With Pitt’s entire starting offensive line returning for the 2022 season, and some talented recruits waiting in the wings, it’s a deep depth chart that would’ve been tough to crack.
One of those linemen, Michael Statham Jr., hasn’t seen the field in his two seasons at Pitt and officially entered the transfer portal Monday morning. Statham, a 6-foot-7, 370-pound three-star tackle out of St. Frances Academy in 2019, originally picked Pitt over Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, UMass, Missouri, Syracuse, WVU and LSU.
With no playing time over his first two seasons in Pittsburgh, Statham hits the transfer portal ahead of his redshirt sophomore season looking for immediate playing time at a new school. A portal entry during the semester is uncommon timing, but he’ll now begin the hunt for a new program.
Statham’s brother, Elijah, was committed to Pitt’s 2022 class. Elijah, a three-star defensive lineman from Smyrna High School in Delaware, de-committed from Pitt over the summer after talks with Pitt’s staff.
With Statham hitting the portal, Pitt’s scholarship count is almost down to the NCAA limit. With 87 current scholarship players on the roster, Pitt will need to trim an additional two scholarship players in order to reach the 85 threshold.
The guy is a giant and appears to be a big loss for Pitt. Unfortunate. Timing can play such a big role in deciding the playing time for these kids.
You don’t know anything about him other than his height & weight.