Inside The Panthers

Future Pitt WR Che Nwabuko Shows Off Elite Speed

Pitt Panthers head coach Pat Narduzzi couldn’t help but notice his future receiver’s blazing speed.
Stephen Thompson|
Future Pitt WR Che Nwabuko Shows Off Elite Speed
Future Pitt WR Che Nwabuko Shows Off Elite Speed

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Pittsburgh Panthers

PITTSBURGH -- At the Texas High School state track championships, a running back in the Pitt Panthers' 2022 recruiting class took home three gold medals and won them in impressive fashion. 

Reciever Che Nwabuko, a three-star prospect from Manor, Texas, showed off some elite speed this weekend and helped Manor High School to a third-place finish in the 5A conference at the University Interscholastic League Championships. 

Nwabuko led off his title-winning Friday by running in and winning the four by 400-meter race with teammates Ian Collins, LaDontae Carter and Trevon Harris. The Manor team ran a 40.52 - a school record. They finished 0.18 seconds ahead of the runner-ups. 

Nwabuko concluded his day by winning his third gold medal and setting yet another Manor High School record, this time in the 100-meter dash. He won with a time of 10.17, pulling away easily from his competition in the closing strides and catching the eye of both Panthers head coach Pat Narduzzi and defensive coordinator Randy Bates in the process. 

Next up was the 200-meter dash and Nwabuko, clearly unsatisfied with just breaking his own school's records, shattered a conference record as well. His 20.53 time was not just the fastest all-time at Manor, but in the history of conference 5A as well. He just narrowly edged the runner-up, besting him by 2/100ths of a second. 

Nwabuko is rated as a four-star football prospect by 247Sports' ratings and one of the top-50 players in the state of Texas. He accounted for over 1,000 all-purpose yards and nine touchdowns during his senior season for the Manor Mustangs. He earned offers from Kansas, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Purdue and a variety of other Group of Five schools before signing with the Panthers last December. 

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Stephen Thompson
STEPHEN THOMPSON

Stephen Thompson graduated with a bachelor's degree in communications and political science from Pitt in April 2022 after spending four years as a sports writer and editor at The Pitt News, the University of Pittsburgh's independent, student-run newspaper.  He primarily worked the Pitt men's basketball beat, and filled in on coverage of football, volleyball, softball, gymnastics and lacrosse, in addition to other sports as needed. His work at The Pitt News has won awards from the Pennsylvania News Media Association and Associated College Press.  During the spring and summer of 2021, Stephen interned for Pittsburgh Sports Now, covering baseball in western Pennsylvania. Hailing from Washington D.C., family ties have cultivated a love of Boston's professional teams and Pitt athletics, and a fascination with sports in general.  You can reach Stephen by email at stephenethompson00@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter. Read his latest work:

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