Inside The Panthers

WPIAL Four-Star Spurs Pitt Football for Penn State

The Pitt Panthers have lost out on a local two-way star to an in-state rival.
Mitchell Corcoran|
Nov 2, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers head coach Pat Narduzzi looks on during the second half against the Southern Methodist Mustangs at Gerald J. Ford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Nov 2, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers head coach Pat Narduzzi looks on during the second half against the Southern Methodist Mustangs at Gerald J. Ford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

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Pittsburgh Panthers

PITTSBURGH — The Pitt Panthers have lost out on a local two-way star to an in-state rival.

Gabriel Jenkins, a four-star athlete in the Class of 2027, announced his commitment to Penn State on Monday.

The 6-foot- and 187-pound two-way athlete attends Imani Christian Academy in Pittsburgh, Pa. Jenkins is tabbed at the No. 19-ranked corner and the No. 8-ranked player in Pennsylvania by the 247Sports Composite rankings and has a 90.09 four-star rating by Rivals.

Jenkins listed Pitt in his top eight schools back on Jan. 14, along with Big Ten schools in Maryland, Michigan State and Penn State, Big 12 schools in UCF and West Virginia, as well as ACC foe Syracuse.

Pitt and Penn State each offered Jenkins on the same day, back on Dec. 8, 2023. Since then, Jenkins visited Pitt for Pitt Junior Day in January and visited twice during the 2024 season in wins against rivals in West Virginia and Syracuse. He also attended Penn State's Junior Day camp and made three unofficial visits during that same time.

Jenkins was a threat on both sides of the ball last season. As a sophomore, he rushed for 1,300 yards on offense and made 20 tackles for loss, six interceptions, one for a touchdown, and five pass breakups on defense.

His play led Imani Christian finished with a record of 11-1 and went 6-0 in the WPIAL AAA Allegheny 7 Conference and advanced to the WPIAL 3A Semifinals. Jenkins also earned a spot on the Pittsburgh Union Progress 2024 High School Football All-Star Team.

Penn State now makes it three consecutive classes with a commit from Imani Christian, along with Class of 2025 four-star linebacker/edge rusher DayShaun Burnett and Class of 2026 four-star cornerback David Davis.

The Nittany Lions have two Class of 2026 WPIAL commitments, along with Fort Cherry four-star safety Matt Sieg and Davis, and three Class of 2027 WPIAL commitments, with four-stars in McKeesport running back Kemon Spell and Pine-Richland athlete Khalil Taylor.

Kemon Spell
McKeesport's Kemon Spell (20) gets taken to the ground by multiple Aliquippa defenders during the second half of the WPIAL 4A Championship game Friday evening at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, PA. | Michael Longo/For BCT / USA TODAY NETWORK

Pitt has yet to land a WPIAL commit for the Class of 2027, but have three Florida commits in four-star wide receiver Jacob Thomas, three-star running back Tyler Reid and unranked offensive lineman Colin Urrea.

The Panthers do have four WPIAL commits in the Class of 2026, in a trio of three-stars, North Allegheny defensive tackle Lincoln Hoke, Pine-Richland offensive lienman John Curran and Steel Valley athlete Da'Ron Barksdale, plus four-star Peters Township edge/outside linebacker Reston Lehman.

WPIAL Class of 2026 with Pitt Offers

Colsen Gatten-Central Catholic, LB/ATH (Duke Commit) 
Ashton Blatt-Central Catholic, DE (North Carolina Commit)
Brendan Alexander-Central Valley, OL/DL
Matt Sieg-Fort Cherry, QB/S (Penn State Commit)
Harran Zureikta-Fox Chapel, K (Georgia Commit)
David Davis-Imani Christian, DB/RB (Penn State Commit)
Davieon Taylor-Moon, LB (Kent State Commit)
Lincoln Hoke-North Allegheny, DT (Pitt Commit)
Reston Lehman-Peters Township, EDGE/OLB (Pitt Commit)
Lucas Shanafelt-Peters Township, WR/DE (Stanford Commit)
John Curran: Pine-Richland: OL (Pitt Commit)
Lawrence Timmons: Pine-Richland, DB (Florida State Commit)
Da'Ron Barksdale-Steel Valley, ATH (Pitt Commit)
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
James Halter-Central Catholic, OL
Jimmy Kalis-Central Catholic, OT
Jon Sassic-Central Catholic, OL
Jance Henry-Central Valley, RB (Now Hogan Academy)
Gabriel Jenkins-Imani Christian Academy, ATH (Penn State Commit)
Kemon Spell-McKeesport, RB (Penn State Commit)
Javien Robinson-McKeesport, WR/SS
Carter Bonner-Penn Hills, CB
Khalil Taylor: Pine-Richland, 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
DaeJour Pickney-Westinghouse, DE

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Mitchell Corcoran
MITCHELL CORCORAN

Mitch is a passionate storyteller and college sports fanatic. Growing up 70 miles away in Johnstown, Pa., Mitch has followed Pittsburgh sports all his life. Mitch started his sports journalism career as an undergraduate at Penn State, covering several programs for the student-run blog, Onward State. He previously worked for NBC Sports, The Tribune-Democrat and the Altoona Mirror as a freelancer. Give him a follow on X @MitchCorc18.

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