Pitt’s running game will get a big boost for the Panthers’ trip to North Carolina this weekend, as head coach Pat Narduzzi announced Thursday afternoon that senior running back Rodney Hammond has been reinstated and will play against the Tar Heels.

Prior to the start of the season, the program announced that Hammond was ineligible for unspecified reasons, and the ineligibility was announced as being season-long.

But efforts to rescue Hammond’s senior season were successful, and the Norfolk (Va.) native will be available for the Panthers in the next eight regular-season games.

Hammond was Pitt's leading rusher in 2023, running for 547 yards and four touchdowns while also catching eight passes for 60 yards. He entered 2024 with 1,511 rushing yards and 14 rushing touchdowns and 190 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns on 22 receptions over the course of his three-year career. He appeared in a total of 32 games with eight starts over that span.

In Hammond’s absence this season, Western Carolina transfer Desmond Reid emerged as one of the team’s top playmakers. He is Pitt’s leader in rushing and all-purpose yards, having gained 319 yards on the ground, 167 receiving yards and 78 yards on a punt return against Kent State in the season opener.

Reid has also scored a team-high five touchdowns - one rushing, three receiving and one on a punt return.

Reis is also No. 3 in the ACC in rushing yards per game, and he is one of four players in the conference to average more than 100 rushing yards per game. His average of 7.3 yards per carry ranks second among ACC backs with at least 40 rushing attempts this season.

And when Reid missed the Youngstown State game as a cautionary measure, super senior Daniel Carter responded with the best game of his career, going for 109 yards and two touchdowns on seven carries and catching one pass for 13 yards and another score.

With Hammond back in the mix, Pitt should be able to deploy him and Reid with Carter as the third back. Redshirt junior Derrick Davis is also an option, although he left the Youngstown State game with an injury.

After four games, Pitt’s rushing attack ranks No. 5 in the ACC, averaging 192.5 yards per game. The Panthers are No. 1 in the conference with a per-rush average of 6.4 yards.