Inside The Panthers

Pitt Visiting Key Florida WRs

On the recruiting trail this week, Pitt Panthers staff made sure to drop in on key receiver prospects in Florida.
Kevin Sinclair|
Pitt Football will host 2026 4-Star WR Larry Miles on an official visit
Pitt Football will host 2026 4-Star WR Larry Miles on an official visit | Courtesy of Larry Miles

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The state of Florida is known for its world-class golf courses, Disney World, beach resorts, and if you ask Pitt Panthers offensive coordinator Kade Bell, an abundance of college scholarship-caliber wide receivers.

While Pitt is pursuing more than one position in Florida, take tight end Adam Land and offensive lineman Ben Bankowitz as examples, there's no denying the deep well of exciting receivers is a big part of what draws college coaches Southeast when spring camp wraps up each year.

As you can see below, Coach Bell was in the Panhandle on Wednesday to check in on David Aboya, whose recruitment hasn't been official for as long as most on the board.

Once the 6-foot-3, 180-pound receiver clocked a verified 4.54 40-yard dash at an Under Armour Camp in late February, he was announcing an offer from the Panthers just a few weeks later.

“Oh yeah, I really liked talking to (Kade Bell) yesterday," Aboya told On SI on March 17. "His offense kind of fits how I play because he said that he airs the ball out and he's from Florida, too. “Yeah, I really like him. I like how he talks. It’s very straightforward.”

A few weeks after that conversation with Aboya, he booked an official visit in Pittsburgh for June 5-7. While on campus next month, he'll meet Pitt's current receiver commit, Dylan Wester, another Florida resident.

While Bell was in the Pensacola area to see Aboya on April 30, Panthers receiver coach JJ Laster was down in the Palmetto area to see Wester.

June 5-7 will kick off the first of three major recruiting events next month, more than a dozen prospects booked to take official visits over those three days. Aboya and Wester are two of four receivers on the list.

From Leesburg, Florida, Demetrice McCray is among that quartet. Rounding out the group is Larry Miles who attends Jones High School located in Orlando, a little less than 50 miles southeast of McCray's high school.

Only time will tell whether the Panthers can outmaneuver the various programs pursuing Aboya, Miles, and McCray. Of course, there are many others in the mix.

When it comes to the second round of official visits on June 12-14, an impressive receiver out of New Jersey is scheduled to be in Pittsburgh - Nyqir Helton.

Last season, the three-star prospect snagged 47 passes for 857 yards and 13 touchdowns at Winslow Township High School. He also chipped in 20 tackles, four interceptions (including a pick-six), a fumble recovery, and a forced fumble.

Last week, the 6-foot-1, 170-pound rising senior announced a commitment decision date of June 27. Along with his June 12-14 official visit in Pittsburgh, he'll be in Syracuse starting on May 30, before his final official visit beginning on June 6 at Boston College.

Illinois and Rutgers round out his five finalists.

Among the final official visitors of June, one of the most compelling receivers will be in Pittsburgh - 6-foot-3, 180-pound Mississippi product Zechariah Jenkins.

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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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