Former Pitt linebacker Anthony McKee chooses to leave team
Less than a year after he was named most improved defensive player in the 2018 spring drills, linebacker Anthony McKee Jr. has decided to leave the Pitt program after he graduates this spring.
Coach Pat Narduzzi said Thursday that McKee chose not to use his fifth year of eligibility.
“Which is a little disappointing because I think he had the potential to be pretty good. You have to want it right here,” he said, pointing to his head. “You have to want to have another year of it.
“I’m happy for him. Glad he’s graduating and moving on with life.”
McKee was one of the top linebackers in Ohio in 2014 when he was rated by ESPN as the No. 12 overall prospect in the state. But he did not play in his first two seasons at Pitt and appeared in just 10 games with no starts in 2017 and ‘18.
McKee would have competed this season for the star linebacker spot vacated when Seun Idowu left after his senior year.
Narduzzi said rising junior safety Phil Campbell, 6-foot-1, 200 pounds, could move to linebacker and join sophomore Cam Bright in competition for Idowu’s spot.
“It would have been nice to have a three-man competition,” Narduzzi said.
Jerry DiPaola is a TribLive reporter covering Pitt athletics since 2011. A Pittsburgh native, he joined the Trib in 1993, first as a copy editor and page designer in the sports department and later as the Pittsburgh Steelers reporter from 1994-2004. He can be reached at jdipaola@triblive.com.
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