Pine-Richland defensive back Jay Timmons commits to Indiana, coach Curt Cignetti

By: Chris Harlan
Monday, April 28, 2025 | 11:59 PM

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Pine-Richland junior Jay Timmons committed Monday to play football for Indiana and coach Curt Cignetti, who’s already familiar with Western Pennsylvania.

Timmons announced his decision on social media.

The 5-foot-11, 175-pound defensive back had drawn nearly two dozen college offers. He chose Indiana from a list of scholarships that included Power 4 schools Pitt, West Virginia, Maryland, Iowa, Iowa State, Syracuse and Wisconsin.

Indiana hired Cignetti prior to last season. His coaching resume included stints as an assistant at Pitt and head coach at IUP. The Hoosiers went 11-2 in his first season, 8-1 in the Big Ten, and earned a spot in the College Football Playoff.

Rivals.com rated Timmons as a three-star prospect and ranked him 17th in the state among 2026 graduates. The recruiting website ranked him 49th nationally among cornerback prospects.

Timmons’ big plays last season helped Pine-Richland win the WPIAL Class 5A title. He scored 12 touchdowns, including two fumble returns and two interceptions.

Coaches voted Timmons as a first-team all-conference defensive back.

He picked off four passes in all, forced three fumbles, recovered two and made 42 tackles. On offense, he caught 40 passes for 755 yards.

Timmons’ father, Lawrence, played linebacker for the Steelers from 2007-16.

blessed#gohoosiers @CfbRalb @TheUCReport @CCignettiIU @CoachOlaAdams @IndianaFootball @Coach_LeDonne @PR_RamsFootball pic.twitter.com/5Ddtl0r32v

— Lawrence “Jay” Timmons 3 (@jay__timmons) April 29, 2025

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

Tags: Pine-Richland