Jake McConnachie joins Pitt as preferred walk-on

Pitt secured the services of a skilled and productive wide receiver on Monday evening, as Verona, New Jersey, wideout Jake McConnachie announced his commitment to the program as a preferred walk-on.

”Thank you to everyone who has guided me through this process,” McConnachie wrote in a message posted on Twitter. “I appreciate all the coaches that have taken the time to recruit me. Thank you to my family, all my coaches, friends, and teammates. I couldn’t have done this without you.”

The 6’5”, 189-pound receiver flew under the radar during his recruitment and was not assessed a star rating by any of the major recruiting websites. However, he received multiple preferred walk-on offers and chose Pitt over West Virginia and Rutgers despite the New Jersey school's improved in-state recruiting efforts under Greg Schiano.

McConnachie's athletic career at Verona got off to a relatively slow start, as he accumulated 234 receiving yards in 2017 and 473 in 2018. However, he enjoyed a breakout season in 2019, as he amassed 1,012 yards and 13 touchdowns on a Verona team that averaged 39.2 points per game, went 12-0 and won a sectional championship with a 41-0 shutout of Lyndhurst at MetLife Stadium last December.

At Pitt, McConnachie will fit perfectly into Mark Whipple’s pass-heavy offense, and with his height, he will provide the successor to Kenny Pickett with a big target to hit downfield. In fact, as things currently stand, McConnachie will be tied with Garrett Bickhart as the tallest receiver on the Pitt roster upon his arrival.

Pitt has a deep corps of receivers, as it currently has 15 players on its roster at the position. In one year, the team will lose Taysir Mack and Tre Tipton, as they are set to take part in their final seasons. But those losses will be partially offset by McConnachie, who will be in his second year with the team at that point.