Kinsler on Pitt commitment: 'The energy was just unmatched'

The new week brought on some unexpected recruiting news for the Pitt football program. The Panthers added a pair of commitments to the 2025 recruiting class, with Tony Kinsler committing to Pitt first thing on Monday morning,

Kinsler is a 5-foot-11 and 165-pound wide receiver out Spruce Creek High School in Florida. The quick playmaker chose the Panthers over other power-four offers from Indiana, Vanderbilt, and West Virginia.

As a junior for Spruce Creek, the speedy Kinsler recorded over 1,300 all-purpose yards and scored 17 touchdowns in the 2023 season. He fits exactly the type of player new Pitt offensive coordinator Kade Bell has been targeting since his arrival. Bell and wide receivers coach JJ Laster visited Kinsler last week in Florida and that helped spark his decision to commit.

“I just feel like they showed me the most love after they came out to see me last week,” Kinsler told Panther-Lair.com after his commitment. "The energy was just unmatched and I just felt like Pitt was home.”

Kinsler has yet to visit Pitt, but because of that relationship, he felt comfortable enough to commit. He said there has been consistent communication with Pitt, and part of their pitch has been selling him on the fit he would be in Bell’s up-tempo offense.

“The message to me is that they’re running a spread offense basically and I just want to be a part of that,” Kinsler explained. “They are trying to find guys that can get the ball and do great things and I’m their guy.”

Pat Narduzzi was not on the most recent visit to Florida with his assistants to see Kinsler, but there had still been communication with the Pitt head coach anyway. Kinsler said he spoke to Narduzzi over the weekend.

“I think he’s a great coach,” Kinsler said after speaking to the Pitt head coach. “I like what he’s doing, I think he’s a good guy, and I’m going with his word and believing everything he says.”

Kinsler’s first real look at Pittsburgh will be for his official visit set to begin on June 6th. He is eager to see everything about his new school choice.

“I’m going to be excited to see the facilities and the school, even though I’ve been doing my research,” Kinsler said of his upcoming visit. “I think the city of Pittsburgh is a really good city and I think the environment is good. I’m super stoked and super excited to get up there.”

The trip to Pittsburgh will be the only official visit he will take. Kinsler said he is locked-in with Pitt and is excited to join the class. Even before announcing, he made sure to connect with quarterback commit Mason Heintschel.

“I touched base with him on Instagram,” Kinsler said of his future teammate. “It’s been good. I let him know I was going to commit before I even posted on social media and I’m super excited about that.”