We have hit the end of the summer recruiting cycle for the Pitt football program. Over the past few weeks, Pitt has landed 16 commitments, with one more decision on the table. We break down the latest happenings on the recruiting front.
Also, the return of the beloved NCAA Football video game franchise comes out next week. What can we expect to see from Pitt in the latest version of the game? Plus, is Pitt basketball star Jaland Lowe underrated?
All of that and more in this week's 3-2-1 Column.
THREE THINGS WE KNOW
Recapping the week in recruiting and what lies ahead
After an action packed month, things have slowed down on the recruiting front for the Pitt football program. The Panthers still managed to create a few headlines this week with their efforts to complete the 2025 recruiting class.
Here is a recap of the week that was…
It started with an unexpected commitment, as Pitt landed a pledge from Florida long snapper Henry Searcy. When Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi sent out his typical, ‘Pitt is it’ tweet earlier this week, a long snapper was not on everyone’s radar. Searcy himself said he will likely come to Pitt as a preferred walk-on, but will get on scholarship soon enough.
Remember, a lot of changes are coming to college football. The biggest one is about revenue sharing between schools and athletes, but another domino is about roster size. It is expected the 85-man limit will increase, but the ability to be a ‘walk-on’ looks like it will become a thing of the past. In other words, Searcy and any specialist Pitt lands in the future are going to be placed on scholarship either way.
So while it's not common to bring in a recruited long snapper, it is going to be a regular occurrence in the future. Searcy’s commitment raised Pitt’s total to 22 in the class of 2025.
The second bit of news this week did not go in Pitt’s favor, as the Panthers lost out on three-star linebacker Bryson Williams, who committed to Michigan State last evening. Williams had Pitt as one of his finalists, but he opted to go with the Spartans instead. He was one of the 29 official visitors who visited Pitt last month, and was also one of the last to make a commitment announcement.
That brings us up to our third recruiting update of the week. The last official visitor Pitt is really waiting to hear on is Jordan Fields, a 6-foot-6 and 265-pound offensive line prospect from Houston. Fields is set to decide later today and will be choosing between Pitt, Houston, and Kansas. Pitt currently has three offensive linemen in its 2025 recruiting class, and I think the minimum the staff was shooting for was four, so the Fields’ announcement is something worth monitoring.
Once Fields reveals his decision, then that kind of wraps up June recruiting. The burden now will be to keep the 22 commitments together and have them sign in December, which we know is not an easy task, especially in the NIL era.
DB recruiting stands out the most
Now that the summer recruiting efforts are just about over we can start measuring Pitt’s 2025 recruiting class for what it is. Once training camp ramps up at the end of this month, the recruiting discussion will certainly take a backseat with the anticipation of a new season consuming the headlines.
For the time being, we can break this class down to its strengths and weakness. There is room to make further additions, and also work to be done to make sure these commitments actually sign their letters of intent. Recruiting never stops, though it won’t be the primary topic of conversation like it has been when real football gets under way.
Pitt currently has 22 commitments, with 16 of those happening in the summer months. The Pitt coaching staff had a particularly high hit rate with its big official visit weekends in June, and landed a class largely of players they specifically targeted. In years past, Pitt would host larger numbers of visitors, and would have to pick and choose a bit more.
What that tells me, is that most of the recruits Pitt has landed, are the ones they prioritized most, at least for certain positions. The one area that sticks out above the rest is at defensive back. Pitt has five defensive back commitments in the current cycle, and it far and away looks to be the biggest strength of the class of 2025.
I don’t think we’re saying anything new here that has not been discussed in recent 3-2-1 columns, or Panther-Lair.com podcasts, or anything that has been posted on the message boards relating to this recruiting class. The defensive back recruiting looks good, and it’s nothing unexpected either.
With Charlie Partridge off to the NFL, who wås regarded as the team’s best recruiter for many years, it only makes sense that the two coaches who now hold that distinction are Cory Sanders and Archie Collins. Pitt's two DB coaches who can point to on-field success, player development, and also getting guys to the NFL. Because of their level of consistency, it’s paying off for the team in the recruiting efforts.
Mason Alexander is the top-rated recruit of the class, and the lone four-star as well. Pitt landed the talented cornerback in a head-to-head battle with Purdue.
Elijah Dotson is just below four-star status, but could find himself there before his senior year ends. He had numerous power-four opportunities, but his connection with Collins forged Pitt above his other suitors.
