Pitt FB Recruiting
Does Pitt Football Have Portal Needs?
The spring portal has caused its fair share of chaos across the country in college football and teams that are looking to retain players are hoping the finish line comes quickly.
Friday, April 25 marks the final day of the spring portal and it is rapidly approaching. Pitt is looking to hold onto as many players as possible, especially that project on the two-deep roster for the fall. As of Monday, the Panthers have lost eight players to the portal all on offense and primarily on the offensive line.
Only one of those portal entrants played in game action in 2024 for the Panthers with offensive lineman Terrence Enos Jr. appearing in all 13 games.
While Pitt’s main goal is retention and dealing with potential upcoming roster limits due to the House Settlement, it doesn’t mean the Panthers won’t look to add any talent from the portal.
Pitt is down to three scholarship tight ends after Jake Renda hit the portal, so it wouldn’t come as a surprise if the Panthers land one. Indiana tight end transfer Same West is expected to visit Pitt this week and has also visited Mississippi State. The redshirt sophomore has one career catch for 37 yards against Charlotte last fall.
Tight end seems to be a primary area of need for Pitt behind Jake Overman and Malachi Thomas. Overman is a nice veteran piece, while Thomas is still young as a true sophomore and then there’s true freshman Max Hunt. Pitt could use another option in the tight end room whether that’s West or someone with a little more experience.
The biggest position group to be hit by the portal is that of the aforementioned offensive line. Five players have left the program in Graysen and Brody Riffe, Moritz Schmoranzer, Adham Abouraya and Enos.
During the 2024 season, Pitt fielded 21 offensive linemen on its roster. As of now, it has 14 players on the roster with three freshmen — Shep Turk, Torian Chester and Jordan Fields — to enroll in the summer. With potential roster cuts and revenue sharing inbound, Pitt certainly won’t get back to that 2024 number, but an addition wouldn’t be out of the question.
When the initial portal window came around after the season, Pitt fetched three experienced linemen with Jeff Persi, Keith Gouveia and Kendall Stanley. That would certainly be a goal again for Pitt to add one or possibly two linemen with some game experience to help fill out the depth on the line.
Wide receiver is another area that Pitt could add to. This is a unit that would only have fit for one player with the depth that has already been built.
Florida State transfer Hykeem Williams will visit Monday. That’s the only receiver that Pitt has been linked to and there’s a lot of history between the former five-star prospect and the Panthers.
With Andy Jean back in the portal and Cameron Monteiro exiting the program, Pitt could squeeze in one more receiver with a room that boasts Kenny Johnson, Raphael Williams, Censere Lee, Cataurus Hicks, Tyreek Robinson, Zion Fowler-El, Deuce Spann, Tony Kinsler, Bryce Yates and Cam Sapp.
Pitt has not lost a single piece of the defense, but that has not kept the Panthers from showing interest in players.
The Panthers offered defensive linemen Bralen Henderson — a Pittsburgh Central Catholic grad. Henderson will visit Pitt on Wednesday. If the Panthers land the Ohio defensive tackle transfer, he could be an option to move to the edge.
Western Michigan d-lineman transfer Mason Nelson has also received interest from Pitt.
The next four days will be telling for Pitt if it can hold on to all of its top players, while potentially adding in some areas of need.
