Top WPIAL Recruit Flips to Pitt's Rival

PITTSBURGH — The Pitt Panthers heavily pursued four-star WPIAL ATH/S Matt Sieg after he reopened his recruitment in October.

There was some optimism that Pitt could flip the Pittsburgh native from its in-state rival, Penn State, after hosting him on an official visit, attending his conference playoff game and even former NFL head coach turned Barstool Sports personality, Jon Gruden, calling Sieg on behalf of the Panthers.

After all of that, Sieg did flip from Penn State, but to another Pitt rival, the West Virginia Mountaineers.

Why Sieg Chose WVU

Sieg made his announcement live on the CBS Sports College Football YouTube channel and shocked most of the viewers with his commitment.

Sieg grew up a Penn State fan, but with the Nittany Lions' program in flux, some thought he could follow James Franklin to Virginia Tech. Pitt, Indiana, Notre Dame and West Virginia all jumped on Sieg the moment he reopened his recruitment, with the Mountaineers sending in the first offer.

However, West Virginia was excluded from Sieg's list of final five schools and he even canceled his visit to Morgantown. Multiple reports following the cancellation stated that West Virginia was out of the running.

Sieg made official visits to four of his final five schools, with Indiana being the first, followed by Pitt, Notre Dame and Virginia Tech. Sieg ultimately chose the Mountaineers and gave his reason why.

"As it came close to the deadline, a big thing for me was staying kind of close to home," Sieg said. "Family is really important to me. Having that support close by...I just realized that [West Virginia] provided me a great opportunity to have that, be at a great school and play both sides of the ball, something I was looking for."

What This Means for Pitt

Well, the good news is that Pitt may face Sieg once or twice if he remains at West Virginia for four to five years, as the next meeting in the Backyard Brawl won't be until 2029. But that doesn't reduce the sting of losing a top recruit to a local rival.

Sieg broke numerous WPIAL records during his time at Fort Cherry High School, including becoming the all-time offensive yardage leader and career touchdowns scored. He is also the first player in Pennsylvania history to run for 7,000 yards and throw for 4,000.

South Side's Ryan Navarra tackles Fort Cherry's Matt Sieg during Friday's Class 1A WPIAL championship game. | Sally Maxson / USA TODAY NETWORK

Although Sieg was an offensive juggernaut, schools were recruiting him for his abilities on defense. He recorded 14 career interceptions and three pick-sixes.

A top recruit who grew up 30 minutes outside of Pittsburgh should never escape Pitt's grasp, and yet Sieg did, twice. To Pitt's credit, it appeared that it went all-in on recruiting Sieg, but the Panthers ultimately still fell short.

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