Penn Hills QB commits to Pitt

Pitt landed its quarterback for the 2024 class on Monday when Penn Hills signal-caller Julian Dugger committed to the Panthers.

Dugger’s path to Pitt started more than a year ago when the staff offered him, but things really kicked into high gear last month when he put on a show at the Panthers’ seven-on-seven passing camp.

That performance put Dugger back on the coaching staff’s radar.

“They were watching me all day and I was talking to them in between the games and after the games,” Dugger said. “We had downtime between the bracket play and pool play and I went up to Coach (Frank) Cignetti’s office and we talked up there. He said I was doing a great job and he liked how I was throwing the ball. He said I was accurate and my footwork looked smooth. Then we went on the board in his office and watched my film and broke that down. He liked the film and wanted to hear me talk through some plays. I think I did well.

“I wouldn’t say I was surprised that the camp went like that; I had in my head that I wanted to impress them. I wanted to do my best and be on the top of my game.”

Since that camp, the Pitt coaches have stayed in contact with Dugger, and he took an unofficial visit to the South Side last Thursday.

Four days later, he committed.

Dugger didn’t have any other Power Five offers beyond Pitt, but at 6’3” and 200 pounds, the left-handed quarterback is an intriguing prospect. He didn’t have a high volume of passes for Penn Hills last season - 130 attempts, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s stats website - which likely held back his recruiting interest, but his performances at events like Pitt’s passing camp or the 210ths Top 150 camp earlier this month showed what kind of passer he can be.

Dugger also averaged more than seven yards per carry on his 67 rushing attempts in 2022, and he’s a standout basketball player, which speaks to his athleticism.

Dugger is the 22nd recruit to publicly join Pitt’s 2024 recruiting class and the second in the last three days, following four-star running back Yasin Willis.