Ever since new Pitt Panthers head coach Pat Narduzzi took over, there has been a little more excitement about the Pitt program than usual. Needless to say others outside of Pittsburgh like what the Panthers are bringing back, especially on the offensive side of the ball. Pitt juniors James Conner and Tyler Boyd were honored on Monday by being named All-Americans by national college football expert Phil Steele. Boyd was named to Steele's first team preseason All-America squad while ... Read More
Highly-touted recruits could make 2015 PSAC season exciting
As the summer progresses, current players on Division II rosters will continue to improve on their own as they await summer camp. But when August arrives, a new crop of student-athletes will step foot on campus to push them even harder for playing time. The PSAC has been known for being a power conference among D2, and the rich got richer this offseason as each team has signed key players at key positions to help their program going forward. Here, we take a quick look at who you'll see in a ... Read More
Pitt’s Alex Officer named to Rimington Trophy watch list
The Pitt Panthers underachieved on the football field a season ago, but it wasn’t because of their offense, which was one of the more explosive units the Panthers have had in quite some time. While plenty of people are excited to see what type of performance we will see from the likes of James Conner, Tyler Boyd and Chad Voytik under first-year head coach Pat Narduzzi, there are some guys up front to watch as well for the 2015 campaign. One of those guys happens to be center Alex Officer, ... Read More
Six Nittany Lions to enter NFL
The Nittany Lions saw three players drafted into the National Football League in the 2015 draft and three more went on to sign rookie free-agent contracts, giving Penn State a total of six players in the NFL this spring. Donovan Smith (Owings Mills, MD) was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the second pick of the second round; Adrian Amos (Baltimore, MD) was picked by the Chicago Bears; and the Pittsburgh Steelers selected hometown tight end Jesse James (Glassport, PA) in the fifth ... Read More
Steelers sign 12 rookie free agents
The Pittsburgh Steelers completed their NFL Draft weekend by signing 12 undrafted rookie free agents. The 12 players, along with the Steelers eight draft picks, will take part in the team’s rookie minicamp, which will be start on Friday, May 8 and wrap up on Sunday, May 10. Of the 12 rookie free agents signed, nine are offensive players and three are defensive players. Miles Diffenbach, a 6-foot-3, 303-pound guard from Fox Chapel High School and Penn State University is the only local ... Read More
Pitt’s T.J. Clemmings falls to fourth round; drafted by Vikings
It was a much longer wait than anyone would have anticipated, but finally on Saturday Pitt’s T.J. Clemmings realized a dream. Clemmings was take with the No. 11 pick of the fourth round by the Minnesota Vikings, the No. 110 pick overall. Once perceived as a surefire first-round pick, a stress fracture discovered in his foot only a couple weeks prior to the draft, scared teams away from Clemmings and as a result he slid all the way to the third day of the draft. Clemmings, viewed by many ... Read More
Pitt lands Michigan State transfer Mark Scarpinato
Pitt head football coach Pat Narduzzi is bringing along some company from Michigan State. Narduzzi announced on Wednesday that former Michigan State defensive tackle Mark Scarpinato has elected to transfer to Pitt. Being that Scarpinato has graduated already, he will be eligible to play this season for the Panthers. Scarpinato stands 6-foot-3, 286-pounds and should help the Pitt defensive front right away as a rotational player. Scarpinato was a member of Michigan State's 2011 ... Read More
2015 NFL Draft: Injury could force Pitt’s T.J. Clemmings out of first round
When the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft takes place Thursday night, many expect to hear the name of Pitt offensive tackle T.J. Clemmings called by commissioner Roger Goodell. However an injury that Clemmings didn't even know about could result in Clemmings falling out of the first round altogether. NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport reported that Clemmings has a stress fracture in his foot. The injury showed up during Clemmings' medical exam at the NFL Scouting Combine. However Clemmings' ... Read More
Utah State’s Scott Barnes to be hired as Pitt athletic director
With football season right around the corner, it looks like the Pitt Panthers athletic program has finally found an athletic director. According to multiple reports, Pitt is set to hire Utah State’s Scott Barnes as its next AD. An official announcement could come as soon as Friday. Pitt has gone without a full time AD since Steve Pederson was fired on December 18. The 52-year old Barnes has been the AD at Utah State since 2008 where the Aggies have made significant improvements to ... Read More
Who the hell is Monica Wignot?
When the Pittsburgh March Madness started, everyone had the same expectations. It was going to be the four No. 1 seeds — Ben Roethlisberger, Sidney Crosby, Andrew McCutchen and Antonio Brown — in the Final Four. That’s just how it works. Except this time, it wasn’t. In the first round, when we logged on to check the results to see who advanced, one result made our jaw drop: #16. Monica Wignot - 459 votes vs. #1. Andrew McCutchen - 455 votes. For the first time ever in a tournament, a ... Read More