Inside The Panthers

Pitt Mid-Year Freshmen Who Can Play Early: DB Joshua Guerrier

The Pitt Panthers may have their next big safety.

Kevin Sinclair

Joshua Guerrier on X: @xertifiedjosh
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We’re back for the fourth edition of a five-part series featuring five early-entry freshmen who could potentially play early at Pitt. 

For the previous three breakdowns, you can read our reports below. 

We’re back to the defensive side of the ball today with an exciting playmaker out of Florida. 

Safety Joshua Guerrier

Brandon Hill, Erick Hallett, Damar Hamlin, Jordan Whitehead. 

The Pitt Panthers have a strong track record over the last decade in smart recruiting evaluations and development thereafter at the safety position. That includes converting former three-star safeties like Hill and Hallett, the most recent Pitt safeties to turn pro, into big-time talent. 

Under assistant head coach and safeties coach Cory Sanders, could Joshua Guerrier be next? 

While recruiting rankings are somewhat of a crapshoot, the Ocoee, Florida product listed higher than Hill and Hallett when they came out of high school in 2019 (the former) and 2018 (the latter). Guerrier was among the top-ranked members of Pitt’s 2025 class, choosing the Panthers among nearly 20 options, including Boston College, Iowa, Iowa State, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisville, Tennessee, Wake Forest, and Wisconsin. 

He did a bit of everything at Ocoee High School from quarterback to receiver to returning kicks and multiple roles throughout his varsity defense. 

“From a football standpoint, the kid can make plays,” Coach Sanders said during December’s Signing Day presser. “You see him at the beginning of the season against Apopka, he’s playing middle linebacker, different games he’s going out to play corner, he’s playing safety. 

“So, just the knowledge and the IQ it takes to do all that, we look forward to getting him here…Look forward to getting him. Great kid. Great family.”

Guerrier’s statistics are notable. 

Throughout his junior and senior seasons combined, he recorded 1,043 receiving yards with six touchdowns, 748 rushing yards with two scores, and 3,624 all-purpose yards. 

Defensively, over his final three varsity seasons, Guerrier tallied 157 total tackles (115 solo), 15 tackles for loss, five sacks, 11 interceptions (two returned for touchdowns), 10 pass breakups, and a blocked punt. 

His talent and numbers, including a 10.8 (100m), led to a spring recruiting visit invitation. And the way he conducted himself during that trip led the Pitt staff to believe that Guerrier has the maturity and tenacity to maximize his impressive skill set. 

“For Josh, a little story that popped up for us, he came to the second scrimmage during spring last year. During that…it was literally the coldest day for practice…Down in (Acrisure) Stadium, literally all the recruits went up to the box. And Josh stayed on the sideline the entire scrimmage next to coach (Archie) Collins, listening to every single adjustment we made,” Coach Sanders said. 

“That right there popped out to us. We knew in that moment that was a kid that we wanted to coach. The thing is the kid’s just a junkie for football.”

When Coach Sanders got up early the next morning for the team run, Guerrier called to ask for a ride, looking to attend the 6:30 AM session. 

All in all, the talent is obvious. You can check out a handful of his best plays below. 

Considering what Sanders laid out in his December press conference appearance, it seems Guerrier appears to have more than enough in the work ethic department to make an impact as a Panther, and potentially early in his career. 

With some roster turnover, there may be an opportunity for a young player to shine at safety or nickel this upcoming season. 

Five Plays

For many young defensive backs entering the college level, it takes a not-insignificant amount of time to acclimate to the harsh physicality and the force required to take down ball-carriers and pass-catchers in the open field. 

However, with what Guerrier showed throughout his varsity career, it may be a much smaller adjustment compared to many in his position. (The footage above will give you an idea of his physical nature).

We’re talking about a dynamic skill position player who was more than capable of playing in the box versus quality Florida programs like Apopka, Winter Park, and West Orange. 

Altogether, this is a physical, heady, and hard-working ‘junkie for football,’ as Sanders put it, with speed that measures well below the 11-second mark. 

Additionally, Pittsburgh is going through change at the safety positions as well as the nickel role. And with Guerrier arriving on campus last month, he has an opportunity to compete for a two-deep role in Year One. 

Make sure you bookmark Inside the Panthers for the latest news, exclusive interviews, recruiting coverage, and more!

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Kevin Sinclair
KEVIN SINCLAIR

Kevin Sinclair writes coverage of the Pitt Panthers along with the Baltimore Ravens, the New England Patriots, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Tennessee Titans for On SI. Previously, he was a recruiting reporter and managing editor at Irish Illustrated, the privately-owned Notre Dame site within the 247Sports Network, for over seven-and-a-half years. Kevin studied multimedia journalism and has been a sports writer for nearly a decade.

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