The Pitt Panthers have lost a member of their defensive line due to a medical condition. Pittsburgh Sports Now has confirmed that redshirt freshman defensive tackle Bryce Nelms has been given a permanent medical exemption and will no longer be medically cleared to play football at Pitt. This news was first reported by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Nelms will still be covered financially to attend the University of Pittsburgh, but his scholarship will not count against the 85 scholarship limit for Pitt. Nelms could still attempt to play college football elsewhere but would need to be medically cleared by another doctor.
Over the last few years, a few different players that originally signed with Pitt have also been given a permanent medical exemption such as defensive end Zack Gilbert, athlete George Hill, linebacker Albert Tucker and offensive tackle Jerry Drake.
Nelms signed with Pitt as a 3-star defensive lineman from West Orange, New Jersey and was rated by Rivals.com as one of the Top 15 prospects in the state of New Jersey. Prior to committing to Tim Salem and Pitt, Nelms also held offers from Boston College, Cincinnati, Duke, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Nebraska, Purdue, Rutgers, Syracuse, Virginia and Central Florida.
Nelms redshirted in 2019 as a true freshman and did not play at all for Pitt in 2020.
