Former Steelers' Son Chooses Indiana Over Pitt Football

PITTSBURGH — The Pitt Panthers missed out on a local football recruit, who chose the Big Ten instead.

Lawrence "Jay" Timmons, son of former Steelers linebacker Lawrence Timmons, who plays for nearby Pine Richland High School in Gibsonia, Pa., announced his commitment to Indiana, following an official visit there this past weekend.

blessed🤘🏾#gohoosiers @CfbRalb @TheUCReport @CCignettiIU @CoachOlaAdams @IndianaFootball @Coach_LeDonne @PR_RamsFootball pic.twitter.com/5Ddtl0r32v
— Lawrence “Jay” Timmons 3⭐️ (@jay__timmons) April 29, 2025

Timmons is a junior, in the Class of 2026, and plays both defensive back and wide receiver for the Rams.

He had four catches for 81 yards and a touchdown for Pine-Richland, as the won the WPIAL Class 5A Title, 20-9 over Peters Township at Acrisure Stadium on Nov. 24. He also added a rush for 21 yards, two pass breakups, a forced fumble and two tackles.

Timmons was a first-team all-conference pick this past season and has led Pine-Richland with 30 catches for 341 yards and six touchdowns, as well with four interceptions.

He stands at 5-foot-11, 175 pounds, just a tad smaller than his father, who stood 6-foot-1 and 240 pounds during his time with the Steelers, but Timmons is a different player, who displays his athleticism in different ways to succeed on both sides of the ball.

Timmons visited Pitt for their season opener, a 55-24 blowout of Kent State on Aug. 31 at Acrisure Stadium. He has also visited Michigan, Penn State, WVU, Cincinnati and Eastern Michigan for games as well in 2024.

Pitt secondary coach Cory Sanders offered Timmons back on Nov. 24 and he made another visit on Jan. 18.

Timmons chose Indiana over a number of other offers, including Power Four schools in Maryland, Iowa, Iowa State, Syracuse, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

He is a consensus three-star, with 247Sports ranking him as the No. 13 in Pennsylvania and the No. 32 cornerback, On3 ranking him No. 11 in the state and No. 43 at his position and Rivals ranking him No. 17 in the commonwealth and No. 49 at cornerback.

Timmons lives with his mother and his two siblings, Luke and Leah, in Gibsonia. His brother Luke is a freshman and plays football, while his sister Leah runs track, according to an interview he gave with Brad Everett of Pittsburgh Union Progress.

He joins Peters Township tight end Lucas Shanafelt, who committed to Stanford, as two WPIAL targets that spurned Pitt for another Power Four program.

Pitt has missed out on two other Class of 2026 WPIAL recruits, to Penn State, in four-stars, athlete David Davis from Imani Christian Academy and safety Matt Sieg from Fort Cherry High School.

Penn State also landed two four-star WPIAL recruits in the Class of 2027 in McKeesport running back Kemon Spell and Seton LaSalle athlete Khalil Taylor. West Virginia landed 2027 four-star running back Armand Hill from West Mifflin too.

WPIAL Class of 2026 with Pitt Offers

Davieon Taylor-Aliquippa, LB
Colsen Gatten-Central Catholic, LB/ATH
Ashton Blatt-Central Catholic, DE
Brendan Alexander-Central Valley, OL/DL
Matt Sieg-Fort Cherry, QB/S (Penn State Commit)
David Davis-Imani Christian, DB/RB (Top 6) (Penn State Commit)
Lincoln Hoke-North Allegheny, DT
Reston Lehman-Peters Township, EDGE/OLB
Lucas Shanafelt-Peters Township, WR/DE (Stanford Commit)
Lawrence Timmons-Pine Richland, DB (Indiana Commit)
Da'Ron Barksdale-Steel Valley, ATH
Kyshawn Robinson-Westinghouse (City League) (Top Six)

WPIAL Class of 2027 with Pitt Offers

Sa'Nir Brooks-Aliquippa, RB/SS/ATH (Now Saint Frances Academy)
Larry Moon III-Aliquippa, DB (Now IMG Academy)
Zachary Gleason Jr.-Central Catholic, DB/ATH
Jimmy Kalis-Central Catholic, OT
Jance Henry-Central Valley, RB
Gabriel Jenkins-Imani Christian Academy, ATH (Top Eight)
Kemon Spell-McKeesport, RB (Penn State Commit)
Carter Bonner-Penn Hills, CB
Khalil Taylor-Seton La-Salle, ATH (Penn State Commit)
Armand Hill-West Mifflin, ATH (West Virginia Commit)

WPIAL Class of 2028 with Pitt Offers

Brandon Murphy-Clairton, ATH/DB
James "BooBoo" Armsrong-Hopewell, QB

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