Inside The Panthers

Recapping Pitt Football Recruiting Developments

As winter turns to spring, recruiting for the Pitt Panthers football team is heating up.
Kevin Sinclair|
Montvale, NJ -- October 26, 2024 -- Xavier Jackson of Bergen Catholic after he returned this interception for a TD late in the game, as St. Joseph hosted Bergen Catholic in the battle of the number 6 and number 1 ranked teams in the USA Today NJ poll. Bergen won the game 28-17.
Montvale, NJ -- October 26, 2024 -- Xavier Jackson of Bergen Catholic after he returned this interception for a TD late in the game, as St. Joseph hosted Bergen Catholic in the battle of the number 6 and number 1 ranked teams in the USA Today NJ poll. Bergen won the game 28-17. | Chris Pedota, NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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It feels like early in the news cycle each day, we'll stumble upon a newsworthy Pitt Panthers recruiting development, and then another one, and another, and just as we're getting caught up on all three, a new scholarship offer surfaces or a consequential official visit is added to the June lineup or both headlines emerge simultaneously.

Let's recap a few notables to make sure Pitt fans aren't falling behind, starting with 2026 cornerback Xavier Jackson who made some noise on Tuesday morning. Check him out in the short clip below:

Following up on the Panthers offer he received while attending the November rivalry tilt versus West Virginia, the 6-foot-2, 190-pound rising senior was back in Pittsburgh back in January.

His X post on Jan. 18: "I had a great time @PittFB Junior Day! I always have a great time when I come down here! They had a great basketball game for us to watch also!"

As for the referenced statement from the 2024 state champion out of Jersey powerhouse Bergen Catholic, Jackson went public with his Pitt official visit plans for June 15-17.

The Pitt coaching staff's competition in the Jackson recruitment is deep, a list that includes Army, Charlotte, Connecticut, James Madison, Liberty, Minnesota, Navy, Purdue, Syracuse, Wake Forest, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and others.

Following the official visit date announcement, spring recruiting tidbits continued to surface, including a rising junior mentioning plans to visit Pitt today.

That 2027 prospect was 6-foot-4, 240-pound tight end/defensive lineman Tyler Hatton, an in-state student-athlete (3.8 GPA) out of West Allegheny. Don't be surprised if his fit becomes offensive lineman/defensive lineman heading into the fall.

It was also interesting to see the short clip of Pitt's first commitment in the 2027 class, Jacob Thomas, speaking to a camera from Rivals.

Possibly the final worthwhile social media post on Monday night came when Blake Hamilton continued to make clear that he's giving Pitt a fair shake, and that may be putting it lightly.

Inside the Panthers was impressed with the two-way speedster out of Texas when he spoke at length about his football background, his elite track speed, where his dad played the game professionally (HINT: They only have three downs instead of four and the field is unreasonably large).

Hamilton is scheduled to arrive in Pittsburgh for his official visit beginning on June 11.

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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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