Pitt football lost another another player on Wednesday, as redshirt senior defensive lineman Nate Temple will leave the program and will enter the transfer portal.
Temple played in 11 games this past season, only missing out against Boston College on Nov. 16. He made 26 tackles, eight solo, 4.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and three quarterbacks hits in 2023. His best game of the season came in a loss to Cincinnati in the River City Rivalry on Sept. 9, making seven tackles, three solo, 0.5 tackles for loss and one quarterback hit.
Temple played in 26 games for Pitt, making 31 tackles, 11 solo and one pass defended from 2020-23. Prior to this past season, he played as a reserve defensive end and also on special teams. Injuries ended his redshirt freshman season in 2020 after seven games and his redshirt junior season in 2022 after three games.
He is the seventh Pitt defensive player to announce their intent to transfer, joining defensive lineman Deandre Jules, linebackers Bangally Kamara, Brandon George and Aydin Henningham, along with defensive backs Stephon Hall and Buddy Mack III Walk on wide receiver Lorenzo Jenkins also announced his decision to transfer, making it players overall who have left Pitt following the end of the 2023 season.
Redshirt senior Bam Brima is the eldest defensive lineman on the team, with 2024 serving as his sixth year with the program. Rising redshirt juniors Elliot Donald and Nakhi Johnson and rising redshirt sophomores in Samuel Okunlola, Jimmy Scott and Sean FitzSimmons will all look for more playing time.
Rising redshirt freshmen in Isaiah Neal, Antonio Camon and Maverick Gracio, along with incoming freshmen in Jahsear Whittington, Francis Brewu, Zachary Crothers, Pittsburgh Central Catholic Ty Yuhas and Sincere Edwards make up the youth incoming on the defensive line for coach Charlie Partridge.Â
For all your college football transfer portal needs, check out the Portal Report and their Transfer Portal Tracker.
2023-24 College Football Transfer Portal Database
The defense couldn’t stop the run or get to the quarterback on a consistent basis so a mass personnel change might be the way to go. Start the younger kids. They can’t be any worse.
Yeah, they can be worse. This looks bad right now but I’m betting Partridge’s reputation will bring a couple quality players.
I’m less worried about the D line losses than anywhere else. I think Partridge will be able to attract quality in the portal if he feels the younger guys aren’t ready yet
See Ya! A lot better, more talented players will play now.
H2P!
Temple sucked. So many missed tackles. He should not have even been starting. Where is he going to transfer to?
Wouldn’t be surprised if these players were run off.
This is positive news. Temple’s talent level was proven to not be D1. There’s a lot of solid young D-line talent on the team. Dayon Hayes, who is definitely D1 talent, has a great opportunity to be a mentor and leader of the up-and-comers (and achieve being an NFL draft pick himself).
Some of these guys leaving are going to get a dose of reality. You either stunk on a team that stunk or you weren’t good enough to play for a team that stunk. Good Luck finding somewhere to start that isn’t FCS.
When is Partridge moving on?