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Pitt will be without its top returning defensive lineman in 2017, as redshirt senior defensive tackle Jeremiah Taleni has been dismissed from the team, sources told Panther-Lair.com.

The loss of Taleni is a major blow to Pitt’s defensive line, as the Kaneohe (HI) native was the Panthers’ most experienced player up front with 21 career games played and four career starts. Three of those four starts came last season, when he missed the first six games before returning to play a major role after injuries struck the tackle position.

He finished 2016 with 24 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and three sacks, but no play was bigger than his contribution on a crucial fourth-and-1 in Pitt’s upset win over top-ranked Clemson.

While his career totals of eight tackles for loss and three sacks aren’t impressive in their quantity, they stand out by comparison to the rest of his position group: redshirt juniors Mike Herndon and Shane Roy, sophomore Amir Watts and redshirt freshmen Keyshon Camp and Rashad Wheeler make up the scholarship depth at tackle, and they have combined for two tackles for loss and one sack in their careers.

Taleni was significant for Pitt off the field, too. Throughout the spring, head coach Pat Narduzzi and defensive line coach Charlie Partridge praised the 6’2” 290-pound tackle, calling him the leader of not just the interior linemen but the defensive line as a whole - and perhaps even the defense.

With Taleni gone, Pitt’s rotation at defensive tackle gets even tighter. Watts and Camp were already expected to play a lot this season, and the starter next to Taleni would have been one of them. Now they could find themselves starting next to each other. Kam Carter will join the team this summer after transferring from Penn State via one year at a junior college, and he’ll compete for a starting job. Incoming freshman Jaylen Twyman could also see some playing time, depending on how the staff feels about the depth contributions of Herndon and Roy.