Inside The Panthers

Pitt Commit Denied Eligibility for Senior Season

A Pitt Panthers football commit in the Class of 2025 was denied eligibility for his senior season.

Dominic Campbell

Harrisburg quarterback Shawn Lee Jr. escapes a sack attempt from Central York's Danny Pham during a PIAA District 3 Class 6A semifinal game at Central York High School on Friday, Nov. 18, 2022, in Emigsville. Hes Dr 111822 Cyfb
Harrisburg quarterback Shawn Lee Jr. escapes a sack attempt from Central York's Danny Pham during a PIAA District 3 Class 6A semifinal game at Central York High School on Friday, Nov. 18, 2022, in Emigsville. Hes Dr 111822 Cyfb / Dan Rainville / USA TODAY NETWORK

PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers have a Class of 2025 football commitment that has eligibility issues as a senior.

The PIAA denied eiligibility for Shawn Lee Jr. out of Harrisburg High School in Harrisburg, Pa. in a 5-0 vote, keeping him from starring in his final season of high school football, according to Dan Sostek of PennLive.

Harrisburg put in an appeal request after a District 3 ruling ruled Kee ineligible in late July. The ruling was that Lee exceeded his four year of play, but his family argued against the ruling, saying that he only played three years of high school football and needed a medical waiver for the COVID-19 2020 season.

Lee is an excpetional athlete and had a fantastic junior season in 2023. He completed 144-of-215 passes, 67.0%, for 2,256 yards and 26 touchdowns to five interceptions, while rushing 163 times for 1,451 yards and 19 touchdowns on the ground at quarterback.

He also made 47 tackles (32 solo), plus five interceptions and one returned for a touchdown at cornerback, where Pitt is looking for him to play in college. 

His efforts led Harrisburg to the PIAA Class 6A Semifinals, where they lost to North Allegheny, 24-12. 

Lee has great speed and awareness on the field, which helps him to deal with opposing tacklers, but also to make the right decisions at cornerback, breaking up a play or making an interception.

Lee also had offers from ACC foe NC State, Iowa State, MAC schools in Akron, Buffalo and Kent State, Old Dominion, James Madison, UConn and FCS offers from Howard and Monmouth. He also visited Penn State, Temple, Florida and UCF for games last season.

He took an official visit to Pitt on June 14 and would commit on June 19.

Lee also received plaudits from former Pitt great running back LeSean McCoy when he announced his offer. McCoy is from the Harrisburg area and loves what he sees from Lee and Pitt fans will, no doubt, enjoy seeing the bridge between the two. 

"Yea u kno how we do at Pitt lol ball n go straight to the league yougn," McCoy wrote in his tweet.

247Sports ranks Lee as the No. 24 recruit in Pennsylvania and No. 95 athlete in the Class of 2025, Rivals gave him a three-star,a 5.5 rating ranked him No. 30 in the commonwealth and ESPN rated him the No. 77 athlete and No. 23 recruit in the state.

The Panthers have 23 commitments in the Class of 2025, along with Lee, as the program hopes to see their future players succeed in their senior season. 

Five of the commitments made their decision following the first weekend of official visits June 6-8, including tight end Max Hunt from Tampa, Fla. athlete Ja'Kyrian "Boosie" Turner from Wildwood, Fla., linebacker Justin Thompson and wide receiver DaMarion Fowlkes from Olney, Md. and defensive end Julian "Juju" Anderson from Blairstown, N.J. 

Five more recruits committed after they made their official visit the second weekend, June 13-15. This includes three-stars in defensive backs Joshua Guerrier from Ocoee, Fla., Cole Woodson from Haymarket, Va. and Lee, plus offensive tackles Akram Elnagmi from the NFL Academy in Loughbrough, United Kingdom and Jordan Fields from Houston. 

The last weekend of official visits, June 20-22, brought in six commitments, including athletes Synkwan Smith from Roswell, Ga. Emmanuel Taylor from Virginia Beach, Va., offensive lineman Torian Chester from Albany, Ga., wide receiver Kha'leal Sterling from Miami, four-star defensive back Mason Alexander from Fishers, Ind. and linebacker Denim Cook from Columbus, Ohio. 

The rest of the Class of 2025 includes long snapper Henry Searcy from Tallahassee, Fla., offensive lineman Shep Turk from nearby Jefferson Hills, Pa. quarterback Mason Heintschel from Clay, Ohio, wide receiver Tony Kinsler from Port Arthur, Fla., athlete Bryce Yates from Matoaca, Va. defensive lineman Trevor Sommers from Fort Lauderdale, Fla. and defensive back Elijah Dotson from Belleville, Mich.

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Dominic Campbell
DOMINIC CAMPBELL

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