Joshua Guerrier and Cole Woodson, two of the more recent commits, were solid recruiting wins. Guerrier chose Pitt over Iowa and Iowa State, while Woodson spurned his two in-state programs of Virginia and Virginia Tech to come play for the Panthers.
Lastly, Shawn Lee is simply a great high school football player from Pennsylvania. He looks like a good candidate to outplay his ranking and offer sheet, and is worth taking the flyer on with the other four commitments also in the fold.
Pitt won recruiting battles here. The coaches, mostly Collins and Sanders, had to work for these commitments, and will have to fight to hang onto them as well. This is a good group and one that should have the most optimism around it today as well as signing day in December.
There may be questions about the quality of offensive line recruiting, the lack of numbers for defensive linemen, and the size concerns about the skilled players Pitt has landed. The one thing that feels like a safe bet is the defensive back recruiting, and it’s nothing that should come as a surprise.
Looking ahead to some talented local recruiting classes
All of the recruiting talk this month has been about the current 2025 recruiting class, which is understandable. The Pitt coaches devoted a lot of time scouting, recruiting, and ultimately landing over 20 prospects to this point in the current recruiting class.
After talking about Pitt’s 2025 class so much in recent weeks, one thing is clear and that there is not much of a Pittsburgh presence among the recruits. As it stands now, Shep Turk, an offensive linemen from Thomas Jefferson, represents the lone WPIAL recruit in the class. It does not look like that is changing much until signing day either.
The month of June emphasizes the finish line, to a degree, for the current cycle, although recruiting is also around the clock operation. So while the staff has been putting in work to secure more 2025 commits, there have also been efforts to start the process for the 2026 recruiting class as well.
The NCAA changed the rules and allowed coaches to have direct contact with recruits on June 15th heading into their junior years. The date was previously in the fall, and because it got moved up, we saw plenty of 2026 prospects receive messages and graphics from the Pitt staff in recent weeks.
Last month was the official start to 20216 recruiting, although we already had a good idea on some of Pitt’s top underclassmen prospects the coaches have already been recruiting, because many of them are local. It is no secret that Pitt’s in-state recruiting efforts have been lackluster in recent years, but the classes of 2026 and 2027 may give the Panthers a chance to change those fortunes.
On Sunday, 2Tenths Speed & Agility training will be holding a prospect camp with many of the top players in the area set to work out. We’ll be on location at Shady Side Academy for the camp to get some evaluations of our own, and also to grab some interviews to see how the recruiting process has started for some of the area's best prospects.
The 2026 names are star-studded, to say the least.
While the class of 2026 has some headlining names, the class of 2027, may be even more talented. Pitt has already issued offers to nine prospects who will be entering their sophomore year this upcoming season, which feels like a lot, but the situation here calls for it.
Recruiting websites do not issue star rankings this early in the process for sophomore recruits, but this 2027 WPIAL group is filled with multiple power-four recruits and some who will draw national attention before their recruitments are decided.
It remains to be seen if Pitt will be able to capitalize on the high-end talent in Western Pennsylvania for these upcoming two recruiting classes. For whatever reason that it may be, there has been a disconnect in recent years with the region’s top high school prospects and Pitt, and it’s something that needs to be repaired.
With one recruiting cycle pushing ahead to signing day, the others will start to accelerate. There is a long way to go before the classes of ’26 and ’27 will sign or even decide, but the names are out there, and it’s a group the Pitt coaches have to do a better job of landing.
TWO QUESTIONS WE HAVE
Who should be Pitt’s highest rated players when NCAA comes out?
There have been a lot of changes in college football between July 9, 2013 and now. We collectively know the most major of the changes simply as, ’NIL’ or Name, Image and Likeness. NIL is the ability for college athletes to make money off of their own brand. That concept was a far off notion for college football players heading into the 2013 regular season.
Nevertheless, EA Sports released a video game in July of 2013 called, ‘NCAA Football 14’ with former Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson on the cover. Like all previous editions, none of the players in that game had actual names.
For instance, if you played as Pitt, ‘DT No. 97’ would have been a really good player. EA Sports made that player to be like Aaron Donald. You as a player, knew that you were controlling Aaron Donald. And yet, the former Pitt star and future Hall of Famer was unable to profit off of that in any way.
