Redshirt freshman defensive end goes into the portal

Pitt saw another defensive end go into the transfer portal this week when redshirt freshman Antonio Camon announced that he is leaving the Panthers.

Camon joined Pitt as a member of the 2023 recruiting class, committing during his official visit in June 2022 and picking the Panthers over offers from Boston College, Duke, Florida State, Iowa State, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, Maryland, Minnesota, Ole Miss, Nebraska, Penn State, Rutgers, South Carolina, Syracuse, Virginia Tech and West Virginia.

He was rated a 5.7 on the Rivals rating scale, which put him one-tenth of a point shy of being a four-star prospect. Camon was also the No. 87 recruit in the state of Florida for the 2023 class and the No. 39 strong-side defensive end prospect in the nation that year.

He did not appear in any games as a true freshman in 2023, but he ended spring camp 2024 with two sacks in the Blue-Gold Game last Saturday. In the player-led draft that set the rosters for the spring game, Camon was the sixth and final underclassman defensive end selected, following true freshman Sincere Edwards, fellow redshirt freshmen Maverick Gracio and David Ojiegbe and walk-on Zach Zollers.

Camon entered the transfer portal with four years of eligibility remaining.

Earlier this week, Pitt lost senior defensive end Dayon Hayes to the transfer portal, and while the loss of Camon likely won’t be as impactful as the loss of Hayes, it hurts the Panthers’ numbers.

With Hayes and Camon off the 2024 roster, Pitt is projected to enter the season with seven scholarship defensive ends:

Kansas State transfer Nate Matlack, redshirt sophomore Jimmy Scott, redshirt freshman Maverick Gracio and David Ojiegbe and true freshmen Zach Crothers, Sincere Edwards and Ty Yuhas. Super senior Bam Brima is also an option; while he worked at defensive tackle this spring, he has seen time at both end and tackle in his career, so he could move back outside to help the depth situation.

Following Camon’s departure, Pitt is currently projected to have 88 returning scholarship players for the 2024 season.