The hits keep coming for the Pitt football team.
Just under a week after Charlie Partridge left for a position on the Indianapolis Colts coaching staff, Tiquan Underwood is leaving for a position in the NFL, according to a report from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Noah Hiles. The New England Patriots are hiring Underwood as their assistant receivers coach, according to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer.
It’s another brutal blow for the Panthers, who will now have replaced the entire offensive staff when Week 1 of the 2024 college football season.
Underwood was hired as the new wide receivers coach in February of 2022, and he’s served as a key recruiter on the staff and helped the wide receiving corps flourish over the second half of the 2023 season.
Jared Wayne blossomed into a 1,000-yard wide receiver in 2022, and after a slow start from Bub Means last season, he emerged as one of the better wide receivers in the ACC down the stretch — opting to test his luck in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Pitt features a receiving corps that includes Konata Mumpfield, DaeDae Reynolds, Raphael Williams, Censere Lee and Kenny Johnson set to return in 2024, and a group of young wideouts in Che Nwabuko, Izzy Polk, Lamar Seymore and Zion Fowler-El waiting in the wings.
The 2024 recruiting class featured two wideouts, three-star Cameron Monteiro from Brockton, Mass. and three-star Tyreek Robinson from Shreveport, La., and the class of 2023 wideouts and transfer portal additions pointed toward a new look receiving corps in 2024.
Pitt hired Kade Bell as its new offensive coordinator in December, and he was expected to partner with Underwood to form the backbone of the offensive staff next season — with running backs coach Lindsey Lamar, tight ends coach Jacob Bronowski and offensive line coach Jeremy Darveau arriving last month.
It’s the continuation of college coaches bolting for the NFL, and while it’s been particularly difficult at Pitt, it certainly won’t be the last. Narduzzi now has an open position on offense and defense.
If you’re not gonna pay, you’re not gonna be able to keep players or coaches
He’s building his resume and when the NFL calls, most folks, they will drop everything and run to it, as they should!
These coaches recruit these kids, and they leave after a year or 2, more $$ n stability in the PRO’s
It’s unfortunate but coaches don’t want to put up with the BS circus college athletes is today. NIL and conference greed is killing college sports. You will see more coaches go to the pros were less teenagers are responsible for you employment 💰💰💰💰💰💰🤑🤑🤑🤑🤑
Need a bag man for the bag man these days
Wasnt impressed with Pitt’s WR’s under him. Its not like the Partridge departure. Maybe they even upgrade.
i’ve had those same thoughts at times but now, I wonder if it was more about Cig’s offensive schemes. in any case, i was expecting much more, especially from Mumpfield
Steve, agree he’s not a major loss like Partridge. Partridge is going to hurt this team. Still haven’t replaced Partridge? Need AD to recruit and pay younger dynamic coaches that can recruit. Your head coach can’t recruit among other major issues. These 2 replacement coaches are really critical for program.
Agreed. We’re on the same wavelength with this situation.
Liked him but overall left me feeling, ‘meh,’ with his departure.
Was he really that good??? He looks cool, sure. However the results were rather lackluster
Chris Beatty WR coach 2019-2020
Brennan Marion 2021
Tiquan Underwood 2022-2023. The future of Pitt football will be fine. When Beatty departed we were losing a great recruiter that developed receivers. Same exact storyline when Marion departed. Now the same is said with Underwood’s departure. The truth is each has left for greater opportunities. What a great selling point to get the next WR coach to take the job. Again, Pitt will be fine.
coaches just want to coach. Now you have to recruit your own players 24/7/365. It’s awful
If the NCAA hadn’t been so complicit for 50 years and looked out for the well being of the student/athlete instead of those of the schools then it wouldn’t be as great a shock. I’m glad the players are making money. Most don’t have 2 coins to rub together.
Not the institutions fault that the Parents/Guardians of these athletes failed to make a living for themselves. If you can’t afford kids perhaps one shouldn’t produce them.
There are a lot of factors in raising a family. Some parents fall short of expectations. So, with foresight let’s punish their children. You’re aware that many of these young men and women come from stressful starts to accomplish great things.
I’m now a grandpa, a former scholarship athlete from a very nice Pittsburgh suburb. Many guys arrived on campus with absolutely nothing. I’m happy for the kids. They’re putting in work, going to class and now can maybe take their girlfriend to a movie.
NIL is a very good thing. I hope we learn to manage it. Respectfully. H2P!
best wishes to him. probably an opportunity you can’t pass up. i suppose it allows Bell to get even more control over the O and bring in someone he is comfortable with. not sure though that it will be a coach with heavy P5 experience…not really an opportunity to advance given Bell is new to the program and fairly young.
No big deal. Tiquan Underwood is certainly not even close to a Charlie Partridge type of loss and he certainly wasn’t of the caliber of Brennan Marion either. This will end up being a positive for Pitt because now they can hopefully get someone near Marion’s quality. They failed in that regard last time around as I already pointed out.