Pitt’s Dior Johnson returns to practice, expected to redshirt this season
Freshman guard Dior Johnson, the prize recruit in Pitt’s class of 2022, has returned to practice after being suspended since the start of the season. He is expected to use the 2022-23 season as a redshirt year, Pitt officials said in a statement released Wednesday. Johnson, 18, was in line...
Sun Bowl notebook: Pitt offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr. no stranger to west Texas
EL PASO, Texas — Pitt offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr. is no stranger to West Texas or to the UCLA coaching staff he must try to outwit Friday in the Sun Bowl. Cignetti was part of Pitt’s coaching staff in 1989 when the Panthers came to El Paso and defeated...
Pitt’s Jake Kradel, Brandon George eager for Sun Bowl, but they respect teammates who choose to skip game
EL PASO, Texas — Jake Kradel grew up in Butler, probably never dreaming he’d have two attractive career choices within reach of his massive hands before he turned 24. NFL or MBA? The former offers the eventual possibility of a nice paycheck. Draftcountdown.com ranks Kradel among the top 30 guards...
UTEP basketball coach Joe Golding steps up when Pitt football players needed a friendVideo
EL PASO, Texas — Before their Good Samaritan showed up Christmas night, Pitt football players Jake Frantl, Sam Okunlola and Hudson Primus had no reason to follow the Texas-El Paso basketball team. But they’re fans now, after UTEP coach Joe Golding came to their rescue. Victimized by a flight delay...
New-look Pitt leans on veterans Nick Patti, Jared Wayne for Sun Bowl
When UCLA’s players look across the line of scrimmage Friday in the Sun Bowl, the team looking back at them won’t resemble the one they watched on video in preparation for the game. Not even close. There are at least eight players — five on defense, plus quarterback Kedon Slovis,...
Florida wide receiver DayDay Farmer verbally commits to Pitt, Panthers’ 2nd from class of ’24
Ric’Darious “DayDay” Farmer has nearly 12 months before he can sign a letter of intent, but the junior wide receiver from Cocoa, Fla., told Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi on Saturday that he plans to enroll in 2024. COMMITTED????‼️ #H2P #LONGLIVEDAD @CoachHooksCOCOA @Cocoa_Schneider @TiUnderwood @CoachDuzzPittFB pic.twitter.com/cTUPXzVccq— Ric’Darious Farmer 4⭐️WR (@Dayday_F7) December...
Former Pitt quarterback Kedon Slovis will transfer to BYU
The next chapter of Kevon Slovis’ college football career will take him nearly back to the West Coast. Slovis, the Pitt quarterback who led the Panthers to an 8-4 record this season, announced Saturday that he has committed to BYU in Provo, Utah. I will always be grateful for Coach...
Pitt to host Sun Bowl watch party at the Pete after basketball meets North Carolina
Pitt officials are hoping their fans will spend all afternoon at Petersen Events Center on Dec. 30. The university’s athletic department will serve as host for a Sun Bowl watch party after Pitt basketball plays North Carolina. Basketball tips at noon, followed by football vs. UCLA from El Paso, Texas,...
3 Pitt soccer players selected in MLS SuperDraft
Three members of the Pitt men’s soccer program had their name called Wednesday during the 2023 Major League Soccer SuperDraft. Junior forward Bertin Jacquesson, senior midfielder Valentin Noel and fifth-year midfielder Jackson Walti were selected. Jacquesson, Pitt’s highest draft pick in program history, was taken 16th overall by Real Salt...
After signing 19-man class, Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi says recruiting road ‘a mess’
While assembling Pitt’s 22-man recruiting class — 19 high school seniors, three seasoned transfers — Pat Narduzzi enjoyed some light moments with their families. He beat quarterback Ty Dieffenbach of Agoura, Calif., and his dad in a backyard basketball game of P-I-G. “I think they let me and coach (Tim)...
Steel Valley’s Cruce Brookins signs with Pitt
It didn’t take Cruce Brookins long to find a new home after he de-committed from Kent State last month. Brookins, a three-star prospect who played quarterback and defensive back at Steel Valley, signed a letter of intent Wednesday morning with Pitt. He committed to Kent State this summer, but wavered...
Pitt basketball alum Curtis Aiken recalls friendship with Franco Harris, how he’d want to be remembered
Pitt basketball alum Curtis Aiken was supposed to see his friend Franco Harris on Thursday — a day in advance of celebrations to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Steelers legend’s “Immaculate Reception.” On Tuesday, Aiken was on the phone with Harris’ wife, Dana Dokmanovich. Aiken could hear the NFL...
