Ryan Baer to be Instrumental Leader on Offensive Line | Pitt All 105

All 105 is a Pittsburgh Sports Now series profiling each member of the Pitt 2025 training camp roster. In order to prepare for Pitt football’s 2025 season, PSN is breaking down every player on the roster in alphabetical order. Next up is offensive lineman Ryan Baer.

When Pitt football’s spring camp opened in March, reminders of the recently completed 2024 campaign were still fresh.

One of the first players to open up about the sting of losing the final six games of the season was offensive tackle Ryan Baer and he took it upon himself to bear responsibility.

“It was embarrassing, really,” Baer said during spring camp. “Obviously, injuries – you don’t make excuses. You have injuries, stuff happens. Everyone around the country has injuries. You need to be able to step up, next man up. We didn’t. Especially as an o-line, we played horrible. It is what it is. I didn’t play great, we didn’t play great as a unit, so we just got to turn it around. It’s in the past now. We just got to use it as fuel.”

That moment of reflection and closure on the 2024 season showed an emerging side of Baer as a leader, which will be relied upon as he enters his redshirt junior season and second full season as a starter.

“I just want to be more vocal. I’ve never really been the most vocal guy around here, but as you get older it’s kind of your job to lead by example and to lead vocally, too, so just trying to be a little more vocal,” he said.

Baer will be an instrumental leader on an offensive line looking for improvement in 2025.

Ryan Baer (70) alongside his offensive linemen during spring practice on March 11, 2025 / Ed Thompson. PSN.

Height: 6-foot-7
Weight: 325 pounds
Hometown: Eastlake, Ohio

2024 season: It was a season full of ups and downs for Baer, who was returning after nine starts the previous year with eight coming at right tackle. That’s where he would start the season, but moved across to left tackle for the final five games of the season due to an injury to starter Branson Taylor. Baer struggled at times, but it was a season of learning and developing as an offensive tackle.

Stats: Baer started all 13 games in 2024. According to Pro Football Focus, he played 959 snaps as he received an overall grade of 58.9. He allowed six sacks, 30 hurries and 44 pressures, while taking six penalties. Across his three seasons at Pitt thus far, Baer has appeared in 27 games with 22 starts.

Camp outlook: Baer is entering his fourth season with the Panthers and second as a full-time starter at right tackle. He’s also down to 319 pounds and counting, which is the lightest he’s been since his junior year of high school, he said.

Projected role: Baer looks to settle back into right tackle where he feels the most comfortable. Continuity will be vital for the Pitt offensive line and Baer is hoping to bring that to the right side of the line as the starting right tackle.

While he anticipates playing at right tackle all season, his previous experience on the left side is beneficial as injuries are always a possibility and offensive line movement is inevitable.

Trimming down the weight, Baer is morphing into the ideal offensive lineman that Jeremy Darveau and Kade Bell are looking to lead an up-tempo offense. He will be leaned on significantly in the run game and protecting quarterback Eli Holstein.

He is one of the most experienced linemen on the team and with that comes the territory of being a leader. He plans on being a key vocal piece in the offensive line room and in the offense as a whole.

A quote about Baer: “He’s been awesome,” Bell said at the end of spring camp. “He was really pissed off about last year. He felt like he could’ve played better. A lot of people take off breaks after the season. The next thing I see him and he’s already back training during December, during Christmas. Seeing him, he really didn’t take a break. He just wanted to get better and better. Just the way he’s transformed his body. Now, he really understands the offense and what we’re trying to get accomplished. Seeing him be more consistent this spring, that’s what’s the great thing about him. He don’t really have the bone-headed, couple ‘Oh shoot’ sacks or missed blocks.

“This spring, he’s been super consistent in getting a hat on a hat and playing with low pad level and just understanding what we’re trying to do with the pocket and the quarterback. I’m excited where he’s at. As a leader, he’s a type of kid that’s really hard on himself. He’s going to expect more from himself than everybody else. That’s what you want from a leader.”