Justin Guerriero stories, Page 2
Pitt’s Kyle Louis, Rasheem Biles, Trey Butkowski earn All-ACC honors
Three Pitt players — linebackers Kyle Louis and Rasheem Biles and kicker Trey Butkowski — earned second-team All-ACC honors Tuesday afternoon. Eight additional Panthers were honorable mentions: receiver Kenny Johnson, offensive linemen Ryan Baer and B.J. Williams, defensive tackle Francis Brewu, linebacker Braylan Lovelace, cornerback Shawn Lee, safety Cruce Brookins...
Analysis: Shortcomings in the trenches separated Pitt from its elite opponents
The first play of Pitt’s regular- season finale versus Miami told the tale of why the Panthers entered December having fallen short of their goal to play in the ACC championship. It was a 10-yard sack of Mason Heintschel, one of four allowed to the Hurricanes in a 38-7 blowout that...
Its biggest aspirations dashed, Pitt now aims to regroup, stay focused for upcoming bowl game
So soon after a deflating defeat to Miami that torched Pitt’s aspirations of an ACC title game appearance, it’s difficult to imagine what a morale-restoring message would be for the players. Coach Pat Narduzzi likely already has delivered some remarks akin to that in the immediate aftermath of his team’s...
No. 13 Miami beats Pitt handily in finale to spoil Panthers’ ACC title game hopes
The desired outcome of Pitt’s regular-season finale Saturday versus Miami would have seen the Panthers intently watching results around the ACC well into the evening. That’s because a win by Pitt against the 13th-ranked Hurricanes, coupled with a loss by either Virginia or SMU, constituted the Panthers’ route to the...
Desmond Reid, Trey Butkowski active for Pitt vs. Miami; Panthers announce Senior Day participants
Pitt’s final player availability report ahead of kickoff Saturday vs. No. 13 Miami contained several pieces of good news for the 24th-ranked Panthers. Carrying no injury designations were tailback Desmond Reid, kicker Trey Butkowski, offensive guard Ryan Carretta and defensive tackle Francis Brewus. Defensive tackle Sean FitzSimmons was listed as...
Pitt’s outgoing players prepare for emotions of Senior Day
The landscape of college sports facilitates more movement by student-athletes through the transfer portal than ever before. As a result, far fewer players begin and finish their careers at the same institution, but those cases do exist. Pitt’s select few outgoing seniors who have been with the program since their...
Opportunistic Pitt defense looks to keep interceptions coming vs. Miami
When it comes to interceptions, Pat Narduzzi is a hard man to please. Before Pitt’s fall camp broke in late August, Narduzzi relayed to reporters that he and his staff had counted 19 dropped picks from 2024 — missed opportunities they felt players should have seized. Ultimately, the Panthers finished...
Pitt hopes to be sharp on field goals, punts in pivotal regular-season finale with Miami
As Pitt reached its critical end-of-season juncture, closing out the year against three straight ranked opponents, it began without the steady services of kicker Trey Butkowski. Butkowski, a true freshman who had made 19 of 21 field goal tries leading into Nov. 15 when Pitt hosted No. 9 Notre Dame,...
Playing next to elite fellow LBs, Pitt’s Braylan Lovelace proves he can play with the bestVideo
Braylan Lovelace entered this season already having proven himself as a valuable contributor at Pitt. In 2024, the Leechburg grad thrived as a rotational member of the Panthers’ linebacking corps, posting 53 tackles and 10.5 for loss. But this season, Lovelace assumed a starting role at middle linebacker next to...
Pitt’s Braylan Lovelace, Ja’Kyrian Turner awarded ACC player of the week honorsVideo
Pitt tailback Ja’Kyrian Turner and linebacker Braylan Lovelace produced the two most consequential plays Saturday in the Panthers’ 42-28 road upset of No. 15 Georgia Tech. Turner rushed for a 56-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter to ice the game, and Lovelace recorded a 100-yard pick-6 to pour cold...
‘He’s just a baby’: For Pitt, scope of Ja’Kyrian Turner’s potential only beginning to emergeVideo
A few weeks ago, Mason Heintschel didn’t fully know how to respond when asked why no Power Four programs, save for Pitt, offered him a scholarship as a high school recruit. Seven starts into his collegiate career, and many of those schools are likely wondering the same in retrospect. Ja’Kyrian...
Pitt men fail to overcome slow start, suffer upset loss to Quinnipiac at home
Pitt’s two games against Power Five opponents this season — West Virginia and Central Florida — resulted in double-digit losses. However disappointing those defeats were, the Panthers were at least handling business against the low- and mid-major foes on their nonconference schedule. That changed Sunday at Petersen Events Center, as...
