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football Edit

Signed: Jake Renda

Jake Renda played for IMG Academy in Florida this season. He is a native of New Jersey, but he is a Pittsburgh kid at heart. Renda's father is from Pittsburgh and went to Pittsburgh Central Catholic as did his brothers. His grandparents also live in nearby Turtle Creek, so Renda is as Pittsburgh as you can be for someone that grew up in New Jersey.

“I’ve always thought of Pittsburgh as home; I’ve never lived there but my heart was always there,” Renda told Panther-Lair.com after he committed back in August.

Renda was a quarterback for Notre Dame High School in New Jersey and made the switch to IMG Academy to work on his game as a tight end. He was originally committed to Michigan State, but when the offer from Pitt came around, he was quick to jump at the opportunity.

“Pitt has always been at the top of my mind," he said in August. "When they offered me, it became a reality and I was like, what steps do I have to take to make this a reality? Then I went back home to NJ with family and decided the time was right."

In addition to Pitt and Michigan State, Renda also held offers from Arizona, Boston College, and North Carolina State. Renda is one of two high school tight ends committed in this class and should help restock the position.

Pitt did not sign a high school tight end in the class of 2020, and by adding two the team can start to repair the position that has been down on numbers of late. Pitt has been reliant on adding transfer tight ends for the past four years, and it won't have to come to that this year.

Renda won't be expected to play right away, as there will be some veteran depth ahead of him with guys like Lucas Krull, Daniel Moraga, and Kyi Wright. Renda is, however, expected to enroll in January and will be available for a potential spring practice session this year.

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