The Pitt football program produced a big day out of the transfer portal on Saturday. The Panthers landed six commitments stemming from a big official visit weekend. One players to make the pledge to Pitt over the weekend was Joey Zelinsky, a 6-foot-4 and 250-pound transfer from Eastern Michigan.
Zelensky produced 51 tackles, 11.5 TFLs, and 3.5 sacks over the past two seasons for the Eagles. He will come to Pitt with one year to play. Although, Pittsburgh was not the destination he originally had in mind a few short days ago.
Zelinsky was down to Coastal Carolina, James Madison, and Memphis at the start of the week. A phone call from Pitt defensive line coach Tim Daoust changed the trajectory of his recruitment quickly. He flew from Memphis to Pittsburgh, and that was kind of the turning point, and also the final decision.
“I got up there, I met coach, and it just felt like home because it literally is home,” Zelinsky told Panther-Lair.com about his decision to transfer to Pitt. “It’s three hours away from the house. I’ve seen the facilities, I’ve seen the opportunity, and it would be a dumb decision not to do it.”
Zelinsky is a Pennsylvania native. He attended Blue Mountain High School, the same school that produced Pitt tight end Gavin Bartholomew. The two old high school teammates were able to talk about Zelinsky’s opportunity at Pitt, which helped lead to a decision.
“He was telling me it would be dumb not to go to Pitt,” Zelinsky jokingly said of his talks with the former Pitt star. “He was really just being Pitt’s mini recruiting coordinator. He’s been helping me out a lot telling me where I can live and how I can help the program and what Impact I’ll make.”
The impact should be direct. Pitt lost senior defensive end Nate Matlack to graduation off of the 2024 team, while Chief Borders and Sincere Edwards opted for the transfer portal. The Panthers need depth up front, which is exactly what Daoust was selling him on during his recruitment.
“He’s giving me an opportunity to come in and help the room,” Zelinsky said of Daoust’s message. “Obviously nothing is promised, that’s football, but the opportunity is there. I just want to help lead the room any way I can and that’s a guy you want to play for.”
In addition to meeting with Daost and talking to Bartholomew, Pitt’s newest defensive end also got to hear from head coach Pat Narduzzi on his visit as well.
“He’s a very easy guy to talk to, I would say,” Zelinsky said of Narduzzi. “He believes in me, believes in the program, and believes his vision for how I would mix into the program. He’s very high-energy and I love that. He’s a guy you would want to play for.”
Zelinsky’s turnaround will be pretty quick, as he expects to be back in Pittsburgh this week to report to school. He was one of six players to commit on Saturday joining fellow defensive end Blaine Spires, defensive backs Jayden Bonsu and Rashan Murray, linemen Keith Gouveia, as well as wide receiver Andy Jean.
“I’m not trying to step on anyone’s toes, but I’m also going to grind my absolute face off everyday,” Zelinsky said of getting to his new program. “I’m excited to be back home and do whatever I can to help these guys win an ACC title.”