The resemblance in video games was not the only sticking point in any attempt for college athletes to profit off of themselves over the past decade plus, but it did play a major role in where we are with college sports today.
Fast forward to now, and the highly-anticipated return of the popular video games franchise is set to be released next week. NCAA 25 will hit stores officially next Friday with some early release dates for the overeager players.
The major change in this year’s version, of course, is that current players will be in the game. Meaning, if you were to play a game using Pitt, you can call hand the ball off to Rodney Hammond as many times as you would like, and not ‘RB No. 6’.
(For agreeing to be in the game, athletes are reportedly being paid $600 and get a free copy as well)
Needless to say, the game helped create and shape a generation of college football fans. It allowed fans to explore stadiums, play as new teams, and understand the whole college football universe.
The return of the video game will almost in a way show how much the actual game has changed. The yet-to-be-released game is set to include the transfer portal, NIL, and all the new conference realignment that has taken place.
So getting this back to Pitt, who should be the team’s best players in this year’s game? Now, we do have to remember when a team is coming off a poor season, like Pitt’s 3-9 2023 campaign, then outside perception is not going to be high. There have been top 25 releases, mentions of top-rated players, and other leaks in recent weeks, and yea, not a lot of Pitt featured.
So it leaves it all up to a guess, who should be Pitt’s best players in the game? I’ll give my top five.
Donovan McMillon, Safety. Projected: 86-88 range
McMillon was a tackling machine for Pitt last year, and probably should have made one of the all-conference teams. He is garnering a respectable amount of preseason recognition from magazines and other media outlets. I’m thinking McMillon is the team’s best player.
Gavin Bartholomew, Tight end. Projected: 84-86 range
Pitt senior tight end Gavin Bartholomew has always been a weapon, just an underutilized one. We’ll see if the game developers did enough research to give Bartholomew some leaping ability after a couple of hurdle touchdowns in his career.
Konata Mumpfield, Wide receiver. Projected 82-84 range
Konata Mumpfield has quietly been a solid college football player for three years now, including the last two with Pitt. Altogether, he has 165 career catches. I bet the game rewards him for being a consistently low-key, reliable receiver.
Branson Taylor, Left tackle. Projected 81-83 range
I’m thinking Branson Taylor will be the highest rated linemen for Pitt in this game. Taylor has career 15 starts, probably has a professional future because of his size as well.
Javon McIntyre, safety. Projected 80-82 range
I think Pitt’s other starting safety will be recognized with a good rating. McIntyre was solid as a first-year starter and should be one of the team’s best players in real life as well. The game is supposed to have realistic traits and characteristics for each program, so I wonder if it will make Pitt good at developing and recruiting safeties?
Should more people know about Jaland Lowe?
It has been quiet on the Pitt basketball front, but in the next week or so, that should change. The Basketball Tournament, or TBT, will take over the Petersen Events Center next weekend with eight teams converging for a regional and will look to ultimately cash in on a 1 million dollar prize.
The annual event generally features ex-college players forming alumni teams. Pitt’s entry, ‘The Zoo Crew’ will suit up with an 8:00 p.m. game at The Pete on Saturday July 20th. It is a chance to see former Pitt stars from different generations like Dejuan Blair, Mike Young, and Nelly Cummings play together.
Pitt and Alliance 412 is capitalizing on the reunion and selling it as an event in the days leading up to the game. It will allow donors to have a meet and greet with the former Pitt stars as well as the current team, with raising NIL money as the primary goal.
I think some chatter will start to generate at that event next week, and it will grow among the Pitt fan base as the season gets closer. As it stands right now, the 2024-25 team is assembled and has been working out in Oakland. The Pitt basketball social media channels have been sharing snippets of those practice sessions with video clips and photo galleries.
There have not been much to go off of in relation to Pitt basketball, but some news items about a current Panther have started to generate a little bit of buzz. More people seem to be aware of Jaland Lowe’s ability all of the sudden, and perhaps this Pitt team should be generating a little more preseason hype in the ACC because of him.
Lowe is coming off a superb rookie season, but was overshadowed by Bub Carrington at times. Carrington became a first round pick last month, and Lowe may have a chance to do the exact same thing next summer.
In the past week, Lowe performed well at the prestigious CP3 camp for college point guards. Because of that performance, more NBA scouts are starting to whisper about the Panthers' sophomore.
