Kittanning High School hasn't produced many Division I college football players, but the school has a future Pitt Panther in Nick Bowers.
Bowers, a 6-foot-4, 235-pound junior tight end at Kittanning, made a verbal commitment to Pitt today. He is the second junior to commit to the Panthers and both are from the WPIAL. The other is Canon-McMillan offensive lineman Alex Paulina.
Pitt had shown interest in Bowers all season and Bowers attended two Pitt games. He then attended a practice before Pitt's bowl game and that's when the Panthers offered a scholarship.
Bowers (pictured making a catch last season against Shady Side Academy) made an unofficial visit to Pitt this weekend and committed today. He is at the Duke-Pitt basketball game tonight.
"He went down this weekend with his mother to check out the academics," said Kittanning coach Frank Fabian. "He came in this morning and said he was ready. So he sent them a text message and said he was committed. He didn't want to wait around.
"He's not one of those kids who will pull out five hats and announce. He really wanted to do this and liked Pitt."
Temple also had offered a scholarship, but Boston College, Cincinnati and Purdue were among the schools to show up at Kittanning recently to show interest.
Bowers is a versatile player. He has good size and played everything in Kittanning's spread offense from receiver, slotback, tailback and quarterback
"We would put him at quarterback in the wildcat formation," Fabian said.
Bowers set a school record with 53 catches for 826 yards. He also ran for 314 yards on 48 carries.
Fabian said one of the reasons Bowers liked Pitt is because it uses tight ends in its offense.
"The schools that use tight ends a lot are disappearing," Fabian said.
Bowers helped Kittanning to one of its best seasons in decades. His father, Brad, is a Kittanning assistant coach.
State basketball rankings
Here are the latest state boys basketball rankings from Pennlive.com and Harrisburg Patriot-News.
CLASS AAAA No. School 1. Roman Catholic (12) 14-3 1 2. New Castle (7) 17-0 2 3. Hampton (7) 17-1 3 4. Martin Luther King (12) 15-2 4 5. Chester (1) 1 6. North Allegheny (7) 14-2 6 7. Great Valley (1) 15-2 8 8. Abington (1) 15-2 9 9. Pennsbury (1) 13-2 10 10. Obama Academy (8) 14-0 NR Others to watch: Bethel Park (7) 12-4, Carlisle (3) 11-6, Cathedral Prep (10) 8-5, Cedar Crest (3) 15-3, Central (12) 18-2, Central York (3) 15-2, Conestoga (1) 15-2, Cumberland Valley (3) 13-4, East Stroudsburg North (11) 13-3, Emmaus (11) 12-4, Fox Chapel (7) 13-4, Franklin Regional (7) 10-6, Gateway (7) 12-6, Harrisburg (3) 13-5, Haverford (1) 12-6, Hazleton (2) 13-2, Hempfield (3) 13-4, Hempfield (7) 14-2, Hershey (3) 12-6, LaSalle College (12) 15-3, Lower Dauphin (3) 12-6, Lower Merion (1) 10-6, McCaskey (3) 12-6, McDowell (10) 15-2, Oxford (1) 15-3, Parkland (11) 14-2, Penn Wood (1) 11-4, Penncrest (1) 14-4, Plum (7) 14-2, Plymouth-Whitemarsh (1) 15-2, Reading (3) 12-6, Red Lion (3) 16-3, Ridley (1) 10-6, Spring-Ford (1) 15-2, St. Joseph’s