Throughout the past decade, current and former Pitt football players have had their share on run-ins with the law. That negative trend continued on Monday when former Pitt football player Jovani Chappel was arrested after a bank robbery in Greenfield Monday morning. Chappel, 25,was arrested around 1:30 p.m. in connection with a robbery of a PNC Bank branch in the 4300 block of Murray Avenue in Greenfield about 10:40 a.m. Police spotted him sitting on the front porch of a home in the 5000 ... Read More
Pitt dismisses QB Tra’Von Chapman from team
Those hoping that freshman quarterback Tra'Von Chapman would have a positive impact on the Pitt football team for the next four years may want to think again. Panthers' head coach Paul Chryst announced on Friday that the youngster has been dismissed from the team. Chapman was one of the prized recruits of the Class of 2013, but spent three days in jail last month after pleading guilty to an April assault on a former girlfriend in Kent, Ohio. “We believe it is in everyone's best interest ... Read More
Pitt’s Isaac Bennett returns to practice
Ever since Rushel Shell left the Pitt football program, the search has been on for who would step into the role as the Panthers' featured back. That job was presumed to go to junior running back Isaac Bennett, but things haven't necessarily played out that way. However there is a glimmer of good news on that front as Bennett returned to practice without the full-length leg brace on his injured right knee. The junior has been out of action since August 1o with a right knee injury, but it ... Read More
Pitt tabs Savage as starting quarterback
The much anticipated quarterback competition that was supposed to take place during camp for the Pitt Panthers didn't turn into much of a competition after all. Tom Savage has been named the starting quarterback for the 2013 season, Pitt head coach Paul Chryst told reporters after practice Wednesday. Savage, who is in his final season of eligibility after transferring twice, beat out redshirt freshman Chad Voytik for the job and will be under center when the Panthers kickoff their ... Read More
Pitt’s Todd Thomas leaves team
The Pitt Panthers began training camp on Tuesday and it didn't take very long for the first major storyline to emerge. Pitt head coach Paul Chryst surprisingly announced on Wednesday that linebacker Todd Thomas has left the Panthers. Chryst was apparently sending a message Thomas' way on Tuesday when he made it known that redshirt freshman and Woodland Hills product Mike Caprara had begun camp ahead of Thomas, a redshirt junior, on the depth chart. If the move was to motivate Thomas, it ... Read More
Pitt Panthers Notebook: Tray Woodall to Play in Istanbul
The 2013 NBA Draft and NBA Summer League came and went without hearing the name Tray Woodall. Despite working out for a couple NBA franchises, it doesn't look as if there is a fit in the NBA at this time for the former Pitt point guard. With that being said, that doesn't mean Woodall won't be playing professionally next season as he has signed a deal to play with a team in Istanbul. That's good to hear as Woodall got much better during his time in a Panthers uniform and emerged as a ... Read More
Rushel Shell to transfer to WVU
It looks like we can finally close the book on the saga that has become Rushel Shell's collegiate football career. After close to six months of drama in which we have seen Shell walk away from his starting spot at Pitt to transfer to UCLA, only to walk away from the Bruins as well, Shell has apparently settled on a home in Morgantown. The leading rusher in Pennsylvania high school history announced Friday that he would be transferring to West Virginia to continue his college football ... Read More
Pitt’s Dan Mason’s downward spiral continues
Over the course of the past couple of seasons, if there was a story worth rooting for it would have been that of Pitt middle linebacker Dan Mason. Mason's triumphant return to the field after suffering a gruesome knee injury he suffered during an ESPN Thursday night game in 2010 against the Miami Hurricanes was one of heart and determination. But after two long years of rehab to make it back to the field last season, it appeared that Mason couldn't catch a break when he suffered a ... Read More
Pitt Panthers Notebook: James Robinson help Team USA U19 Team to Championship
With not much new going on around the Pitt Panthers football and basketball teams this time of year, I'm back with my Pitt Panthers notebook to take a quick spin around Pitt's athletic programs. Perhaps the biggest news going on over the course of the past couple of weeks came in the form of Pitt freshman guard James Robinson, who helped Team USA capture the FIBA U19 World Championship Gold Medal with an 82-68 win over Serbia in Sunday’s title game. The victory gave the United States its ... Read More
Did Pitt make the right call with Rushel Shell?
Pitt head coach Paul Chryst was faced with a difficult decision on Monday when he elected to not allow former Panthers running back Rushel Shell to return to school, after Shell elected to not to transfer to UCLA. While the Shell saga is apparently now closed as it relates to the Panthers, only one question is left unanswered- did Chryst make the right decision? Naturally there are two schools of thought on this situation. The first is in regards to allowing Shell to ... Read More