Like a lot of players who came to college from the recruiting classes of 2018 and 2019, Bub Means has some decisions to make this offseason.
As a redshirt senior, he can return to Pitt for one more season as a super senior; he can look to the transfer portal and use that super senior season at a different school; or he can pursue a career in the NFL.
The transfer portal is probably the least likely option for Means since he already transferred twice, leaving Tennessee after his freshman season in 2019 and spending two years at Louisiana Tech before arriving at Pitt last season.
But the other two options - returning to the Panthers or trying the pro route - are in play for Means, and he said Tuesday that he hasn’t made any decisions about what he’ll do after Pitt’s season ends this Saturday at Duke.
“I don’t really look forward into next season,” Means said. “I haven’t even thought about what I’m going to do after the season. I haven’t even put no thoughts into it. So I’m just looking forward to 1-0 this week. If I can go 4-8 instead of 3-9, that’s my whole goal right now. That’s the only goal I can think of, only thing on my mind: making a play and helping my team get the win.”
Before last Thursday’s win over Boston College at Acrisure Stadium, Means participated in Pitt’s Senior Night activities, walking with 16 other Pitt seniors for what is typically the ceremonial end of their college careers. But the introduction of the “Covid year” and super senior eligibility after the NCAA granted an extra year of eligibility to any player who was on a roster in 2020 has changed the classic meaning of “Senior Night.”
In the last few years, Pitt players have participated in Senior Night and returned the next year (most notably Kenny Pickett, who participated in 2020 and came back in 2021), and others have declined to walk but ended up leaving anyway.
The transfer portal has further muddied the waters, but with Means’ status as a two-time transfer, that would seem to be unlikely.
Still, when asked on Tuesday if he planed to play for Pitt next season, he answered immediately with “Yes, sir” before adding the following elaboration.
“I don’t even think too much, too far into it. I still have school left and stuff like that, so I don’t even think too far into the future. I told you: I’m not making no decisions. I’m thinking about 1-0 this week against Duke.”
As it stands entering the season finale, Means has caught 35 passes for 636 yards and five touchdowns. He ranks among the top 10 in the ACC in receptions and receiving yards and is tied with three other players - including his Pitt teammate, Konata Mumpfield - for 12th in the conference in receiving touchdowns.
But those stats were dampened by the first four games, when Means caught just six passes for 71 yards - a far cry from the expectations that had been built through considerable hype over the summer.
In the last seven games, though, Means has been really, really good. His 29 catches, 565 yards and five touchdowns over that stretch work out to a pace that would give him 49 catches for 968 yards and nine touchdowns over a 12-game schedule, and that kind of production would have him right near the top of the ACC in every category.
That hot streak since the Week Five loss at Virginia Tech seems to have given a glimpse of Means’ potential, but he believes he can do more.
“I feel like I still haven’t shown - I haven’t got a chance to show - completely what I can do, because we still struggle as an offense,” Means said Tuesday. “You all see it: we still struggle as an offense. But I feel like, as the games went on, we’ve clicked here and there. We’re still faced with adversity now and then, but I feel like we’ve got chances as a receiver room - not just me, but a few other receivers, we have a chance to make a few plays and showcase our talent, and I feel like we’ve been making the best out of our opportunity. So I can’t do nothing but be thankful for the opportunities I’ve gotten over the last few games. I understand that if we would have been able to click earlier, the stats might look different. But we can’t control that, so I don’t even try to dwell on that.”
While Means is still making a decision on his own future, he does have a fair amount of confidence about what the future holds for his teammates who will return to play for Pitt next season - even to the point of sounding like he might be inclined to stay with them.
“I want to be able to finish strong and then next year we can shock the world,” Means said. “This whole team, we have so much talent on this team. I feel like, at quarterback, on the line, at skill positions, DB, linebacker, defensive line, whatever you want to call it, we have so much talent on this team. So I feel like this year, which, we had our ups and downs, we faced a lot of adversity, but next year, I feel like, if we could just win out and bring some momentum into next year, I feel like we can do something special next year.”
