Things didn’t go the way the 8-4 Pitt Panthers may have wanted on Friday against Miami, but Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi had a good day nonetheless when the Panthers received a verbal commitment from South Mecklenburg (N.C.) High School defensive end Zach Gilbert.
Gilbert is the son of former Pitt star Sean Gilbert. The Aliquippa native ended up having a very good NFL career, which is something he can only hope for his son. The younger Gilbert also has a couple other ties to the Pitt program as two of his cousins are former Pitt cornerback Darrelle Revis and Pitt freshman safety Jordan Whitehead.
He had scholarship offers from a total of 14 schools, including Duke, Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia, but ultimately chose Pitt over Virginia Tech, which were his other finalist.
Gilbert stands 6-foot-2, 260 pounds and is rated a three-star prospect by Rivals, 24/7, and ESPN. He was one of the most heavily recruited players in the state of North Carolina and finished his high school career with 40.5 sacks. This season, he had 72 tackles and seven sacks. Gilbert said he will play weakside end at Pitt.
The Pitt 2016 recruiting class now is up to 12 players in Narduzzi’s first full recruiting season.
Gilbert is the third defensive linemen recruit, joining the likes of Rashad Wheeler and Bryce Hargrove and he is the first true defensive end of the class.
Photo Credit: Scout.com
