When a major program loses a key employer, Rivals.com looks at its impact on the respective school, analyzing it from the local and national levels. To quantify the “pain” of each uncommit, we give it a score of 1 to 10, with 1 being no big deal and 10 being a catastrophic hit.
PLOT
PittHis coaches have expanded the network, bringing in a host of 2023 quarterbacks right from the recruiting process. They’ve narrowed that down to less than a handful of people who visited last season and then hit the pledge from Kenny Minchey in April.
Pope John Paul II’s senior three-star defender in Hendersonville (Tenn.) said he “falls in love” with Pitt and that he has been with the Panthers all summer and through his senior season. But on Monday, Minchey dropped his pledge to the Panthers.
After all, this may have nothing to do with Pitt and more to do with Minchey getting an offer from him. Notre Dame at the end of July. Since that time, there has been talk that the Irishman could end up on Minchey’s commitment and that now looks set to put him back on the market.
Minchey must do what he feels is best for his future. That is perfectly understandable. But Pitt is currently in a predicament with four attacking commits, four receiving commits, one running back commit but no midfield commit.
And there aren’t many left unless the Panthers can flip one or use a portal to cover Minchey’s location.
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LOCAL RESPONSE
Kenny Minchey’s rejection was a significant blow to Pitt’s 2023 recruiting class. Minchey is arguably one of the top two or three overall prospects in his class, with impressive performances at Elite 11 and an even better senior season demonstrating his potential.
In addition, Minchey is also a midfielder in the class, leaving Pat Narduzzi and his staff are scrambling for a new signal caller with five weeks to go until signing day. – Chris Peak, Panther-lair.com
Stinging factor: ten
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NATIONAL RESPONSE
This has been a very difficult decision for Pitt as Minchey has played very well at Elite 11 this summer and is definitely the guy who could be the right fit for promotion as we redo everything post-season. It looks like Minchey is going to be in Notre Dame’s class just as the Irish have certainly been up since the summer.
I don’t think this is a total disaster as the transfer portal will have plenty of opportunities in the coming weeks, even before the Early Signing Phase begins. Kedon Slovis has been delivered and more QBs are expected to appear in the portal soon. I’m not sure Pitt can get promoted from Minchey in high school but there are other ways to deal with this. – Adam Gney, Country Recruitment Manager
Stinging factor: 8
