Four Pitt Panthers Invited to 2025 NFL Combine

The NFL Combine is like a job interview, and four Pitt Panthers will have the opportunity to impress professional personnel in Indianapolis later this month.

Branson Taylor, Konata Mumpfield, Gavin Bartholomew and Ben Sauls have been invited to the Combine. Donovan McMillon, who impressed at the Shrine Bowl, was surprisingly not invited.

It’s a week-long spectacle at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, where the top NFL Draft prospects run drills, meet and interview with NFL teams and have a chance to impress NFL personnel with their play and measurables.

Pitt had three players at the NFL Combine last year (Matt Goncalves, Bub Means and M.J. Devonshire) and all three had their name called during the 2024 NFL Draft.

329 prospects invited to 2025 NFL Scouting Combine.https://t.co/zNcTOpbIo2 pic.twitter.com/g5liKbXpH5

— NFL Draft (@NFLDraft) February 13, 2025

Taylor played 344 snaps this season, all at left tackle, and he was one of the highest-rated offensive linemen on the team. According to Pro Football Focus, he allowed nine pressures and just two sacks this season.

Taylor played 1,470 snaps at Pitt, was inserted into the starting lineup full-time last season and has allowed 33 pressures and six sacks. He’s played in 45 games during his five seasons in Pittsburgh.

Mumpfield hauled in a team-high 52 receptions for 813 yards (15.6 yards per reception) and five touchdowns this season. He recorded 154 receptions for 1,940 yards (12.6 yards per reception) and 11 touchdowns in his three seasons in Pittsburgh.

Bartholomew went through his fair share of ups and downs this season, as did the Panthers, but he hauled in 37 receptions for 303 yards (8.2 yards per reception) and four touchdowns in 12 games — serving as a team captain.

In four seasons at Pitt, Bartholomew recorded 104 receptions for 1,238 yards (11.9 yards per reception) and 11 touchdowns — earning back-to-back All-ACC honors despite a serious disconnect between himself and the assortment of quarterbacks throwing the ball his way.

Sauls was the highest-rated kicker in college football by PFF. He drilled 21-of-24 field goal attempts (with a long of 58 yards) and all 44 of his point-after attempts — with a team-high 95 points.

He tied a program record with his 58-yarder against Cal in October, which was the longest field goal by a Pitt kicker at Acrisure Stadium. And with a 49-yarder against Syracuse later that month, he set the record for the most consecutive made field goals in program history.

The 2025 NFL Combine will begin on Monday, Feb. 24 and will run all week.