Pitt Football Sends Top Recruiters to Texas

Few states from coast to coast offer the volume of Power Four-capable varsity football players than the Lone Star State, a key region for the Pitt Panthers this week.

With spring camp and the NFL Draft wrapped up, the Pittsburgh staff recently hit the recruiting trail. With that, it makes perfect sense that two young assistant coaches - objectively among the best recruiters on staff - were sent to Texas

Just after noon in Texas, Panthers quarterback commit posted a photo on X of himself posing alongside Pitt offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Kade Bell in the hallway at Southlake Carroll.

“A guy like Coach Bell, I mean, who doesn't want to play for him? He's got great energy," Renda told On SI last month. "The first time I met Coach Bell, first thing that I noticed was his energy and his tone and how he carried himself." 

“That's just the guy I want to play for because they are going to continue to build our relationships and I'm really excited about that," he continued.

Bell wasn't alone at the senior high school - consisting of roughly 1,400 students across only grades 11 and 12 - as tight ends coach and special teams coordinator Jacob Bronowski was along for the ride.

The stop in Southlake follows Renda's first-ever trip to Pittsburgh, arriving in Pennsylvania at the end of March. It's not common for Power Four quarterback prospects to commit to a school without having visited the campus, but Coach Bell was able to sell Renda on the opportunity and score a verbal commitment months prior to setting foot on campus.

As for Bronowski, recruits regularly singled out the young coach as a particularly positive component of their college recruitments. That group extends beyond the tight end position.

“Coach Bronowski, he's a big family guy. I know with a coach like that, you can trust him more. I feel more of a sense of trust with him. And I think really highly of Pitt," linebacker Bryson Castile said in March. "I want to get out there. Yes, sir.”

On the first week of June, Renda will return to Pittsburgh for his official visit. Also on the visitor list for that June 5-7 recruiting event is a potential future receiver teammate in Blake Hamilton, another top target of the Panthers in the Lone Star State.

Over the following week, four additional Texans are set to take official visits in Pittsburgh.

That group includes 247Sports Composite four-star offensive lineman Jay'jon Willis out of Willis High School (Willis, Tx.), three-star linebacker Reilarean Phillips from Alief Elsik High School (Houston, Tx.), three-star cornerback Isaiah McMillian, and quarterback Corey Dailey from Seguin High School (Seguin, Tx.).

It goes without saying, but Texas is a crucial recruiting ground for the Pitt Panthers and just about every other Power Four football program.

In the 2026 cycle, specifically, it's proven to be arguably the most important region for Pittsburgh as Renda leads the class from the quarterback position, the most vital role in the game. It's why he was first on the list of recruits the pair of young coaches dropping in on after landing in Texas today.