Pitt

Pitt secures 4-star cornerback Mason Alexander of Indiana among 21 recruits on signing day

Jerry DiPaola
By Jerry DiPaola
6 Min Read • Dec. 4, 2024 | 1 year Ago
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Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi stands on the sideline during the first half of an NCAA college football game against SMU in Dallas, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024.

After the last game of the regular season, Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi made a bold statement:

“In 36 years of coaching, I’ve never seen so many injuries.” As it turned out, Pitt didn’t have enough depth to compensate for those injuries, and a five-game losing streak ensued.

That’s where signing day might be able to help — if not in 2025, then before the end of this decade.

Narduzzi took the initial steps toward rebuilding his roster Wednesday morning when he received 21 signed commitments within three hours.

The highest-rated prospect in Pitt’s class — and the only prospect who isn’t a three-star — is four-star cornerback Mason Alexander, who made his promise to enroll official with the arrival of his commitment nearly two hours after the signing period began.

Alexander of Hamilton Southeastern High School in Fishers, Ind., decided not to stay home after receiving 25 scholarship offers, according to Rivals.com. He chose Pitt, the first school to contact him with an offer.

Among other schools to offer Alexander were Indiana, which just concluded an 11-1 regular season, No. 1 Oregon, Tennessee, West Virginia, Auburn, Purdue, Florida, Indiana, Miami and Louisville.

He is the sixth-rated prospect in Indiana and 34th cornerback in the nation.

The first prospect to make his commitment official was 6-foot-5, 295-pound offensive lineman Akram Elnagmi, whose documentation arrived from his hometown of Bristol, England, almost precisely at the start of the signing period at 7 a.m. Elnagmi, a former rugby player who started playing American football only two years ago, was initially committed to Eastern Michigan before he visited Pitt and flipped. He also had offers from Virginia, Akron and Florida A&M.

Three more arrived within minutes from Julian Anderson, categorized as an athlete who played on either side of the football at Blair Academy in Blairstown, N.J., wide receiver Ja’Kyrian Turner and linebacker Justin Thompson. Turner is a senior at South Sumter High School in Wildwood, Fla., one of seven Florida players in Pitt’s class. Thompson attends Good Counsel High School in Olney, Md.

They were followed by defensive end Trevor Sommers of St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Sommers has been committed to Pitt the longest of anyone in the class after giving his pledge in February.

In the first 45 minutes, Narduzzi had received 10 commitments that represented almost half the class. In order, they arrived from running back Synkwan Smith of Roswell (Ga.) High School, wide receiver Bryce Yates of Matoaca High School in Chesterfield, Va., offensive lineman Shep Turk of Thomas Jefferson High School (the only WPIAL player in the class), tight end Max Hunt of Plant High School in Tampa, Fla., and running back Tony Kinsler of Spruce Creek High School in Port Orange, Fla.

By 8 a.m., Narduzzi had two more commitments in his hands from players who could be targeted for the defensive secondary, Cole Woodson of Battlefield High School in Haymarket, Va., and Shawn Lee of Harrisburg High School. Lee is one of two Pennsylvania student-athletes in the class.

Next to make their commitments official were wide receiver Emmanuel Taylor of Green Run High School in Virginia Beach, Va., and linebacker Denim Cook of Bishop Hartley High School in Columbus.

Pitt received last-minute verbal commitments Tuesday from two prospects — running back Jaylin Brown of Cardinal Newman High School in West Palm Beach, Fla., and Cameron Sapp, a wide receiver from Miami Palmetto High School.

The lone quarterback in the class is Mason Heintschel of Clay High School in Oregon, Ohio. Heintschel (6-2, 200) was the second in Pitt’s class to verbally commit, giving Narduzzi his promise to enroll in March.

After Heintschel became official, two offensive linemen, who may be his protectors some day, joined him — tackle Jordan Fields (6-6, 265) of North Shore High School in Houston and guard Torian Chester (6-5, 320) of Westover School in Albany, Ga.

With the offensive linemen in the fold, safety Joshua Guerrier of Ocoee (Fla.) High School was next to send in his signing.

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About the Writers

Jerry DiPaola is a TribLive reporter covering Pitt athletics since 2011. A Pittsburgh native, he joined the Trib in 1993, first as a copy editor and page designer in the sports department and later as the Pittsburgh Steelers reporter from 1994-2004. He can be reached at jdipaola@triblive.com.

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