Pitt Football 2025 Preview

Eli Holstein returns after throwing for 2,226 yards in just over 9 games (Photo Credit: Pittsburgh Sports Now)

Pat Narduzzi enters his 11th season off a semi-bounce back year. Coming off their worst season of the Narduzzi era, Pitt started the year 7-0 before dropping every remaining game. Injuries, particularly to QB Eli Holstein and the offensive line, ultimately derailed a promising season that saw them peak at 18th in the country. The good news is Holstein is back for his second season as the starter under OC Kade Bell along with electric running back Desmond Reid, and you know a Narduzzi coached team is always going to be competent on the defensive side of the ball. Outside of Holstein, Reid and a couple stud linebackers though, there are a lot of guys that will need to move into larger roles.

Offense

Holstein got off to a hot start throwing for 300+ yards in 4 of his first 5 games but fell off a cliff after that. He dealt with injuries to himself and the offensive line, but the fact is he had just 12 big-time throws to 20 turnover-worthy plays. In his final four starts he graded out below 55.0 three times, failing to reach 150 yards in the same amount of games. He’s got to be more consistent, and the hope is he will be under Kade Bell’s tutelage once again. Bell brought in his former Western Carolina starter Cole Gonzalez to provide a steady backup capable of replacing Nate Yarnell, who played well in relief at times down the stretch.

Those that thought Desmond Reid’s talent couldn’t translate from the FCS were dead wrong. The 5’8” playmaker was 1st Tm All-ACC AP with 1,548 yards from scrimmage, ranking 2nd nationally amongst running backs in receiving yards. He even missed a couple games with those numbers and should be just as good in 2025. There isn’t much returning behind him though and they didn’t bring any RBs in through the portal. Derrick Davis Jr. and Juelz Goff are the two returners, although they both averaged 2.5 ypc on a combined 57 carries. Davis Jr. was an elite safety recruit out of high school that flipped to the offensive side of the ball in his second year at LSU before transferring to Pitt. It still hasn’t translated, but increased production would go a long way towards solidifying this backfield in the event Reid gets dinged up.

RB Desmond Reid ranked tied-5th in all-purpose yards behind four other RBs that are now in the NFL (Photo: Credit: Pittsburgh Sports Now)

Reid was obviously a huge part of the passing game, but Pitt does lose their top wide receiver. Kenny Johnson (46 rec, 537 yds, 3 TD) stuck around after being tempted by some top programs to enter the portal. He’ll need to take a big step forward as the most talented guy in this room. Poppi Williams came with Kade Bell from WCU and had the lowest output of his 3-year career. He had the most drops on the team and just a 46.3% catch rate on targets, the lowest of the primary contributors. Both areas will need to improve this year. Censere Lee is another former Western Carolina player that couldn’t replicate his prior success with a 59.3 PFF grade and a huge drop off in counting stats.

It’s possible they’re overtaken by Louisville transfer Blue Hicks. The RS sophomore only caught 12 balls for 149 yards last year but the staff loves him and thinks he could be a gamechanger for them. The other WR transfer is Deuce Spann who has appeared in 27 games over his career at Illinois and Florida State with little production. He’ll have every opportunity to contribute, but I’m not holding my breath after he couldn’t find playing time on a 2-10 FSU team. TE Gavin Bartholomew is a big loss that leaves a void for senior Jake Overman (17 rec, 160 yds) to fill.

I’ve already touched on the offensive line injuries from a year ago, but regardless the overall play was pretty poor ranking 87th in stuff rate and 124th in Front7 havoc allowed. They lose two starters but return their highest graded performer in center Lyndon Cooper. After getting benched at NC State in ’23 he seemed to find a home last year and will be the leader this year. RG BJ Williams and RT Ryan Baer also return with a ton of starting experience to form a solid nucleus. Keith Gouveia started 24 games at LG for Richmond in his career and Jeffrey Persi is a former 4-star that played 404 snaps in four seasons at Michigan. If Persi hits at LT and the line has better health, this could get back to be being a formidable group.

Defense

The Panthers ranked 81st in total defense and 92nd in scoring defense last year. They gave up some huge numbers during their late season slide but weren’t particularly good before that either. That said I’m higher on this group making major positive regression with seven starters and tons of talent back.