Offensive tackle Isaiah Neal kicks off Pitt signing day, first of 19 to send letters of intent to Pat Narduzzi
Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi received the first of what he hoped would be at least 19 signed letters of intent shortly after 7 Wednesday morning when offensive tackle Isaiah Neal of St. Frances Academy in Baltimore made his six-month-old verbal commitment official. Neal (6-foot-3, 270 pounds) is one of three...
Pitt loses most of its 20-point lead, but escapes with 84-82 victory against Syracuse
On the surface, there was nothing cute about Pitt’s 84-82 victory against Syracuse on Tuesday night. It was thrilling, intense in the final minutes and nearly devastating for a Pitt team that almost lost a 20-point lead in the second half. But cute? That’s how Blake Hinson described one postgame...
WR Zion Fowler changes mind again, rejoins Pitt’s 2023 recruiting class
Zion Fowler visited Pitt’s campus five times during the recruiting process. So, even after the three-star wide receiver prospect decommitted from Pitt on Nov. 18, he never stopped thinking about a career with the Panthers. On Tuesday afternoon, the day before national signing day, Fowler of St. Peter’s Prep in...
Florida defensive end Maverick Gracio commits to Pitt
Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi landed the 17th member of his 2023 recruiting class Monday when defensive end Maverick Gracio announced his plans to enroll next year. Straight business. AGTG???? ????????#H2P #Committed @Pitt_FB @CoachDuzzPittFB @CoachPartridge @CNHS_Athletics @JackDan55847282 pic.twitter.com/jw5osvRyX7— Maverick Gracio (@MaverickGracio) December 19, 2022 Gracio (6-foot-5, 225 pounds) recorded 22 sacks...
End of nonconference season signals nothing but ACC opponents, tougher games for Pitt
Every game is important in Pitt’s rebuilding process, but its season will take a significant turn toward relevancy Tuesday when the Panthers begin their grueling, 19-game stretch of nothing but ACC opponents. The Panthers visit Syracuse (8-4, 1-0) at the JMA Wireless (formerly Carrier) Dome, carrying confidence into the 9...
With 4 more opt-outs, Pitt will go to Sun Bowl without 8 of its best players
Dramatic change is coming to Pitt football and not at the traditional time when we used to expect it. You know, after the last game. It’s happening now, 11 days before Pitt plays UCLA in the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas. Eight of the best players who helped Pitt...
Burrell grad Nikki Scherer back to close book on roller-coaster track career at PittVideo
Nikki Scherer will be the first to admit it. Her track and field career at Pitt hasn’t gone the way she had hoped. After winning the PIAA Class AA title in the 400 meters as a senior at Burrell, Scherer figured she would go to Pitt and pick up right...
Pitt continues quarterback facelift, gets verbal commitment from PSU transfer Christian Veilleux
Anyone who believes the Pitt quarterback situation needed an upgrade might be encouraged by coach Pat Narduzzi’s offseason moves. Another new quarterback … Jerry DiPaola (@JDiPaola_Trib) December 18, 2022 Narduzzi added a third eventual new player to offensive coordinator/quarterback coach Frank Cignetti’s meeting room Sunday when Penn State transfer...
Pitt safety Brandon Hill opts out of Sun Bowl to prepare for 2023 NFL Draft
Strong safety Brandon Hill, who has been a major element in Pitt’s success on defense since replacing Paris Ford at midseason in 2020, decided to opt out of the Sun Bowl to prepare for the NFL Draft. Hill, who played four seasons at Pitt, made the announcement on his Twitter...
Pitt concludes nonconference schedule with 82-56 victory against North Florida
Jeff Capel’s evaluation of his team after nearly two months, 12 games and eight victories has less to do with defeating North Florida on Saturday, 82-56, than what happened before anyone took a shot. With the earliest tipoff so far this season scheduled for 1 p.m., Capel told his players...
Pitt Take 5: Panthers take 1-at-a-time approach, know big-time games will arrive soon enough
Greg Elliott is nearly two decades removed from being a kid on Christmas morning. It’s no surprise, then, that Pitt’s graduate transfer guard is showing plenty of patience with so many tasty treats awaiting him, only days away. Before the end of the year, Pitt will have the opportunity to...
Pitt women’s volleyball bows out of NCAA Tournament in 5-set semifinal loss to Louisville
If a team loses in the Final Four, it first needed to conquer the difficult task of getting there. The Pitt women’s volleyball players — winners of 31 of their 35 matches this season — were trying mightily to wrap their minds around that reality early Friday morning after a...
Pitt gets commitment from ex-Peters Township, Florida safety Donovan McMillon
While losing quarterback Kedon Slovis and facing the possibility of safeties Brandon Hill and Erick Hallett II moving on, Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi did what any college coach would do in this era of free agency — he turned to the NCAA transfer portal. Let’s go Home… time to get to...
