DeShields enters transfer portal
The transfer portal kept on spinning this morning around the Pitt football program. Senior linebacker Solomon DeShields is reportedly entering the transfer portal as well, making the third entry this week following behind the announcements of Dayon Hayes on Monday and Christian Veilleux from earlier this morning.
DeShields, a fifth year senior, will have one year of eligibility at his next stop. Entering the 2024 season, DeShields was set to be one of Pitt’s top players on the defensive side of the ball. In the 2023 season, DeShields started 11 of the team’s 12 games and recorded 58 tackles, eight TFLs, and two sacks. He was a four-year contributor at Pitt, appearing in 41 games total.
He was a three-star recruit in the class of 2020 out of Millville (NJ). DeShields initially chose Pitt over offers from Auburn, Iowa State, Kentucky, Michigan State, Missouri, Oregon, Rutgers, Virginia Tech, and West Virginia. He was considered one of Pitt's top recruit in the 2020 class and appeared in four games as a true freshman while maintaining his redshirt. From 2021-2022, he was a big player on special teams before earning a starting nod this past season.
The departure of DeShields marks the second starting linebacker to leave via the transfer portal this offseason, following Bangally Kamara who left at the conclusion of the 2023 season before landing at South Carolina. Shayne Simon, the team’s other starting linebacker for 2023, graduated, thus leaving the Panthers having to fill three starting spots.
The group is not without talent, however. Pitt has promising young players expected to return like Jordan Bass, Rasheem Biles, Kyle Louis, and Braylan Lovelace. Veteran Brandon George is still with the program, and Pitt added all-MAC linebacker Keye Thompson from the portal.
The departure of DeShields is the third since Pitt wrapped up spring football. It will still not be the last as the team is still projected to be over the 85-man scholarship as of today. Obviously in the case of DeShields and Hayes, these departures were not ones the Pitt program wanted to see.