Branson Taylor always appeared to be the heir apparent to take over at left tackle once Carter Warren graduated. Ever since Pitt landed Taylor as a three-star recruit out of Ohio in the class of 2020, the coaching staff had been high on his ability and hopeful for his future.

The time for Taylor to take over as Pitt’s starting left tackle has come a bit sooner than expected, however.

On Monday of this week, Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi announced that Warren is out for the season. Warren has actually been out the past two games anyway, but now it is official that his Pitt career is over with a season-ending injury.

Warren has started at left tackle for 39 games dating back to the 2019 season. He is a team captain and is very likely off to play in the NFL next season.

“It certainly hurts,” Pitt offensive line coach Dave Borbely said when asked what it meant to lose his left tackle for the year. “I know he’s disappointed, I’m disappointed, but we take the next man up mentality.”

Taylor is that next man up, and has been contributing to this offense since the first game of the season. The Ohio native was on the field during Pitt’s dramatic 92-yard game tying drive against West Virginia. He received more and more playing time each week, and earned starting assignments in Pitt’s past two games.

“I feel like I’ve grown a lot,” Taylor said of the added playing time. “I mean experience comes with experience, so you’ve just got to be on that field and gain that experience and that comes with playing. I think I’ve grown a lot in these last two weeks.”

It’s a bittersweet feeling for Taylor to take over as starting left tackle like this. Warren had been his mentor since he arrived in Pittsburgh, and the two are close on and off the field.

“I’m trying to work just like Carter did,” Taylor explained. "Me and him work a lot through the offseason. He’s been my mentor ever since I’ve got here. My freshman year, he took me under his wing.”

The Pitt offensive line has seemingly been playing better each and every week. The offense produced the single best rushing performance in school history when Izzy Abanikanda rushed for 320 yards and six touchdowns in the team’s last game against Virginia Tech.

Taylor feels that confidence growing inside the room.

“I mean there’s always little things to clean up, but just confidence and that comes with playing with each other,” he explained. “I think we’re clicking now, so just keep the ball rolling.”

Borbely has been especially pleased with Taylor’s maturity and comfort level taking on such a big role in the offense.

“For a young player, he’s been very composed,” the Pitt assistant said of Taylor. “He’s developed very nicely and kind of right on schedule from what I thought he would become. I think the biggest thing that has impressed me has been his composure as a starter and his composure on the sideline and being able to tell me what’s happening out there to him.”

Taylor has a chance to become a stalwart on the offensive line much like Warren had been previously for the past 3 1/2 years, but the pressure is not solely on him for the rest of the 2022 campaign. He will likely start at left tackle moving forward, but will work in a rotation with a pair of veterans.

“I mean, we have a three-man race right now,” Pat Narduzzi said in his press conference on Monday. “I mean, you got (Taylor), you've got Gabe and Goncalves. Those are your three guys, the three-man rotation.”