Pitt defensive end Patrick Jones II has accepted an invitation to play in the 2021 Senior Bowl, the game announced on Thursday.
Jones will be the third Pitt player in the game, joining safety Damar Hamlin and fellow defensive end Rashad Weaver.
The Senior Bowl, which has been played in Mobile, Alabama since 1951, is the most prestigious of the college football postseason all-star games. The game and practiced are coached by NFL coaches.
Jones played a full season with the Panthers, leaving the team after the regular season finale at Georgia Tech on Dec. 12, before the team had announced it would not play in a bowl game this season.
The 6-foot-5, 260-pound defensive end from Chesapeake, Virginia finished the year with 44 tackles, 13 for a loss, nine sacks, five quarterback hurries, three pass breakups and a fumble recovery.
Jones is considered a potential first-round pick by many draft analysts, and improved his draft stock by returning for his redshirt senior season.
Jones is also an All-America and All-ACC candidate and he and Weaver are both semifinalists for the Bendarik Award for defensive player of the year.
Pitt had just one player at the Senior Bowl in 2020, cornerback Dane Jackson.
