Football – Long Branch’s Kaymar Mimes Commits to Pittsburgh
For Kaymar Mimes, it’s Hail to Pitt.
The Long Branch senior and star defensive end has verbally committed to the University of Pittsburgh and will sign his National Letter of Intent on Wednesday morning at Long Branch High School when the late signing period begins, according to Long Branch head coach Dan George.
Mimes had originally offered a non-binding verbal commitment to Rutgers University on Dec. 18 but reopened his recruitment following an offer from Pitt the very next day. Mimes made an official visit to Pittsburgh on Jan. 19 and committed to Pitt on Jan. 25, according to the recruiting website 247sports.com. He also held offers from Boston College, Connecticut, Temple, Wake Forest, Monmouth and Old Dominion.
Mimes connecting to Pitt comes from within his own family. His older brother is current Oakland Raiders outside linebacker and former Michigan State star Shilique Calhoun. Pitt’s head coach, Pat Narduzzi, was Michigan State’s defensive coordinator during Calhoun’s time with the Spartans.
The 6-foot-5, 230-pound Mimes was a Shore Sports Network first-team All-Shore selection this past season and helped Long Branch win the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group IV championship with a classic 43-42 overtime win over Freehold. Mimes finished the season with 87 tackles and 10 sacks for a unit that allowed 18 points per game and recorded two shutouts. He had a career-high 16 tackles in a regular-season game versus Freehold and had 10 tackles and 2.5 sacks in a 28-3 win over Jackson Memorial in the CJ-IV semifinals. Mimes also had multiple sacks in wins over Middletown South and Ocean. As Long Branch’s starting tight end Mimes caught 17 passes for 175 yards and four touchdowns, including a touchdown reception in the state sectional championship game.
Mimes joins another Shore Conference product at Pitt as the Panthers’ starting quarterback heading into next season looks to be Ocean’s Kenny Pickett. As a true freshman, Pickett made his first career start and led the Panthers to a shocking 24-14 upset of No. 2 Miami in the team’s season finale.
Managing editor Bob Badders can be reached at bob.badders@townsquaremedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @Bob_Badders. Like Shore Sports Network on Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube channel for all the latest video highlights.