Pitt Football Lands Fourth 2026 WPIAL Commitment

Barksdale plays for nearby Steel Valley High School in Munhall, Pa., about 10 miles southeast of Acrisure Stadium.

He starred as a freshman in 2022, helping Steel Valley to a 12-1 record and a WPIAL 2A Title, with a 34-14 victory over Beaver Falls High School.

Barksdale missed most of his sophomore season in 2023 with an injury, but came back as a junior in 2024, with 19 touchdowns and 1,100 rushing yards on offense, while making 48 tackles, eight pass breakups, eight tackles for loss and an interception as a defensive back, earning all-conference honors.

He stands at 5-foot-11 and 175 pounds and will play defensive back at Pitt, mostly likely cornerback. He excels in man-coverage and fits well into Pitt's defensive scheme, which forces their secondary to play on "islands" and take on their receiver by themselves.

He has Power Four offers from rivals in Syracuse and West Virginia, FBS offers from MAC schools in Akron, Bowling Green, Kent State and UMass, as well as James Madison, Temple, UConn, UNLV, plus FCS offers from Duquesne, Morgan State, Robert Morris and Sacramento State.

Barksdale is a consensus three-star athlete in the Class of 2026, with 247Sports ranking him the No. 92 cornerback and No. 23 recruit in Pennsylvania, Rivals ranking him the No. 21 athlete and No. 12 recruit in the state and On3 ranking him No. 98 at cornerback and No. 23 in Pennsylvania.

When he joins Pitt, he will rejoin former Steel Valley star and Pitt redshirt sophomore defensive back Cruce Brookins, who will likely serve as a starting safety this upcoming season.

Other former Steel Valley players that came to Pitt include defensive back Paris Ford, who earned First Team All-ACC honors in 2019, and defensive lineman Todd Hill, who spent part of the 2023 season with the team.

Pitt now has four WPIAL recruits in the Class of 2026. This includes four-star edge rusher Reston Lehman from Peters Township High School, three-star defensive tackle Lincoln Hoke, the son of former Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Chris Hoke, from North Allegheny High School in Wexford, Pa. and offensive lineman John Curran from Pine-Richland High School in Gibsonia, Pa.