New depth chart reflects injuries and more

The Pitt coaches made a number of changes to the depth chart for Week Five. Here’s a look at who the Panthers listed heading into the ACC opener against Georgia Tech on Saturday at Acrisure Stadium.

The main change on offense was at running back, where Israel Abanikanda sits as the No. 1 back without any “OR” designation. Abanikanda was the listed starter on the first two-deep of the season, but he added an “OR” with Rodney Hammond entering Week Two after Hammond ran for a team-high 74 yards and two touchdowns in the season-opening win over West Virginia.

Of course, Hammond was also injured in that game and has not played since, but the coaches continued to list him as an “OR” co-starter with Abanikanda. This week, though, the staff removed the “OR” and Abanikanda, who leads the ACC and ranks sixth nationally with 479 rushing yards and has scored six rushing touchdowns, is now the lone starter.

For whatever it’s worth, Hammond is still listed on the two-deep, although he is likely to be out for a few more weeks.

The coaches made several adjustments to the defensive two-deep, removing two players who will not be available for the rest of the season due to injury. Redshirt junior Nate Temple had been a top reserve at defensive end, but he left the win at Western Michigan with an injury and did not play last Saturday against Rhode Island; Pat Narduzzi said Monday that Temple will be out for the year, and Temple is not on this week’s two-deep.

Similarly, junior cornerback Rashad Battle had been one of the primary reserves at his position, but he has not played since the Week Two loss to Tennessee, and Narduzzi also announced that he will miss the remainder of the season.

The staff made another change at cornerback beyond removing Battle. For the first time this season, M.J. Devonshire is listed as a starter; previously, he had been a backup to Marquis Williams, despite starting two games this season.

In this week’s two-deep, Devonshire is listed as a starter ahead of A.J. Woods.

Narduzzi and company also fixed the outside linebacker listing, moving Solomon DeShields to the reserve Money linebacker spot and Tylar Wiltz to backup Star. They had been flipped on the first four releases of the season despite playing the positions where they are listed this week.