
PITTSBURGH — With college football season coming to a close and transfer portal recruiting finalized, Pat Narduzzi and the Pitt Panthers are back on the high school recruiting trail.
According to Mike Vukovcan of Pittsburgh Sports Now, Narduzzi and newly-appointed defensive coordinator Cory Sanders spent the morning visiting Class of 2028 Hopewell star quarterback James Armstrong and Class of 2027 Imani Christian four-star hybrid safety Gabe Jenkins.
Since Armstrong is only a sophomore, coaches aren't allowed to speak with him directly yet, so Narduzzi met with Hopewell's head coach, Matt Mottes, for over an hour, per the report.
Narduzzi and Sanders then visited Jenkins later in the morning. Jenkins decommitted from Penn State in October after former head coach James Franklin was fired and is now one of the top available recruits in Pennsylvania.
Because Armstrong is just a sophomore, he has not received a star rating on the major recruiting site yet. But he has the potential of being a blue-chip recruit.
Armstrong is a dual-threat who stands at 6-foot-3, 225 pounds. As a sophomore, Armstrong had 2,350 passing yards, 760 rushing yards, averaged 6.1 yards per carry and scored 37 total touchdowns in 2025, while missing the last four games due to an injury.
Armstrong also played in 10 games as a freshman, where he recorded 1,344 yards, 787 rushing yards and 25 total touchdowns.
According to the report, Armstrong is a priority for Pitt's coaching staff and they believe that he can become the next "hometown hero" in offensive coordinator Kade Bell's system.
Full sophomore season highlights
— James “Booboo” Armstrong (@Armstrong_Qb) November 9, 2025
6’3 225lbs dual threat qb
2350 yds passing (+1200 from last szn)
760 rushing 125 carries (last 4 games hurt)
37 total touchdowns 3 interceptions
7-4
Looking forward to next szn!!!!https://t.co/nZEBVmzlqL@PghSportsNow @210ths @jarma72… pic.twitter.com/tAKbWuoKf1
Pitt was the first Division I school to offer Armstrong. The offer came over a year ago on Jan. 10, 2025. Pitt currently does not have any commits to its 2028 recruiting class.
Armstrong has since accumulated six more offers from West Virginia, North Carolina, Penn State, Kent State, Akron, Delaware State and Sacramento State.
Armstrong will likely receive more offers over the summer. Per NCAA rules, coaches cannot contact recruits directly until June 15 following their sophomore year of high school, and recruits cannot take official visits until Aug. 1 before their junior year.
Jenkins garnered plenty of interest the moment he decommitted from Penn State. Just two days later, it was reported that Pitt, Kentucky, Florida State, North Carolina, USC and Nebraska were the top schools standing out to him.
According to Rivals, Jenkins made five unofficial visits to Pitt, three to West Virginia, two to Ohio State and one to Michigan State, UCF, Georgia and Nebraska before his decommitment. Jenkins recently announced that he will visit Penn State this weekend.
Jenkins is coming off an impressive season where he had 1,765 passing yards, 1,409 rushing yards, 41 total touchdowns, 24 total tackles, three for a loss, and one fumble recovery, according to MaxPreps.
— Gabriel Jenkins (@gabealldy) September 12, 2024
Jenkins, 6-foot-2, 190 pounds, is ranked as the No. 11 player in Pennsylvania, the No. 27 safety and the No. 261 overall player in the Class of 2027 by the 247Sports Composite, while the Rivals Industry Rankings have Jenkins as the No. 10 player in the state, the No. 28 safety and the No. 263 player nationally.
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