Pat Signal: Pitt flips linebacker Kyle Louis from Temple

Pitt’s 27-17 win over Clemson didn’t take long to pay dividends on the recruiting trail, as Pat Narduzzi and his staff added a 12th recruit to their 2022 class on Monday. That addition also came at the expense of Temple, as the recruit was Kyle Louis, a linebacker out of East Orange Campus High School in East Orange, New Jersey, who flipped after committing to the Philadelphia-based program back in June.

“I want to thank Coach Infante and [Temple] for their belief in me,” Louis said in a message posted on Twitter. "However, I have decided to decommit and commit to [Pitt]. Thank you to all who have supported me and my family. I will continue to work and make Illtown proud. Sharks will be circling, Pittsburgh.”

The 6’0”, 200-pound linebacker holds three-star ratings from both 247Sports and Rivals. However, 247Sports rates Louis as a low-three-star prospect, while Rivals has him on the verge of a four-star rating. With that said, 247Sports ranks him 163rd at his position and 33rd in his state, while Rivals ranks him 45th among athletes, which is how they categorize him, and 11th in New Jersey.

In addition to Temple, Louis chose Pitt over offers from Buffalo, Kent State, Marshall, Maryland, Penn State and West Virginia. He also showed interest in Rutgers, which is situated just 30 miles from his high school, as he visited on June 2. However, Louis was never extended an offer by Scarlet Knights head coach Greg Schiano and his staff.

Last season at East Orange, Louis came up with 42 tackles, including four sacks and two tackles for losses, as well as a fumble recovery in seven games. This season, the recruit has already topped that, as he has accrued 73 total tackles, including 16 tackles for losses and one sack. He also has one interception, three pass breakups and two forced fumbles, and he’s accrued those totals in just six games.

Given Louis’ increase in productivity this year, it seems Rivals may have had the more accurate read on him than 247Sports, and Pitt may have once again landed a gem before more prominent programs were aware they were missing out. As a result, Louis may yet ascend to four-star status before signing day, and at Pitt, he could find himself on a trajectory not unlike that of SirVocea Dennis, a linebacker of similar size who was also overlooked by his hometown school a few years back.