2026 high-three-star Pittsburgh LB Colsen Gatten commits to Duke

Duke is making its presence felt in Pittsburgh once again, as the Blue Devils received a verbal commitment from 2026 high-three-star Central Catholic High School linebacker Colsen Gatten on Wednesday.

Gatten intends to play his college football under head coach Manny Diaz, defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Jonathan Patke and the rest of the staff at Duke.

Diaz began building a relationship with Gatten when he was still the defensive coordinator at Penn State, and the Nittany Lions offered the linebacker back in June of 2023. Diaz was hired by Duke in December of 2023, and he offered Gatten a scholarship from the Blue Devils shortly after that in January of 2024.

This is the second consecutive cycle in which the Blue Devils have landed a pledge from a Pittsburgh Central Catholic linebacker, as Duke signed four-star prospect Bradley Gompers in the 2025 class.

The Blue Devils signed four total prospects out of Pennsylvania in the 2025 cycle.

Gatten has visited Durham to check out Duke’s campus on multiple occasions, including in late January.

He ranks as the No. 18 prospect in the state of Pennsylvania and the No. 50 linebacker in the 2026 cycle.

As a junior in 2024, the 6-foot-1, 205-pound Gatten helped lead the Vikings to a 12-3 overall record. Central Catholic earned a Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) 6A championship and a runner-up finish in the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) 6A state championship game.

In addition to Duke and Penn State, Colsen Gatten has received scholarship offers from Boston College, California, Cincinnati, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisville, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Pittsburgh, SMU, Syracuse, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, West Virginia, Wisconsin and others.

He took an official visit to Pitt during the weekend of June 6 through June 8, and previously had an official visit planned to Indiana. His official visit date to Duke is not yet known.

Gatten is a Penn State legacy recruit, as his father, Aaron Gatten, played for the Nittany Lions in the late 1990s and early 2000s. However, Colsen will look to blaze his own trail at Duke.

With Colsen Gatten now in the fold, Duke’s 2026 class grows to seven total commitments.

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