The transfer portal hits keep coming for Pitt football as the Dec. 4 transfer portal opening approaches.
Deandre Jules, a fifth-year senior from Germantown, Md., announced Wednesday that he is entering the transfer portal with one season of eligibility remaining. It’s a tough blow for Pitt to lose a player who waited five seasons to make his mark as a Panther.
“First, I want to say thank you to the University of Pittsburgh for all they have done for me the past 5 years. It has been blessing and I will forever cherish my time here as a Panther. I’d like to thank coach Partridge, coach Bates, coach Narduzzi and the rest of the coaching staff for their unwavering support in me,” Jules wrote on Twitter.
“I am forever grateful for the relationships I’ve built and the opportunities the university has provided me. With that being said, after careful consideration, I have decided to enter the transfer portal with 1 year of eligibility remaining.”
With Pitt losing David Green, Devin Danielson and Tyler Bentley next season, Jules — who did not walk on Senior Night — was expected to potentially be a veteran leader on next season’s defensive line. Now he will use his final season of eligibility elsewhere.
Jules entered the 2023 season with just a couple hundred snaps under his belt after four years in the system, but he emerged this season as a key cog on the defensive line — easily the breakout candidate on the defensive side of the football.
He played 474 defensive snaps this season, serving as a starter on the defensive tackle more often than not, and he recorded 24 tackles (13 solo), 7.5 tackles for loss, two sacks and a forced fumble. He was a key run-stuffer on the defensive line, too.
Pitt will now be forced to replace Jules, Green, Danielson, Bentley and Nate Temple, who announced he’s entering the portal right around the same time Jules did.
It will be Sean FitzSimmons, Elliot Donald and Isaiah Neal who are called upon up the middle, and Dayon Hayes, Samuel Okunlola, Nahki Johnson and Jimmy Scott on the outside. But there’s now a high likelihood that Pitt hits the transfer portal for further reinforcements.
Jules is one of a number of Pitt players to enter the transfer portal today, including Temple, Buddy Mack, Aydin Henningham, Bangally Kamara and Stephon Hall.
