Inside The Panthers

Pitt Makes Top 5 for In-State 3-Star LB

The Pitt Panthers are the only in-state school to make his top five.
Mitchell Corcoran|
La Salle's 2025 football roster includes standouts like linebacker Zykee Scott.
La Salle's 2025 football roster includes standouts like linebacker Zykee Scott. | Michele C. Haddon / Bucks County Courier Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Pittsburgh Panthers

PITTSBURGH — The Pitt Panthers have made the top five schools for Class of 2027 in-state three-star linebacker Zykee Scott.

Scott released his top five schools on Feb. 23, and included North Carolina, Michigan State, Tennessee and Wake Forest, in addition to Pitt.

Secondary/cornerbacks coach Archie Collins offered Scott on Jan. 21, but has been targeting the 6-foot-1, 220-pound linebacker well before that.

Scott shared an image on June 20, 2025 of letters from Collins and other members of the defensive staff at that time.

"You fit with Pitt H2P!" former linebackers coach Ryan Manalac wrote, and Collins sent "Pitt -> NFL." Wide receivers coach JJ Laster even wrote "Gotta get you in the Burgh!" and now-retired former defensive coordinator Randy Bates wrote "Hope to see you soon! H2P."

But as with everything else in college football, there's competition everywhere. Scott told Corey Robinson of the Spartan Tailgate that he will visit Michigan State on March 28.

Scott has not scheduled a visit with Pitt yet, and it would behoove the Panthers to do so, as just two of the nine players scheduled for official visits this summer play defense.

According to Rivals, Scott has only taken unofficial visits so far, with six being with Penn State and one each being with Syracuse and Nebraska. None of those schools made Scott's final five.

Scott's Resume

Scott is a consensus three-star prospect out of La Salle College in Philadelphia. He is currently ranked as the No. 15 player in the state, the No. 31 linebacker and the No. 417 player overall by the Rivals Industry Ranking and shares nearly identical rankings with the 247Sports Composite.

According to his X profile, Scott registered 58 tackles, nine for a loss, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and a pass breakup.

Scott was part of a defense that helped lead La Salle College to a 13-1 record and a PIAA 6A title in 2025. According to MaxPreps, the Explorers are the No. 1 high school team in Pennsylvania and the No. 58 team in the entire country.

Pitt's New LB Room

Florida State Seminoles linebacker DeMarco Ward
Oct 18, 2024; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Florida State Seminoles linebacker DeMarco Ward (31) runs with the football prior to the first half of the game against Duke Blue Devils at Wallace Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images | Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images

The Panthers are still adjusting to their new defensive staff with Cory Sanders at coordinator, Joe Bowen as the linebackers coach and Harlon Barnett as safeties/assistant head coach.

Bowen said in his first press conference since joining the team on Feb. 20 that his recruiting areas will primarily be in New Jersey and Houston, Texas, which makes a little more sense why Collins is recruiting Scott.

Along with Bowen, Pitt also added Alex Sanford Jr. from Purdue and DeMarco Ward from Memphis to help replace Kyle Louis and Rasheem Biles.

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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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