Q&A: Meet Pitt's QB Commit Angelo Renda

There are several perks of a quarterback representing the first commitment in your recruiting class. Quarterbacks are typcally equipped with strong leadership skills, which help the coaching staff attract the right talent. For the Pitt Panthers, signing quarterback commit Angelo Renda is the first step in building out their 2026 class. Renda touched on that topic when he spoke with On SI recently.

His presence in his home state of Texas — arguably America’s most prominent recruiting region — could assist the Pitt coaching staff a great deal. Renda is well known across Texas as the starting quarterback in one of the state’s top programs. And he’s churned out eye-popping numbers.

Renda completed 71.4 percent of his passes (257 of 360) for a whopping 3,901 yards and 40 touchdowns (11 interceptions) at Southlake Carroll in 2024. He also rushed for 667 yards and nine touchdowns, a quarterback who is particularly skilled in extending plays and churning out yardage on the ground.

Southlake Carroll has finished among the 50 best programs in the annual national rankings over the past six consecutive seasons.

Before addressing his own recruiting efforts, Renda discussed his background in Texas, a family connection to Pennsylvania, his thoughts on offensive coordinator Kade Bell, his commitment decision, and much more.

Did you grow up playing quarterback from a young age in Texas? Tell me more about your background.

Yeah, I've been playing quarterback my whole life, since around kindergarten.

I've always kind of been an athlete, so I'd been playing safety on defense and corner when I can. I kind of stopped playing defense around seventh grade, and then committed to full (time) quarterback. I mean, I love it. The decision was awesome.

My dad was a fullback at Texas Tech, so he wanted me on the offensive side of the ball. He didn't really know where I was going to play, but I kind of chose quarterback. I like having the ball in my hands. I like being able to make the decisions.

Is your family all rooted in Texas?

My dad's whole family lives up in the Jersey, Pennsylvania area, and then my mom and my dad are both from Keller, Texas, which is 15 minutes from my house. But they've got family up in New Jersey, and we'll go visit them a lot.

I don't really know the story of how they ended up in Texas because all of our family is up north.

You mentioned having family in the Pennsylvania area. Did that play a role in your decision to commit to Pitt?

Not really. I kind of just liked the coaches. Coach (Kade) Bell, I mean, the offense that they run kind of fits my scheme. I mean, I love their scheme. I love their system. I can fit really well in that. That's just a bonus that I've got family up there.

I've got a cousin that wrestled up there a couple years back. Alex Murray. He wrestled [at Pitt] probably five, six years ago. He was trying to recruit me pretty hard, but I think I made my decision off of Coach Bell and the coaches.

What was it like to tell your dad the day you landed the Pitt offer?

Yeah, it was awesome. His reaction was phenomenal. He actually has an office in Pittsburgh, so he was so excited, because he loves the area, so he was trying to get me to fly out there the night after. I was like, 'I have school....' But he was so happy.

He knows the work that I've put in, and I'm so thankful for my parents and what they've done for me. So, being able to pay for my own school and get a scholarship is awesome.

Can you talk about Kade Bell, his offense, and why it was appealing to you?

The high school I'm at right now, we're a fast-tempo spread offense. And that's basically hand in hand with what Pitt's offense is. They're fast tempo. You can see that in film, see that in the games.

Eli [Holstein] got hurt early, seven games into the season. But when Eli was starting, they were rolling.

It's pretty safe to say that coach Bell's offenses throughout the years have been top-notch, and I just want to be a part of that system and I feel like he can help me grow as a player or a person. So, I kind of just locked it in from there.

Many recruits make commitments later in the off-season or into the fall. What was it that made you confident enough in Pitt to pull the trigger and shut down your recruitment as early as you did?

I actually have not been up there yet. I've been in the area, but I've not been to the campus or anything like that.

I think the main reason was Coach Bell and Coach Jacob Bronowski came to my house, and I was talking to them on the phone since they'd offered me and recruited me. I think after that talk, I prayed about it and it was just in my heart to just commit to Pitt.

I feel like I want to start the 2026 class early. I'm the first commit. So, I'm trying to get some guys up there on official visits in the summer. I already got a couple coming, but we need to get some more, need to get some O-Linemen.

It's fun. I like taking a leadership role, and I feel like the coaches are kind of accepting that.

Who are the prospects you’ve been in touch with? Which recruits’ film have you watched and said to yourself, ‘Man, I’d sure like to have this guy with me at Pitt…’?

The coaches will send me their numbers and will be like, 'This guy's a dog. We want you to (reach out to them).' A tight end from Pennsylvania, Lucas Shanafelt. They're really high on him. Another tight end from Florida, Julius Miles, and another tight end, Javonte Williams. And then we've got a receiver from American Heritage named Jeffar [Jean-Noel]. We've been texting.

A receiver from Florida, Jasen Lopez. I've been talking to them a lot and trying to get them up here. And then we've got Zach Turner from Duncanville. He's in my area. And Ace [Ayson Theus] from Duncanville I'm trying to get.

You have a quality receiver teammate in Brock Boyd who is committed to TCU. Can you talk about the impact of having a target of that caliber?

Me and Brock have been playing football together since we were little kids. I've grown up with all these teammates, maybe besides one or two. But for the most part, we've all grown up together.

We know each other, we know where we live. We hang out with each other, we play football with each other, and having a receiver like Brock really makes my job easy. I know where to throw it to him because we've had that great connection. He's a great player.

I mean, when you get the ball in his hands, he'll make a play. You could see that through the film throughout the season.

We also have three other guys that will play on Saturdays and maybe even Sundays. (Sophomore) Blake Gunter. We actually just offered him. He's a tight end/receiver. And then (receiver) Brody Knowles. I'm trying to get Pitt on him. He's a big 6-6 receiver. His older brother was the quarterback two years ago. I was his backup. He's at Georgia Tech right now.

So, I'm closer to all these kids, and all these kids are really good players, and they make me look very, very good.

What was Pitt’s pitch to you, what did they like about you as a quarterback, when they were recruiting you?

I think every team wants a quarterback that has the ability to make plays in the pocket. And I feel like you turn the film on, you can see me make plays when the pocket breaks down.

I feel like Coach Bell wants his quarterback to be able to make plays. I kind of fit that to a tee, so, hopefully, I can get up to Pitt and make some plays.

Can you talk about your visit plans?

Yeah, I'm going to probably head up for spring practice in about a month or two. I haven't really decided what weekend I'm going to get out there, but I'm going to check a practice out, and then I have an official visit planned for June 5 through the 7th.

I'm looking forward to that, but I'm definitely going to be up there before the official visit.

Lastly, are you planning to enroll next January or the following June?

I'm an early enrollment, so I'll be up there in January.

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