Prep (12) 13-4, Upper Darby (1) 11-6, Upper St. Clair (7) 11-5, Whitehall (11) 10-6, Wilson (3) 16-2, York (3) 12-5. CLASS AAA No. School 1. Archbishop Carroll (12) 14-2 2 2. Neumann-Goretti (12) 12-4 1 3. Allentown Central Cath (11) 16-0 3 4. Imhotep Charter (12) 15-4 4 5. Berks Catholic (3) 15-3 5 6. Bishop McDevitt (3) 16-0 6 7. Chartiers Valley (7) 16-1 8 8. Abington Heights (2) 15-1 9 9. Scranton Prep (2) 15-1 10 10. Central Valley (7) 14-2 7 Others to watch: Ambridge (7) 12-5, Archbishop Wood (12) 9-7, Boys Latin (12) 16-3, Crestwood (2) 12-3, Elizabeth Forward (7) 14-3, Erie East (10) 12-3, Farrell (10) 14-1, GAR Memorial (2) 12-4, General McLane (10) 10-5, Girard (10) 9-5, Hickory (10) 11-3, Holy Ghost Prep (1) 13-4, Honesdale (2) 15-1, Indiana (7) 16-1, Knoch (7) 13-3, Manheim Central (3) 15-2, Mars (7) 10-6, Montour (7) 10-5, Oil City (10) 11-2, Philly Electrical (12) 11-7, Pottsville (11) 16-2, Salisbury (11) 12-5, Shamokin (4) 13-2, South Fayette (7) 9-5, Steel Valley (7) 12-2, Steelton-Highspire (3) 14-4, Strong Vincent (10) 8-4, Susquehanna Twp (3) 9-5, Thomas Jefferson (7) 15-2, Uniontown (7) 15-1, West York (3) 19-1. CLASS AA No. School 1. Constitution (12) 2. Loyalsock (4) 14-1 3 3. Lewisburg (4) 4. Seton-La Salle (7) 17-1 2 5. Greensburg Central Cath (7) 14-2 5 6. Quaker Valley (7) 16-1 6 7. Mid Valley (2) 13 8. Beaver Falls (7) 14-4 8 9. Aliquippa (7) 12-5 NR 10. Fairview (10) 13-2 NR Others to watch: Avonworth (7) 13-3, Bishop McCort (6) 10-4, Blairsville (6) 12-1, Calvary Christian (1) 13-2, Camp Hill (3) 11-7, Columbia (3) 13-5, Conemaugh Twp (5) 12-3, Conwell-Egan (12) 13-5, East Juniata (4) 15-0, Elk Lake (2) 14-0, Hanover (3) 14-4, Holy Cross (2) 10-4, Jeannette (7) 9-7, Mercyhurst Prep (10) 12-3, Neshannock (7) 14-4, Penns Valley (6) 13-1, Reynolds (10) 11-4, Richland (6) 13-2, Riverside (2) 12-3, South Allegheny (7) 12-6, South Williamsport (4) 11-4, Towanda (4) 13-2, Tyrone (6) 13-3, Washington (7) 13-4, Wellsboro (4) 12-4, West Middlesex (10) 10-5, Windber (5) 11-3. CLASS A No. School 1. Lincoln Park (7) 16-1 1 2. Math, Civics & Sciences (12) 6-10 2 3. Bishop Carroll (6) 14-0 3 4. Vincentian (7) 5. St. John Neumann (4) 15-0 5 6. Johnsonburg (9) 7. Elk County Catholic (9) 14-2 7 8. Monessen (7) 11-4 9 9. Bishop Guilfoyle (6) 13-2 10 10. Mahanoy Area (11) 16-1 8 Others to watch: Berlin Brothersvalley (5) 12-2, Cameron County (9) 15-1, Carmichaels (7) 12-2, Church Farm (1) 10-4, Clarion-Limestone (9) 15-1, Cochranton (10) 13-3, DuBois Central Catholic (9) 10-4, Greenwood (3) 13-4, Homer-Center (6) 15-1, Juniata Valley (6) 14-3, Lebanon Catholic (3) 11-6, Mansfield (4) 12-5, Mount Calvary (3) 14-2, Muncy (4) 9-5, New Hope Academy (3) 9-7, North Catholic (7) 8-8, Notre Dame-East Stroudsburg (11) 12-4, Our Lady of Sacred Heart (7) 13-4, Phil-Mont Christian (1) 13-3, Pius X (11) 9-3, Portage (6) 14-2, Ridgway (9) 13-4, Sewickley Academy (7) 10-5, Shade (5) 12-4, Shanksville-Stonycreek (5) 13-3, Sullivan County (4) 12-4, Western Beaver (7) 11-4.