Pitt Wins Recruiting Battles to Land Talented Florida Tight End
The biggest storyline of this first official visit weekend could very well be the talent that’s been added to the Pitt tight end room.
Not only did the Panthers receive a commitment from 4-star tight end Max Patterson, but on Saturday, tight end DeShaun Thomas announced that he’s joining Pitt’s Class of 2027.
Not only is Thomas (6-3, 235 pounds) the teammate of current Pitt 4-star quarterback commit Kevin Verpaele, but he’s an extremely athletic and talented athlete.
Getting Thomas to Pittsburgh first turned out to be important as he was also scheduled to make upcoming official visits to Georgia Tech, Florida State and Wisconsin.
Like is often the case, Pitt was the first Power Four program to identify Thomas and extend him an offer. After that, Louisville, Wisconsin, Florida State, West Virginia, Georgia Tech, Virginia, South Carolina, Syracuse and South Florida all offered.
Beating out Florida State, in particular, for an in-state talent such as Thomas is a big win for Pat Narduzzi and Pitt.
Both Brent Davis and offensive coordinator Kade Bell spent plenty of time traveling to Florida over the past four months talking and developing the relationship with both Thomas and Verpaele, which ultimately paid off.
In terms of his skill set on the field, Thomas has the ability to stay in and block the defensive end or linebacker but also run vertical routes and be a playmaker in the offense.
With the commitments of Thomas, Patterson and Ryker Reynolds (La Porte, Texas), Pitt is done taking tight ends for this year. Keep in mind, Pitt signed Wyatt Villarreal (Celina, Texas) last year, so the tight end room is now stocked with several years worth of talent, which wasn’t the case a few years ago.
