Pitt signs USC transfer quarterback Kedon Slovis

Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi made what could be the most important move of the offseason Tuesday when he signed USC transfer quarterback Kedon Slovis to a letter of intent.

Panther Nation let’s welcome @Kedonslovis to Pittsburgh! #H2P pic.twitter.com/kcO63rc7xE

— Pat Narduzzi (@CoachDuzzPittFB) December 21, 2021

Slovis, 6-foot-3, 205 pounds, gives Narduzzi insurance — and a quarterback with extensive starting experience — even before he officially loses All-ACC quarterback Kenny Pickett to the NFL.

Slovis jumps to the head of the Pitt depth chart — at least on his extensive experience as a Power 5 quarterback. By signing his letter of intent Tuesday, he is eligible to participate in Pitt’s spring drills where he could get a jump on securing the starting job in 2022.

In three seasons and 27 games at USC, he threw for 7,576 yards and 58 touchdowns, completing 652 of 953 passes. He was an All-Pac 12 first-team selection in 2020 (a six-game season because of covid interruptions).

He burst onto the scene as a first-year freshman in 2019 when starter J.T. Daniels suffered a knee injury. Slovis grabbed the starting job and threw for 3,502 yards and 30 touchdowns while completing 282 of 392 pass attempts. He was named the Pac 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year, only the fourth USC player so honored.

Slovis entered this season as a Heisman Trophy candidate, but coach Clay Helton was fired after two games and the Trojans finished 4-8. He threw for 2,153 yards, with 11 touchdowns and eight interceptions in eight starts.

His most productive game came in a 42-26 loss to eventual Pac 12 champion Utah when he completed 33 of 53 passes for 401 yards and two touchdowns.

After the season, USC hired former Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley. Slovis ended up placing his name in the NCAA transfer portal, looking for a new school where he will use his remaining two years of eligibility.

He chose Pitt, where he will be part of a quarterback room that initially will include Nick Patti, the presumed starter in the Peach Bowl as Pickett’s replacement, Davis Beville, Joey Yellen and Nate Yarnell.

Before USC, Slovis played at Desert Mountain High School in Scottsdale, Ariz., where he was rated a three-star recruit, the 16th-ranked pro-style quarterback in the nation and 10th overall prospect in Arizona by Rivals.com in 2019. Slovis’ offensive coordinator at Desert Moutain was Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner.

Slovis had only three Power 5 offers — from N.C. State, Oregon State and Vanderbilt — when then-USC coach Bryan Ellis started recruiting him

“I was really blown away,” said Ellis, quoted on a YouTube video on Slovis’ journey through high school and college. “This is the one. I had been all over the country looking for quarterbacks and there was just something about his demeanor, the look in his eye, his throwing ability, all those things that I liked a lot.”

Upon committing to Pitt on Tuesday, Slovis wrote a letter to the Players Tribune where he indicated he wants to “win now.”

“I was so excited when Coach Narduzzi called,” Slovis wrote, “because I knew that Pitt and this program were the right fit for me to keep developing into the best leader I can be. I’m ready to win now — and talking to the players who are returning, and seeing how hungry they are for next season, that got me pumped. They have a lot of talented players coming back. And, man … getting to throw the ball to the guy (Jordan Addison) who just won the Biletnikoff?? That’s something you don’t pass up. The culture and identity that Coach Narduzzi has created is everything I want to be a part of.”