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Pitt QB Commit Gaining Top-Tier Preparation

Originally posted on Pittsburgh Panthers on SI
By Kevin Sinclair  |  Last updated Apr 24, 2025 3:00 PM ET
IG: angelo_renda7

PITTSBURGH — It’s one thing to land a commitment from a quarterback who threw for 3,901 yards and 40 touchdowns last year. Landing a passer with those numbers out of a program like Southlake Carroll is another - an important distinction Pitt Panthers fans may come familiar with early in Angelo Renda’s career. 

In Texas, there are a handful of powerhouse programs that blur the line between varsity and college-level football. 

In Austin, there’s Westlake, the program that produced Drew Brees, Nick Foles, and Sam Ehlinger. Another top-tier football school in the Lone Star State is Duncanville which produced arguably the top quarterback in the country last season in Keelon Russell. 

Starting at quarterback for the Texas Longhorns last season was Quinn Ewers, the No. 1 prospect in the entire 2021 recruiting class not only at quarterback but at any position. And Ewers is on the alumni list at Southlake Carroll, a program that belongs in the same conversation as Westlake and Duncanville.

It’s a level of talent that the state of Texas has churned out annually since before the forward pass was invented. 

When it comes to the top-end of varsity ball in the state, that blue-chip talent is challenged by blue-chip talent up and down the schedule, and those players often prove to be particularly prepared for action when they reach the college stage. 

“This program is run like a collegiate program,” Southlake Carroll quarterbacks coach Taylor Barnhill said. “It is set up to where the kids that move on to the next level, we see them having quick success, and they're seeing the field quickly. 

“It's because they're being exposed to the structure and the discipline and all the things that are involved in playing college football. They're getting that experience here at Southlake Carroll, which is unlike any high school program I've been around. 

From strenuous practice settings to year-round strength training and skill development to college-like film study and beyond, Pitt’s quarterback commit isn’t likely to run into nearly as many struggles compared to the average rookie passer at the Power Four level.

“They're being taught, like, 'Hey, we're going to go to meetings, we're going to have a pen and paper, we're going to take detailed notes. We're going to take that directly from the classroom to the field on the grass during practice, and then we're going to take that from what we worked on all week to the field on Friday and execute at a high level,’” Coach Barnhill said. 

“It's the expectation. It's kind of like an unsaid expectation at this point,” Barnhill continued. “The kids understand I have to do all these little things right in order to compete within my position to see the field because we have talent at all positions that we create that competition."

“All those little things, all those little boxes, being detail oriented, being organized, showing up to meetings early, all those little things, they all matter." 

“I think that's what helps guys from the Southlake Carrolls and the Austin Westlakes...become quick successes on the field or they see the field quickest because the standard's already been kind of instilled in them. This is how you do things. This is how you carry yourself at a collegiate level.”

Beyond the intense atmosphere inside the program and the football-frenzied culture surrounding it is the opposition - chock-full of D-1-bound talent - a quarterback at Southlake Carroll faces week to week each fall.

“Being at these big programs in Texas, the competition level between other schools is so high,” Barnhill said. “You might get lost in the shuffle a little bit in Texas just because you're competing against dudes that are four or five-star guys all the time, but if they were to go to some of those smaller schools, they would be four or five-star guys. 

“It's just the competition level prepares them for success early in college, I think.”

This article first appeared on Pittsburgh Panthers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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