Detroit Trio Reuniting As Pitt Panthers

Through his pledge, Tijerina was set to reunite with a childhood teammate in Beau Jackson who committed to play quarterback at Pitt as a preferred walk-on. But there’s more within that reconnection set to take place. 

On the weekend, while Tijerina and Jackson were in Pittsburgh, another one of their youth league teammates was along for the trip - 2026 safety Marcus Jennings. 

Before the Detroit Cass Tech rising senior left campus, he gave his verbal commitment to the coaching staff. 

“Me and Markie met on the (youth) team called Southfield Ravens,” Tijerina said. “That's a Detroit team.

“I was seven years old. He was six.  We all played together. We all dominated all these teams because we had a bunch of good players. After that, we played flag football together. And while we were playing flag football, we met Beaux Jackson, he was the quarterback for us. 

“We all came together, and we just dominated all these teams. It's crazy. So, that's basically how we met. We're real cool with his parents. My dad coached us when we played on the Ravens on the flag team. So, we're all just like a big family, basically.”

Earlier this month, Tijerina thought there was a decent possibility that Jennings would end up reuniting with him and Jackson in 2026. 

Watching that thought morph into a certainty over the weekend was very satisfying.

“When I committed, he commented on my post. He put a devil emoji,” Tijerina said. “I was like, 'Come on, man. You're next, bro.' 

“We go to the practice and the coaches are all on him,” Tijerina said. “After the practice, he tells my parents that he's going to commit to Pitt, and we had to keep it a little secret until he publicly posted it. I was all, 'Oh yeah!' (Laughs). So, I'd like to say I had a little influence on it. (Laughs).”

“He's just a real dynamic player. He loves to hit people. That's why he's always on the edge and stuff like that because he just wants to hit people all the time. He's a real good kid. Smart. He has, like, no flaws...There's nothing wrong with him. 

“He's such a good kid. Marcus, what else can I say about him? He gives 100 percent every time. He's a huge special teams guy. He doesn't care what position he plays. As long as he gets to play, he's going to do anything he can.”

Looking ahead to June and 2026 when Jennings is set to arrive in Pittsburgh, Tijerina is thrilled to see the trio come full circle from little league ball to the Power Four stage.

“It feels crazy. Growing up, we were just little kids playing on a Little League team, and now we're about to be at a D-I, Power Four team like Pitt,” Tijerina said. “It's going to be crazy, because growing up, we always had a dream of this, and now it's reality. So, it's just crazy, and I'm so happy about it.”