Analysis: Plenty to commend, clean up within Pitt’s upset over Georgia TechVideo
Pitt’s 42-28 upset over No. 15 Georgia Tech on Saturday to stay in contention for an ACC championship appearance was one of the Panthers’ most electric wins under coach Pat Narduzzi. But it nearly turned into an unforgettably devastating defeat, with Narduzzi’s fingerprints at the scene of the crime. The...
Kickoff time, TV details announced for Pitt’s regular-season finale vs. Miami
Pitt’s pivotal regular-season finale at home vs. No. 14 Miami on Saturday will be a noon kickoff televised nationally by ABC, the ACC announced Sunday morning. For the Panthers (8-3, 6-1 ACC), a win against the Hurricanes at Acrisure Stadium is required to stay alive for the ACC title game...
Pitt throttles No. 15 Georgia Tech early, hangs on to keep ACC title game hopes alive
A simple proposition awaited Pitt on Saturday in Atlanta ahead of kickoff with No. 15 Georgia Tech: win and stay in the ACC title game hunt or lose and have the season’s top goal slip from its grasp. The course of the ACC season, its many tiers of tiebreakers and...
Porous Georgia Tech defense presents potential advantages for Pitt
There can be no denying Pitt is going to have its hands full Saturday in Atlanta against Georgia Tech’s offense. The No. 15 Yellow Jackets (9-1, 6-1 ACC) boast the nation’s top offensive attack, averaging 496.7 yards, and are led by a Heisman Trophy contender in dual-threat quarterback Haynes King....
Slow start to 2nd half dooms Pitt in loss to Central Florida
Pitt coach Jeff Capel said earlier this week that the Panthers were getting close to figuring out what kind of basketball team they are. That remark came on the heels of a 34-point beatdown of Bucknell at Petersen Events Center, Pitt’s first game after getting clobbered at West Virginia. The...
Pitt offense, still ACC’s leader in points per game, aims to bounce back vs. Georgia Tech
When Mason Heintschel walked off of the field at Acrisure Stadium last weekend, he experienced something new as a collegiate athlete. Pitt’s freshman quarterback, for the first time in six games since taking over as starter Oct. 4, lost. Previously, the Panthers (7-3, 5-1 ACC) were 5-0 with him under...
Pitt’s main defensive priority is limiting versatile Georgia Tech QB Haynes KingVideo
Of all Pitt’s units, the defense could leave last weekend’s defeat to No. 9 Notre Dame with heads held the highest. Not that any players did in the aftermath of a 37-15 defeat. While the Panthers picked off quarterback C.J. Carr twice and had a few stands to force turnovers...
After WVU beatdown, Jeff Capel pleased with Pitt’s response heading into Legends Classic
There couldn’t have been much talking on Pitt’s bus ride home from Morgantown on Thursday after the Panthers were routed by West Virginia on the road for their first loss of the season. All of Pitt’s previous games, wins against Youngstown State, Longwood and Eastern Michigan, had looked routine enough...
Pitt football notebook: LT Jeff Persi returns to action vs. Notre Dame after 4-game absence
During Pitt’s eventual loss to No. 9 Notre Dame on Saturday, a player not seen in quite some time marched onto the field for his first game reps in six weeks. It was Jeff Persi, the Panthers’ offensive lineman added in the offseason via the transfer portal (Michigan), who earned...
Barry Dunning Jr. ignites Pitt to blowout win over Bucknell
A quadruply deflating long weekend for Pitt athletics began when Jeff Capel and Co. lost by 22 points to West Virginia on the road Thursday. Then, women’s volleyball lost in five sets to No. 5 Stanford on Friday, No. 9 Notre Dame dispatched the Panthers on the gridiron Saturday and...
Constant gifting of good field position burned Pitt in loss to Notre Dame
Rasheem Biles did not look content with the defense’s performance when he met with reporters after Pitt lost 37-15 to Notre Dame on Saturday. The Panthers outside linebacker had a big day, turning in his second pick-6 of the season in a game that marked his return after missing the...
‘Kick in the mouth’: Pitt resolves not to let Notre Dame loss snowballVideo
Pat Narduzzi had to know that if Pitt lost to Notre Dame on a big stage Saturday, his comments earlier in the week about the stakes of the game would be unearthed and scrutinized again. The No. 23 Panthers did indeed fall 37-15 to ninth-ranked Notre Dame, hanging around but...
Kickoff time, TV details announced for Pitt’s road game at Georgia Tech
Pitt’s defeat Saturday at the hands of No. 9 Notre Dame is now a thing of the past, with a critical final two ACC games on deck for the Panthers. Kickoff time and television details for the first of those two contests, next Saturday at Georgia Tech, was announced by...