DE Jimmy Scott had 6 sacks and 6.5 TFL last year and is looking to become the next NFL defensive lineman from Pitt (Photo Credit: Charles LeClaire / Imagn Images)

DE Jimmy Scott is the top returning lineman with 30 tkl, 6 sk and 6.5 TFL. DTs Sean Fitzsimmons and Francis Brewu weren’t full-time starters but both graded out well and should step in nicely. Brewu especially has upside after performing well as a true freshman, being named to PFF’s All-Freshman team. Another DT Nick James started nine games but wasn’t nearly as productive as those two. Narduzzi brought in a trio of transfers that should all have major roles this year. 6th year senior Blaine Spires comes from Utah State and has played 1,762 snaps in his career. His best year came in ’23 with 27 pressures and 5 sk. Oregon transfer Jaeden Moore couldn’t crack the rotation in Eugene but looks to find a role here, while Joey Zelinsky (Eastern Michigan) brings some pass rushing chops. The negative of this group is they’re pretty light with all of the projected top guys weighing under 290 lbs.

Linebacker is much more of a sure thing for this defense. Studs Kyle Louis and Rasheem Biles are back for more after combining for 183 tkl, 13 sk, 17.5 TFL, 12 PBU and 5 INT. Louis and Biles are the heartbeat of this defense with elite athleticism for the position. Both were All-ACC honorees in ’24 and are the most underrated duo nationally, although Louis is a preseason AA this year. Junior Braylan Lovelace (51 tkl, 4 sk and 6.5 TFL) moves up as a full-time starter but will need to correct a poor 40.1 tackling grade to make this the best overall unit in the conference. Nick Lapi has the most experience behind them while former 4-star Jayden Bonsu (Ohio State) has a ton of upside as a converted safety.

Not many teams in the country have a linebacker duo as good as Kyle Louis (9) and Rasheem Biles (31) (Photo Credit: Barry Reeger / Imagn Images)

The Pitt secondary repeatedly got gashed last year, ranking 122nd in pass ypg allowed with 265.4 and 128th in pass explosiveness. Their leading tackler at safety is gone but so is CB Ryland Gandy, who was a big part of the problem allowing 19.6 yds/rec and had a poor 27.8% missed tackle percentage. The better starting corner of the two returns in Rashad Battle (36 tkl, 8 PBU). Tamon Lynum started a few games and graded out similarly to Gandy, but he did allow just 12.0 yds/rec and had a 76.6 passer rating against.

Between him and Battle, that’s nine years of college experience and two long corners at 6’2” and 6’3”. The safeties looks good with Javon McIntyre (51 tkl, 4 TFL, 3 PBU) back and Cruce Brookins (35 tkl, 2 INT, 2 PBU) ready to step into the other starting spot. McIntyre regressed a tad last season after a massive ‘23 but was still solid. The most experienced options outside of the top four both comes from below the FBS ranks.

Special Teams

3rd Tm All-ACC kicker Ben Sauls is off the NFL after one of the most productive careers in Pitt history. James London was excellent at Murray State last year (14-19 including 6-9 from 50+; 91.2 PFF grade) but after a shaky spring capped by an 0-2 performance in the spring game, there’s now a competition with sophomore Sam Carpenter. They do return punter Caleb Junko who saw overall improvement from ’23. The kick return game was solid and should be again as both Kenny Johnson and Desmond Reid are back after handling the majority of those opportunities.

Schedule

Although the Backyard Brawl in Week 3 has zero implications on the ACC standings, it feels like a crucial game with how their schedule sets up. Starting 3-0 heading into their first bye before two ACC home games would be huge. Rich Rod returning to Morgantown and coaching against Pitt for the first time since the shocking 2007 upset cost them a chance at a national title just adds extra flare to it. Their three toughest games (Notre Dame, Miami and Louisville) all come at home, with two coming off of byes. Overall I like the way their schedule plays out, although a finishing stretch of Notre Dame, at Georgia Tech and Miami doesn’t bode well for a team that collapsed down the stretch last year.

Overall Outlook

Pitt has spent at least three weeks in the national polls in 4 of their last past 5 seasons. The story of last season was the second half collapse, but injuries absolutely played a role. Continuity at QB is a huge plus for any program and Holstein should be better in year two. He’ll need receivers to step up into larger roles and the hope is that Kenny Johnson can make a leap towards stardom. This offense will still run through Desmond Reid so improved offensive line play and health is crucial to their operation. I love the linebackers to propel the defense and Narduzzi always seems to get production out of his defensive line, but the secondary has real questions in terms of limiting big plays and depth. On paper this screams 7-win team to me, unless they can pull a couple late upsets.