Daejon Reynolds a four-star wide receiver and transfer from the University of Florida, has committed to Pitt, a source told Pittsburgh Sports Now. Reynolds has been committed to Pitt and has already enrolled in classes for the spring 2023 semester.
There was always a chance that Jared Wayne would come back for one more season, but even if he did, Pitt needed wide receivers. Wayne declared for the draft after the Sun Bowl, and Pitt’s need for impact wide receivers only grew more important. Reynolds’ commitment gives wide receivers coach Tiquan Underwood and the coaching staff a wideout with potential and three seasons of eligibility in the system.
Reynolds, a 6-foot-2, 205-pound wide receiver from Grayson High in Loganville, Georgia, originally committed to Florida over a vast offer sheet that included Auburn, Georgia, Florida State, Kentucky, Louisville, LSU, Miami, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas A&M, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
Reynolds entered the portal when it opened on Dec. 5, after picking up an offer from Pitt the next day, he finally made it out for a visit earlier this month. He spent time at the Pitt basketball game with the coaching staff — and new quarterback Phil Jurkovec — as part of his down around town.
At Florida, Reynolds redshirted after just one appearance as a true freshman, and he caught 22 receptions for 244 yards and two touchdowns in a limit role last season. He entered the transfer portal in search of a greater opportunity following the season.
Reynolds didn’t receive a ton of opportunity in Florida’s run-heavy offense, but he hauled in 11-of-16 targets. His 244 receiving yards (22.2 yards per reception) were fourth on the squad in 2022.
An explosive performance against Vanderbilt, one of his only opportunities at an extended run of play in Florida’s offense, highlighted the potential he has to offer. Reynolds hauled in eight of his 10 targets for 165 yards and two touchdowns against the Commodores — touchdowns of 74 and 16 yards.
He lined up almost equally in the slot and out wide, racked 65 yards after the catch and caught all three of his contested targets.
In five prior appearances, he only received 23 offensive snaps. He received 43 against Vanderbilt and 29 against Florida State two weeks later — but just two targets.
In all seven appearances, Reynolds received 95 offensive snaps. He lined up outside 54.7% of those snaps. With 122 yards after catch, a robust 11.1 YAC per reception, he flashed a playmaking ability with the ball in his hands.
He caught all three of his contested targets, averaged 2.74 yards per route run and Florida quarterbacks posted a 151.0 rating when targeting him in 2022.
If there’s an area where perhaps more playing time and increased reps will help Reynolds going forward, it’s his concentration in hauling in passes, as PFF credited him with three drops last season.
Reynolds joins a wide receiving corps that features Konata Mumpfield and Bub Means as experienced options, Myles Alston, Che Nwabuko and Addison Copeland as players who spent at least a season in the system and a couple of true freshmen in Lamar Seymore, Kenny Johnson, Israel Polk and Zion Fowler.
It’s likely that Pitt isn’t done looking at wide receivers in the transfer portal either.
Muy Bueno.
Welcome
Great stuff. This kid had a super impressive offer list coming out of HS. Too bad we didn’t have him in 2022 as an option for Slovis.
We could have had Larry Fitzgerald, Randy Moss, Jerry Rice, Lynn Swann, Steve Largent , Jesus and still wouldn’t have helped Slovis
With Slovis it wouldn’t have helped. Patti treated badly.
When we lost Cephas you it only stood to reason that Pitt would have a back up plan in place. We now see this materialize. Only time will tell which WR will have a better career in college and hopefully beyond. Here is what one recruiting source said about Reynolds coming out of high school “Shows the ability to make difficult, contested catches in traffic. Is able to time his leap to out-jump opposing defensive backs.” This skill set appears to be a good fit for a Cignetti offense. Also with his size he would appear to have the ability… Read more »
Just glad they finally signed a receiver from the portal, should slide right into the starting lineup. Now they need to find another one or two to provide some experienced depth.