Pitt signs freshman Cole Mitchell, 10th tight end on the 2021 roster

In the midst of securing verbal commitments from five rising high school seniors in the past three days, Pat Narduzzi also successfully recruited tight end Cole Mitchell. And he doesn’t need to wait to get him on campus.

Mitchell, who played this spring at Linganore High School in Frederick, Md., signed with the Panthers on Tuesday and joined the 2021 recruiting class, which is ranked No. 22 in the nation by Rivals.com.

Mitchell had other plans for the 2021 season, but before enrolling at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., he took a detour to Pitt camp last weekend and caught the coaches’ attention.

“Cole had an abbreviated senior year and never had an opportunity to prove who he was as a player,” Narduzzi said in a statement. “He was prepared to go to IMG Academy for a postgraduate year. Fortunately, he came to our rising stars camp and did an unbelievable job working with the tight ends.

“He shows great power and explosion on tape and did the same thing at camp when we watched him. A week later, he made an official visit to Pitt, and we are excited to add him to our 2021 class.”

Mitchell (6-foot-5, 235 pounds) played offense, defense and special teams for Linganore this spring and was named Defensive Player of the Year by the Frederick News-Post. He collected 47 tackles — 10 for a loss (seven sacks) — in five games. He also played for Team Maryland at the Big 33 Game in May.

Pitt now has 10 players working with tight ends coach Tim Salem, including freshman early enrollees Gavin Bartholomew and Jake Renda. Senior Lucas Krull will open camp as the starter, backed up by senior Daniel Moraga, junior Kaymar Mimes, sophomore Kyi Wright, seniors Jake Zilinskas (Indiana) and Grant Carrigan (Pine-Richland) and junior Jake Cortes (Peters Township).

Pitt will open training camp in early August, and the opener is Sept. 4 against Massachusetts at Heinz Field.