The Pitt Panthers announced their team captains for the 2015 football season on Friday. Leading the first-year head coach Pat Narduzzi’s squad will be four seniors: tight end J.P. Holtz (Shaler), defensive back Lafayette Pitts (Woodland Hills), defensive lineman Darryl Render and offensive lineman Artie Rowell.
Holtz has played in every game for the squad since making his Panthers debut as a true freshman in 2012, and has started all 13 games in each of the past two seasons. In 2014, he made 21 catches for 199 yards and four touchdowns, including a 16-yard score in the team’s Armed Forces Bowl loss to Houston.
Pitts will be in his fourth season as the Panthers starting cornerback after redshirting in 2011. He tied for the team lead in 2014 with two interceptions and also had 39 tackles and six passes defended. Before his Panthers career, Pitts was a two-way star at Woodland Hills, and was selected first-team All-State as running back and at corner.
Render, a Cleveland native, has emerged from the shadow of 2014 St. Louis Rams first-round draft pick Aaron Donald to become one of the leaders of the Panthers defensive line. He started 11 games in 2014, making 32 tackles, six for a loss, and adding two sacks and a forced fumble.
Rowell will return to the Panthers lineup in 2015 after a long layoff. He suffered a season-ending ankle knee injury in the first half of Pitt’s Week 2 victory over Boston College in 2014. He started all 13 games in 2013. Rowell is a graduate student at Pitt’s Katz School of Business and was a Big East All-Academic Team member in 2012.
The Panthers are continuing to prepare for their 2015 season opener, which will be next Saturday, September 5 against Youngstown State at Heinz Field.
Photo credit: Fansided
