The preseason acknowledgement of the individual talent on the 2020 Pitt football team continues as four players were named to a prestigious list.
Junior defensive tackle Jaylen Twyman, senior defensive end Patrick Jones, junior safety Paris Ford and senior center Jimmy Morrissey were named to the Phil Steele Preseason All-America Team.
Pitt became the only school to have two players named to Steele’s first team defense with Twyman and Ford earning that distinction. Jones was placed on Steele’s second team, while Morrissey being named to the 4th. Last week, Pitt was only one of three teams in the country to have 3 players named to the preseason Chuck Bednarik Award Watch List (Ford, Jones and Twyman).
This is the 6th outlet to name Twyman a preseason All-American (Athlon, Lindy’s, Sporting News, Street & Smith, Walter Camp), while it’s the third time for Ford (Athlon and Sporting News).
Last season, Ford led Pitt in tackles (97) and interceptions (3) while Twyman led the defense with tackles for loss (12) and sacks (10.5). Like Twyman, Jones had collected 12 tackles for loss and led the defense in forced fumbles. Morrissey was the anchor of Pitt’s offense line as he did not allow a sack for the entire 2019 season. Morrissey has made 36 career starts in his 3 seasons with the Panthers program.
