The Pitt Panthers made headlines this week with the addition of USC transfer quarterback Kedon Slovis and they might not be done.
Tight end is a position that Pitt has targeted over the years and could be going that route once again.
Pittsburgh Sports Now has learned of a player that the Pitt staff reached out to earlier this week and plan to talk with him again in the near future.
On Sunday, Tim Salem made a call to Lafayette graduate transfer tight end Steven Stilianos.
Pitt isn’t the only program to show interest in this 6-foot-5, 250-pound tight end since he announced his intention to move on from Lafayette. Stilianos has received offers from Syracuse, UConn, Georgia Southern, Rhode Island and Albany. Plus, he is also talking with Rutgers, SMU, Tulane and Wake Forest. He has two years of eligibility remaining and tells PSN that he’s looking forward to the challenge of playing a higher level of football.
“I was just ready to move on,” said Stilianos. “I played four years there and I’m ready to hopefully show my talents on a bigger stage. Plus, they’re going through a coaching staff change as well. They pretty much cleaned out and are pretty much starting off from the beginning so I’m ready to start somewhere new as well. But I really want to show that I can show that I can play and compete at a higher level.”
“I consider myself a pretty versatile tight end that can do a lot of different things for a team. At Lafayette, they had me lined up on the line, also in the backfield, on the wing split out, they ran behind me a lot but also tried to get me the ball as well. I’m very versatile and can definitely block very well and am a receiving threat as well. I believe that I could do that at a higher level of football too. At Lafayette, I wasn’t a huge down the field threat, but I believe that I’m capable of being one. Blocking wise, I dominate at the line of scrimmage and have shown that I can control the edge.”
During his career at Lafayette, Stilianos caught 65 passes for 534 yards and 5 touchdowns. This past season, he was named All-Patriot Legue First Team and Lafayette’s offensive MVP.
“It was an honor to be contacted by the ACC Champions. Coach Salem contacted me on Sunday or Monday and told me that they were busy preparing for their bowl game but he knows who I am and has seen what I’ve done. He told me that he liked my film and that he would be back in touch once their season ends. Hopefully I can get out to their campus soon.”
“In terms of Pitt, I know they use their tight ends a lot which is great. I believe they had two guys this year with over 30 catches, which is impressive. I know about the deep tradition of football at Pitt and how they pump out NFL prospects, which is really impressive. Then the great academics that comes with attending Pitt.”
Stilianos is currently in finals at Lafayette and plans on finishing his degree, so he won’t officially join his next football program until this summer.