Jon Chepkevich, Director of Scouting for DraftExpress.com posted on X about the Panthers’ sophomore, ‘Pitt’s Jaland Lowe turned some heads at the CP3 Elite Camp. Broad-shouldered, long-armed lefty guard w/ shifty crossovers, advantage creation craft, and evolving pull-up game. Poised for a sophomore leap w/ Bub Carrington off to the NBA.’
Lowe is also starting to find himself on more 2025 NBA mock drafts as a potential first round pick. The Athletic recently had him going 23rd in a recent 2025 mock draft, for instance.
The hype train is small, but has room to grow.
It’s early in the offseason with the college basketball season not set to get under way until November. In passing the time around the sport, many national media outlets have had a few, ‘Way-too-early' top 25s, some patchwork ACC power rankings, maybe even a bracketology or two, and things of that nature to spark the conversation.
It’s not that Pitt is an afterthought in those pieces , but maybe a bit undervalued. The preseason rankings and conference media days are still a few months form being released, and those mean a little more, but for now the Panthers aren’t being talked about as a top 5 ACC team, despite being one for back to back seasons.
But with a guard of Lowe's caliber, plus with a unique roster Jeff Capel has formulated, then perhaps this Pitt team should be more on people's radars entering the season. The Panthers failed to make the NCAA Tournament last year, despite being a 21-win team. Even after losing offensive weapons like Carrington and Blake Hinson, this Pitt team may have a chance to exceed last year's team, and a lot of that will be because of Lowe running the team.
ONE PREDICTION
Pitt Football starts the year 2-1
Earlier this week on Panther-Lair.com, I started to preview Pitt’s upcoming 2024 football season one game at a time. It’s July, we need something to talk about, so it felt like a good time to start to preview the season.
We took deep dives on Kent State, Cincinnati, and West Virginia all week long. Because of that, it also felt like a good time to pause, and predict what Pitt’s record will be in those first three games.
When previewing what lies ahead, it reminded me that this schedule lays out the exact same way as it did a year ago. It starts with a home game against an outmatched opponent, Cincinnati in week two, followed by the Backyard Brawl in week three.
The details are a little different, but it’s a very similar challenge the Panthers faced last season. Last year at this time, optimism was high that Pitt would potentially sweep all three games, or do no worse than 2-1. The Panthers were coming off of back-to-back top 25 finishes and it felt like the train would keep rolling for another season.
Well, it didn’t work out that way.
Pitt had little trouble with Wofford, but it did not take very deep into the Cincinnati game to notice something was off with the team. The Panthers ultimately lost 27-21 to the Bearcats, and followed it up with a stinker of a loss to West Virginia, a 17-6 rock fight in Morgantown.
Pitt never really recovered from that slow start out of the gates. That 1-2 mark slipped to 1-4, and eventually resulted in a 3-9 final record. This season, Pitt gets a reprieve of sorts, with revenge games against both Cincinnati and West Virginia early in the year.
My prediction this week is Pitt starts the season a little better, and walks out of this opening three-game segment with a 2-1 record. The team couldn’t capitalize on that schedule a year ago, but I think this year’s squad will find a way.
Not to beat around the bush too much, but if Pitt is going to get back on track and have a winning season in 2024, then grabbing at least one victory between Cincinnati and West Virginia is imperative in making that happen.
After reviewing both teams this week, those games won’t be easy, but each opponent is not overly daunting, either. If the Panthers walk out of this stretch with a 1-2 record again, then the team could be in for another long season.
Cincinnati is hoping some transfer portal patches will improve the team’s 3-9 record from a season ago, but outside expectations aren’t favoring the Bearcats. The team was picked to finish 14th in the expanded preseason Big 12 media poll.
West Virginia capitalized on the Pitt win in September of last year, and helped turn the tides towards a nine-win season. The Mountaineers return some important pierces and have a little momentum as a program. The preseason expectations out of the Big 12 media days are a little higher for them, as they were picked to finish seventh out of 16 teams.
Long story short, I’m predicting a 2-1 start for Pitt this season, but not sure how those wins will come. While Cincinnati is the weaker of the two opponents on paper, that is a road game. Likewise, the Panthers get the advantage of playing the Moutnaineers at home. It still may to early to make my full 12-game prediction, but I know this much, I’m saying the team starts 2-1.
