The February Signing Day produced one surprise for Pitt, as the Panthers landed an all-state tight end from Georgia.

Malachi Thomas is a 6’3” 230-pound tight end at Thomas County Central High School in Thomasville (Ga.), and he signed with Pitt on Wednesday.

Thomas picked the Panthers over offers from Charlotte, Buffalo, Old Dominion, Georgia State, Troy, Howard, Kennesaw State, Morgan State and Stony Brook. He told Panther-Lair.com that he started hearing from Pitt two months ago with new offensive coordinator Kade Bell serving as his primary point of contact.

“Cool guy,” Thomas said of Bell. “Great mind in football.”

Thomas didn’t visit Pitt, but he said that Bell was the main reason he chose to sign with the Panthers.

“I really like his play style,” Thomas said.

Bell told Thomas that he wants to use the 2024 tight end prospect as something of a big receiver, and his production as a senior at Thomas County Central certainly backs that up. In 2023, Thomas caught 30 passes for 542 yards - 18.1 yards per catch - and a team-high eight touchdown receptions.

For that performance, he earned first-team all-state honors at the Class AAAAAA level - the highest level of high school football in Georgia.