We’ve spent a lot of time this week - all of the time this week, really - talking about quarterbacks; from where I sit, nothing has really changed in the last 24 hours on that front, so let’s talk about some other positions.
Where else does Pitt need to add in the portal this offseason?
One area that has gotten a fair amount of attention is receiver, and I don’t think that’s too surprising. Pitt really had three receivers contribute last season: Jared Wayne, Konata Mumpfield and Bub Means.
(Jaden Bradley was second among the receivers in touchdowns after he caught two - both in the same game - but he left the team at midseason.)
Three is not very many, and the coaches believe they need to upgrade the room. The fact that two of those three contributors came as transfers is even more concerning, but we can talk more about that at a later date.
The pressing matter right now is how the staff will build out the receivers for 2023, and it’s becoming more and more apparent that Kent State transfer
Dante Cephas is at the top of the board. The former Penn Hills standout has obviously been a target - Pitt was one of the first schools to offer him - but I think the staff is really prioritizing him as a key potential addition to the 2023 roster.
It’s not hard to see why. In 23 games over the last two seasons - Cephas caught 130 passes for 1,984 yards and 12 touchdowns. He has been among the top three receivers in the MAC the last two seasons, and he’s got an impressive list of suitors. West Virginia, Penn State, Notre Dame, Kansas, Oklahoma, Miami, Virginia Tech, Maryland and Georgia have all offered since officially entered the portal on Monday, but Pitt was the first school to jump in.
Cephas has already been in the South Side once since getting that offer, and I’ve been told he’ll back again at least one more time this week, so he’s definitely spending time around the staff.
What I’ve mentioned before with Cephas is still worth considering, though: his recruitment out of high school was held back by academics, so he didn’t really have the “full” recruiting process experience. Now he’s got a chance to really experience it, and there’s a feeling among people I’ve talked to that he is going to experience it to the fullest.
Obviously, Pitt would prefer to have him focus on how he can play in his hometown for his final season, how he can potentially be the No. 1 receiver on an ACC team and how he can improve his draft stock catching passes from
Phil Jurkovec in a pro-style offense.
That’s the selling point. We’ll see if Cephas is buying. Visiting twice in a week is a good sign, but we’ll see where else the transfer process takes him.
We’ve seen some other offers go out to transfer receivers, like Florida’s
Daejon Reynolds and Nebraska’s
Decoldest Crawford. One other name to keep in mind is LSU’s
Jack Bech.
Bech was a four-star tight end prospect in the class of 2021, but after splitting time between tight end and receiver as a freshman, Bech moved full-time to receiver after Brian Kelly arrived in Baton Rouge.
LSU’s official website describes Bech as a “precise route runner with tremendous hands,” and I would add that he’s exceptionally quick.
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Bech looks pretty explosive and would be an interesting piece to add to Pitt’s receivers room. From what I’ve heard, there’s a good amount of interest on the Panthers’ part, and Bech seems to be interested in taking a look at Pitt. I don’t know if they’ll get him, but keep his name in mind going forward.
Tight end is also an interesting position for Pitt to look at in the transfer portal. More and more, it sounds like Gavin Bartholomew will be staying put (after some persistent rumors about him considering a transfer), but I think the staff wants another veteran to add to the mix for this season.
CJ Dippre from Maryland was an early target, but Pitt’s contact with him started to fall off, and he’s now got official visits scheduled to Alabama (this weekend) and South Carolina (next weekend). So that one is off the table.
But yesterday I mentioned a tight end target who is very much on the table: Indiana’s
AJ Barner. And the more I hear about Barner, the more I think he’s right at the top of the target list for the Pitt staff. That interest seems to be reciprocated, and we’re going to work to see what we can find out as far as visits, because I think there’s a good chance he ends up transferring to Pitt.
More options in the portal
Of course, it’s not just about filing needs. That’s one step, and Pitt certainly had a need at quarterback and has needs at receiver (and could have needs at other positions if other players leave). But it’s also about finding good players who could make the team better.
Enter
Donovan McMillon.
The former four-star prospect from Peters Township went to Florida out of high school and played in all 25 games for the Gators over the last two seasons. He was mostly on special teams, but seeing that much playing time in the SEC as a freshman speaks to how much he impressed the coaches.
On Wednesday, he officially went into the transfer portal, and it didn’t take long for his new offer sheet to fill up. Minnesota, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, Mississippi State, Boston College, Kansas and Nebraska all jumped in the mix right off the bat, and so did Pitt.
This is one of the interesting angles of the transfer portal and a storyline that probably comes up quite often. You might recall some of the developments in McMillon’s recruitment; Pitt was the second school to offer him, giving him a scholarship when he attended the Panthers’ win over North Carolina in 2019. Pitt made McMillon’s top 15 the following March, but when he announced his top 10 a little more than a month later, the Panthers were nowhere to be seen.
That caused a bit of furor in western Pennsylvania - specifically in the South Side - and by the time he announced his top five a month after that, I think the relationship was pretty well shot.
But in recruiting these days, you never completely burn bridges, and there was enough still in place that when McMillon went into the portal, Pitt was able to pick things back up pretty quickly.
Now the second recruitment begins, and I’m hearing a lot of optimism about the Panthers’ chances. McMillon could do a lot in Pitt’s defense. He could step into the boundary safety position - that’s a natural fit for him - or he could add to his current 205 pounds (that’s where he’s listed on Florida’s site) and play outside linebacker. Either one would work, and I think Pitt would be thrilled to have him on the roster.
I think there’s a pretty good chance that happens. Whereas Cephas didn’t have a “real” recruiting process a few years ago, McMillon very much did. He enjoyed the recruiting process to its fullest, and while I don’t think he’s necessarily going to eschew it this time around, he is likely going to be among the players who enter the portal with a different perspective than he had during his high school recruitment.
I think a lot of players who go into the transfer portal at this point approach it as a business decision, and McMillon has to see the success Pitt’s defensive backs have had, both in college and in the NFL; that has to make the situation look appealing.
Like I said, there’s a lot of momentum in Pitt’s favor right now. There will be competition from the schools mentioned above and more will likely get involved, but I like the Panthers’ chances at this point.
Continued...
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