Pitt makes top 11 of three-star lineman Marquise Brunson

Pitt was placed in the top 11 of a promising defensive tackle on Wednesday, as Marquise Brunson of Princess Anne High School in Virginia Beach, Virginia, named the program as one of his finalists. The list also included Florida International, Georgia Tech, James Madison, Maryland, Minnesota, NC State, Old Dominion, Tennessee, UConn and Wisconsin.

The 6’3”, 275-pound interior lineman holds three-star ratings from Rivals and 247Sports. Rivals considers Brunson the No. 32 recruit in Virginia in 2021, and 247Sports places him at No. 50. Brunson is also ranked as the No. 93 defensive tackle in the country by 247Sports.

Brunson has drawn a total of 19 offers over the course of his recruitment, 10 of which came from Power Five schools. Some of his notable cuts include in-state programs Virginia, Virginia Tech and Liberty as well as Northwestern.

Notably, Brunson has family ties to Maryland through his father, an alum, and Pitt wide receivers coach Chris Beatty offered Brunson in 2018, when he was still on the Terrapins coaching staff. The three-star tackle would receive his offer from Pitt in 2019.

Last season, Brunson was one of the defensive stars on a Princess Anne team that went 8-3 in 2019 after going 2-8 the year before. The Cavaliers defense held opponents to 14 points or fewer on seven different occasions. As a result of his contributions, which included an interception and more than 20 tackles, Brunson earned All-Tidewater honors from the Virginian-Pilot, alongside current Pitt commits Rodney Hammond and Malik Newton.

At this point, it is unclear when Brunson intends to announce his decision, and there is no clear front-runner in the defensive lineman’s recruitment. However, the analysts at 247Sports consider Georgia Tech, NC State and Wisconsin the trio to beat.