduzzi, Coach Bates, Coach Manalac and all the guys down there. So those three things definitely check the boxes for Pitt.”

‼️JUNIOR YEAR SZN FILM‼️
2026 LB/ATHhttps://t.co/lfRHx2iCXV@PCC_FOOTBALL @CoachLehmeier @CoachJayBell @RivalsFriedman @adamgorney @theking1 @BrianDohn247 @210ths @SWiltfong_ @PghSportsNow @wpialsportsnews @PA_TodaySports @PRZPAvic @WPIAL_Insider pic.twitter.com/XXtov9tfRQ

— Colsen Gatten (@Colsen_Gatten) December 11, 2024

Wrapping up our conversation, I was curious to find out with all of the commitments Pitt received, especially the three local ones, did Gatten have any thought of giving a commitment to Pitt?

“Yeah, I think there definitely were thoughts in my head of committing but at the end of the day, I didn’t want my emotions to get the best of me,” said Gatten. “I knew how big of a weekend it was; I knew a bunch of guys around me were committing but I really want to make the right decision for me. If that’s Pitt or if it’s not Pitt, I just had to come home for a couple of days and really lock in and figure out where home was for me.”

“I definitely think those WPIAL guys Hoke, Lehman, Curran, those are all really good guys. Those are definitely guys that I would want to be on a team with and play with. So, we’ll see.”

In terms of his plans for the future, Gatten tells me that this weekend, he has an official visit scheduled to West Virginia, followed by another one next weekend to Duke.