Michael Pittman Jr.

Early life

Pittman grew up in Southern California and attended Valencia High School as a freshman, and Oaks Christian School in Westlake Village, California, for his sophomore, junior, and senior year. As a senior, He caught 81 passes for 1,990 yards and 24 touchdowns and was named first-team All-America by Parade and Max Preps and participated in the All-American Bowl. In the final game of his high school career, Pittman caught 16 passes for 354 yards and five touchdowns. Rated a four star recruit, Pittman initially committed to play college football for the UCLA Bruins. He re-opened his recruitment in the summer of 2015 and ultimately committed to play at the University of Southern California over Oregon.

College career

Pittman enrolled at USC in the spring of 2016 after graduating from Oaks Christian a semester early. As a true freshman, he caught 6 passes for 82 yards on offense while returning two punts for 63 yards, four kickoffs for 31 yards, blocking punt and forcing a fumble on special teams. In his sophomore season, he had 23 receptions for 404 yards and two touchdowns with a punt returned for a touchdown and a blocked punt on special teams. Pittman was named the Pac-12 Conference Special Teams Player of the Week for Week 12 after returning a punt 72 yards for a touchdown against UCLA and was named first-team All-Conference as a special teamer.

As junior, Pittman was named honorable mention All-Pac-12 Conference after posting 41 receptions for 758 yards with six touchdowns. Following the end of the season, Pittman considered forgoing his final season of eligibility to enter the 2019 NFL draft but opted to return for his senior year after receiving a third-round grade from the NFL Draft Advisory Board. Pittman caught 10 passes for 232 yards (5th-most in a game in USC history) and a touchdown in a 30–23 win over tenth-ranked Utah on September 20, 2019. Pittman finished the season with 101 receptions for 1,275 yards and 11 touchdowns and was named first-team All-Pac-12 and a consensus second-team All-America selection. He was also a finalist for the Fred Biletnikoff Award and won the Pop Warner Award, given to the college senior with the biggest impact on and off the field.

Personal life

Pittman is the son of former NFL running back and Super Bowl champion Michael Pittman and Kristin Randall. Pittman Sr. played on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2002 championship roster. His younger brother, Mycah Pittman, played wide receiver at Oregon, Florida State, and Utah. Pittman also runs a YouTube channel with his wife, Kianna Pittman, called "Michael and Kianna". He produces two series on YouTube: "Gameday Vlogs" and "Path to the Draft". He and his wife have three children together, 2 daughters and a son. Pittman is a Christian.