‘Weathered’ Duquesne football players balancing fun of playing at Acrisure Stadium with challenge of facing Pitt
Duquesne defensive lineman A.J. Ackerman remembers the first time we spoke about the topic. What’s the level of excitement surrounding the Dukes’ 2025 season opener at Acrisure Stadium against Pitt? “I think the last time you asked me that question, I gave you a much more muted answer,” Ackerman said....
Teammates take note of Eli Holstein’s mental, physical growth as Pitt gears up for season
What are appropriate expectations for Pitt in 2025? Voting media members in the ACC project the Panthers as middle of the pack, having selected them to finish ninth in the league (last year’s ninth-place squad, Boston College, went 7-6). Nationally, Pitt landed three votes in the preseason AP Top 25...
Pitt names 5 captains, prepares to break camp
With the wide-ranging results he’s been a part of at Pitt, Javon McIntyre can offer leadership from a unique vantage point. His teammates recognized as much Friday, when the redshirt senior safety was named one of Pitt’s five captains for 2025, along with tailback Desmond Reid, tight end Jake Overman,...
Pitt loses 2 depth LBs for season; Pat Narduzzi reveals surprise in naming starting kicker
While Pitt still boasts Kyle Louis, Rasheem Biles and Braylan Lovelace as its starting linebackers, the position group suffered a blow Thursday when coach Pat Narduzzi announced two season-ending injuries. Sophomore Jeremiah Marcelin (upper-body) and redshirt sophomore Jayden Bonsu, an Ohio State transfer, won’t play in 2025. “Those are two...
DB Josh Guerrier, WR Tony Kinsler among Pitt true freshmen vying for playing time
In college football, true freshmen can hit a wall for a variety of reasons, delaying their emergence as contributors. For starters, there is the strength and size discrepancy between those just emerging from high school and the more grown-men specimens found in college. Then, there’s the mental challenge of learning...
Pitt notebook: Defense evens score with offense in scrimmage; RB2 emergesVideo
It’s a privilege for Pitt’s players to sport blue practice jerseys during fall camp, and the Panthers’ offense and defense compete for the honor throughout August. Scrimmages serve as that battleground, and, initially, on Aug. 9, it was the offense that came on top, earning the right to wear blue...
Pitt announces 2025-26 men’s basketball nonconference schedule
Pitt men’s basketball announced its 2025-26 nonconference schedule Tuesday morning, featuring 13 games, including nine at home starting Nov. 3 against Youngstown State. Longwood visits Petersen Events Center on Nov. 7, followed by Eastern Michigan on Nov. 10. The Panthers then travel to Morgantown for the hardwood Backyard Brawl, facing...
Texas, Penn State each place 3 players on AP preseason All-America 1st team; 2 from Pitt honored
Texas and Penn State, the top two teams in The Associated Press preseason Top 25, each had three players selected for the preseason AP All-America team announced Monday. No. 1 Texas had one player from each level of its defense on the first team: edge rusher Colin Simmons, linebacker Anthony...
Pitt LB Kyle Louis eager to spearhead Panthers’ bounce-back in 2025
Kyle Louis enters his redshirt junior year at Pitt having been named to the preseason watch lists of just about every applicable defensive award in college football. The Butkus Award, Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Walter Camp Player of the Year, Chuck Bednarik Award, Lombardi Award — Louis will be in play...
Steel Valley’s Cruce Brookins eyes starring role in Pitt’s defense
At 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds, Pitt tight end Malachi Thomas has the kind of frame that sets him up well one-on-one against opposing defensive backs. But so far through the Panthers’ fall camp, Thomas has had tough recurring battles with one of his teammates, a safety he has 2 inches...
Pitt gets 3 players on All-Time All-America team after 100 years
Ohio State and Pitt each placed three players on the Associated Press All-Time All-America team announced Thursday as part of the news organization’s celebration of the 100th anniversary of the storied honor for the top players in college football. Since 1925, nearly 2,000 men have been named AP first-team All-Americans,...
Clemson’s experience makes Tigers the ACC favorite … Can anyone challenge them?Video
No. 4 Clemson won so much over more than a decade that it felt like a step back when the Tigers didn’t reach 10 wins two years ago in the first of back-to-back four-loss seasons. Still, the Tigers are the reigning ACC champions and coming off a trip to the...
