Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi digs deep into transfer portal for 7 new Panthers
Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi was busy over the weekend, hosting and getting verbal commitments from seven transfers looking to re-start their careers.
After landing defensive end Blaine Spires, who previously played at Bowling Green and Utah State, Pitt added six more players to the roster, including a wide receiver, another defensive end, a guard and three defensive backs.
Where they fit on the depth chart will be determined over the next several months, but it’s clear Pitt needed an upgrade in manpower after 17 players entered the portal since the end of the 2024 season.
• Defensive back Kavir Bains (5-foot-10, 175 pounds) was named first-team All-Big Sky Conference at UC Davis this season after intercepting three passes, with a career-high 83 tackles (8 1/2 TFLs).
• Keith Gouveia (6-4, 305) might help at guard after gaining experience the past four seasons at Richmond, an FCS school that finished 10-3 and had the best record (8-0) in the Colonial Athletic Association.
• Pitt is in the market for playmakers in the passing game after losing Konata Mumpfield to the NFL Draft and Daejon Reynolds to the portal, and Narduzzi is counting on former Florida wide receiver Andy Jean (6-1, 184) to help with numbers. During his redshirt freshman season in ‘24, Jean caught six passes for 97 yards.
• Jayden Bonsu, a 6-foot-2, 207-pound safety prospect from Ohio State, was a four-star recruit at St. Peter’s Prep in Jersey City, N.J., in 2023. In the past two seasons, he never got on the field for the Buckeyes after coming out of high school as the No. 6 overall prospect in the state. Pitt needs help at safety after Donovan McMillon and P.J. O’Brien exhausted their eligibility.
• Former Eastern Michigan defensive end Joey Zelinsky (6-4, 250) is a Pennsylvania product and a graduate of Blue Mountain High School, the school that sent tight end Gavin Bartholomew to Pitt. Zelinsky recorded 29 tackles, 5 1/2 for a loss (two sacks) this season. He also had five quarterback hurries, two pass breakups, two forced fumbles and a recovery. Losing Nate Matlack (graduation) and Sincere Edwards and Chief Borders (transfers) made defensive end a priority this offseason.
• Pitt also got a verbal commitment from Cal (Pa.) cornerback Rashan Murray, a graduate of the City League’s Obama Academy. Murray intercepted four passes this season for California and was tied for second in the nation in Division II with 18 passes defended.
#H2P ???? pic.twitter.com/qKSUqUhio8
— Kavir Bains (@kbains23) January 5, 2025
The Lord is my shepherd pic.twitter.com/ku34RAVTpa
— Andy Jean (@1typeandy) January 4, 2025
Thank you God ???????? H2P ???????? pic.twitter.com/Jp5yvg5jz6
— Joey Zelinsky (@joey_zelinsky) January 5, 2025
Committed???????? #H2P @CoachDuzzPittFB @CoachDarveau @AurumSports pic.twitter.com/vorQyy2MFG
— Keith Gouveia (@TheKeithGouveia) January 4, 2025
Hometown Hero ???? @CoachDuzzPittFB pic.twitter.com/B2c7GcHnbj
— ???????????????????????? ???????????????????????? (@RashanMurray) January 4, 2025
— 21 (@JaydenBonsu) January 4, 2025
Jerry DiPaola is a TribLive reporter covering Pitt athletics since 2011. A Pittsburgh native, he joined the Trib in 1993, first as a copy editor and page designer in the sports department and later as the Pittsburgh Steelers reporter from 1994-2004. He can be reached at jdipaola@triblive.com.
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