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 freshman seasons have experienced a wide spectrum of results playing for the Panthers.
“I’ve been through five years, through the highest peak of the ACC championship (in 2021) and the lowest peak of 3-9 (in 2023),” safety Javon McIntyre said. “It takes leadership, understanding the journey of how we lost, how we were so good and how we were so bad one year. It’s just a journey of not trying to repeat the bad process. Only repeat the good steps of how we got to that championship.”
After playing sparingly in 2021, as the Panthers were en route to their most wins (11) since 1981, McIntyre became more of a regular contributor in 2022.
His first start came in that year’s Sun Bowl versus No. 18 UCLA, which the Panthers won 37-35, giving Pitt 20 wins from 2021-22, the most by the program in consecutive seasons since 1981-82.
Then came the 2023 season, Pitt’s worst in 25 years, followed by the dominant start and crippling end to 2024.
Now, No. 24 Pitt (8-3, 6-1 ACC) enters its final regular-season game — senior day for the Panthers — against No. 13 Miami with a shot at another league championship appearance.
“The ACC championship, it’s right there,” McIntyre said. “But we’ve got to go grab it and take it.”
Emotions are sure to be high Saturday morning, when the Panthers go through their senior day festivities.
For players such as McIntyre, it will mark their final time playing at Acrisure Stadium, which was still Heinz Field when they arrived at Pitt.
“I think it’s going to hit me more Friday, definitely Saturday walking out on senior day. It’s going to hit me a lot with my family and then seeing (coach Pat Narduzzi) in the middle of the field meeting us,” McIntyre said. “I’ve just been appreciative of my time. … I think I grew tremendously as a young man. Pitt has done a lot for me. I appreciate Pitt a lot with all my heart.”
Pitt cornerback Rashad Battle has had an even lengthier career in Oakland.
He’s in his sixth year with the program, a tenure that has featured significant time missed because of injury. As he prepares to walk across the field with family and embrace Narduzzi, Battle also reflected on what the moment will be like.
“I’ve never been a part of a senior day, so I don’t know what to expect, to be honest,” Battle said. “I just want to win on Saturday for our seniors, myself, as well and for the coaches. … I’ve had a long ride here. I’m just thankful for the opportunity to play here, and I can’t wait to play Saturday.”
The exact makeup of Pitt players who will walk on senior day — signifying that they’re playing their final game — has yet to be finalized.
Players who have remaining eligibility but also are NFL prospects, such as linebackers Kyle Louis and Rasheem Biles, could take part.
There also inevitably will be some postseason wrangling to do when it comes to petitioning the NCAA for various types of redshirts, which could lead to potential unanticipated player returns.
Regardless, Pitt’s outgoing seniors, whether they’ve been with the program for six years or just one, have earned the respect of their coach.
“Coaching this entire team this year has been pure joy,” Narduzzi said. “They’re just coachable. They listen to you. They get it. And every team’s a little bit different, but this group is special. … The cohesion that that senior group has brought to this football team has been one of the best I’ve been around, and I’ve been around some pretty good ones, too.”
