Pitt freshman running back Malik Newton’s college career has ended before it started.

The midyear enrollee from Norfolk (Va.) arrived at Pitt in January, but Pat Narduzzi announced on Friday that he is “medically disqualified” after team doctors found an unspecified medical condition that will prevent him from playing.

“I’m not going to get into what it is, but I feel bad for Malik and his family,” Narduzzi said during a press conference previewing spring camp on Friday. “You come midyear to college, you think you’re going to play football and we’ve got some of the greatest doctors in the world here in Pittsburgh and then they find out some things that are not going to allow him to play football here at Pitt.

“So he’s a guy that will be with us. He’s on our football team. He’ll be medical’d and we’ll continue to hug him up and love him up and make sure he gets his degree here if he chooses to stay at Pitt.”

Pitt previously had players medically disqualified after enrolling in the summer of 2016 when defensive back George Hill and defensive end Zack Gilbert were ruled out prior to their first training camp.

Newton was a prolific back in high school, rushing for 4,053 yards over the course of three seasons. That included an outstanding junior season, when he ran for 2,060 yards and scored 32 touchdowns to lead Lake Taylor to the Virginia Class 4A championship.

Newton was also named the Class 4A Offensive Player of the Year and was twice named the Abe Goldblatt All-Tidewater Football Player of the Year.

Newton was a significant piece in Pitt’s 2021 recruiting class. He ranked among the top 20 running back prospects in the nation and picked the Panthers over offers from Clemson, Louisville, Maryland, Nebraska, North Carolina, Penn State, Purdue, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Virginia, Virginia Tech and West Virginia.

Pitt also signed running back Rodney Hammond in the 2021 class, and the Panthers also return senior A.J. Davis, redshirt senior Todd Sibley, junior Vincent Davis, redshirt sophomore Daniel Carter and sophomore Israel Abanikanda.

Newton was one of 10 freshmen to enroll in January, along with quarterback Nate Yarnell, tight ends Jake Renda and Gavin Bartholomew, offensive linemen Trey Andersen, Terrence Enos and Terrence Rankl, defensive end Nahki Johnson, receiver Myles Alston and safety Phillip O’Brien.