Pitt punter Caleb Junko aims to conclude college career on a high note this season
Caleb Junko would not be offended to learn that at times over the last few years on fourth down, when he’d be sent on the field to punt, some Pitt fans were crossing their fingers and hoping for a good result. Junko, primed to serve as the Panthers’ full-time punter...
QB transfer Cole Gonzales has edge to back up Eli Holstein this fall at Pitt
Unless it’s garbage time and Pitt is leading by a considerable margin, Pat Narduzzi doesn’t want to think of a scenario in which he would have to replace Eli Holstein at quarterback. That situation arising at any point this fall would be an ominous development for the Panthers, who saw...
Leechburg grad Braylan Lovelace aiming to be more vocal, violent in switch to Mike linebacker
From the moment he arrived on Pitt’s campus in early 2023, Braylan Lovelace knew he was going to have to turn things up a notch if he was to succeed as a Division I football player. Not that Lovelace wasn’t proud of what he did in high school at Leechburg,...
Offense bests defense in Pitt’s weekend scrimmage; Pat Narduzzi names standoutsVideo
As Pitt’s players filed out of UPMC Rooney Sports Complex to take the field for Monday’s fall camp practice, a trend in their attire quickly became apparent. The Panthers’ offensive players were sporting blue practice jerseys, compared to the whites worn by the defense. That meant only one thing: Pitt’s...
Pitt receives 3 votes in preseason AP Top 25 poll
The Associated Press preseason Top 25 poll was released Monday and Pitt garnered three votes to begin the 2025 campaign unofficially as the No. 46 team in the nation. Texas (25 votes) slightly edged Penn State (23) for the No. 1 ranking, with Ohio State, Clemson and Georgia rounding out...
Pitt volleyball’s revamped roster aims to get up to speed for another deep NCAA run
There’s a paradox about the Pitt women’s volleyball team: The Panthers are coming off their fourth consecutive appearance in the national semifinals, yet that source of pride also is a source of pain. Being so consistently strong is nice, but the Panthers long to kick in the door to the...
‘We’ve got explosive receivers’: Expectations high for Pitt’s wideouts this fall
In seven years as a coordinator, Kade Bell has never overseen an offense that has failed to throw at least 25 touchdown passes, a benchmark he takes much pride in reaching annually. Last year was no exception, as Pitt, behind Eli Holstein (17) and the since-departed Nate Yarnell (10) and...
Weekend scrimmage to serve as measuring stick for Pitt individually, as team
Though Pitt’s opening depth chart has yet to be released, it is actively in the making. Friday marked the Panthers’ eighth fall camp practice, with a live scrimmage looming Saturday at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on the South Side. For coach Pat Narduzzi and his assistants, it will soon become...
Pitt AD Allen Greene discusses revenue-sharing strategy, Panthers’ positioning in new college sports landscape
In the aftermath of the House vs. NCAA settlement in June, which greenlit direct revenue-sharing between universities and student-athletes, Pitt athletic director Allen Greene painted an optimistic picture as to how the Panthers are ready to meet the moment. Two months later, Greene again projected confidence in Pitt’s positioning within...
Pitt, Penn State players picked for Sporting News preseason All-American team
Football players from Pitt and Penn State continue to be recognized among the best in the nation as the 2025 season inches closer. Members of the Panthers and Nittany Lions were picked for the Sporting News Preseason All-American team released Wednesday. Pitt redshirt junior linebacker Kyle Louis and senior running...
These 3 Pitt players aim to secure larger roles this fall
As Pitt hits a week of fall camp practices, the Panthers are just getting settled into wearing full pads, having done so for the first time Tuesday. Pitt’s camp atmosphere is rife with competition, but already clues — some more subtle than others — are emerging as to the makeup...
Pitt notebook: Panthers put on full pads for 1st time; Pat Narduzzi unveils new slogan for 2025Video
Outside of UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on the South Side, a few feet from the practice fields where Pitt is conducting its fall camp, a mystery acronym “EGK” has been painted on the sidewalk. On Tuesday, coach Pat Narduzzi educated local media as to its meaning. “Everybody’s gonna know,” Narduzzi...
A-K Valley legend Joe Stone, who helped Kiski Area, Pitt to championships, dies at age 70
When it comes to telling the story of the 1976 Pitt Panthers national championship football team, the tales usually begin and end with the kid from Hopewell Township, Tony Dorsett. The story that doesn’t get told is that a lanky, talented offensive lineman from the Alle-Kiski Valley named Joe Stone...
