Published Nov 22, 2023
The two-deep: Injuries lead to changes, plus other personnel notes
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Chris Peak  •  Pitt Sports News
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@pantherlair

Pitt's official two-deep for the week features several changes, from the starting quarterback to injury-related moves on each side of the ball. Here's a look at the depth chart and other personnel notes.

Offense
Pos.PlayerPlayerPlayer

QB

Nate Yarnell

Christian Veilleux

Phil Jurkovec

RB

C'Bo Flemister OR

Rodney Hammond

Daniel Carter

Derrick Davis

WR

Bub Means

Jake McConnachie

Lamar Seymore

WR

Konata Mumpfield

Zion Fowler-El

Israel Polk

WR

Daejon Reynolds OR

Kenny Johnson

Che Nwabuko


TE

Karter Johnson OR

Malcolm Epps

Jake Renda


LT

Branson Taylor

Jackson Brown

LG

Jake Kradel

Blake Zubovic

Jason Collier

C

Terrence Moore

Jake Kradel

RG

BJ Williams OR

Jason Collier

Isaiah Montgomery

RT

Ryan Baer

Terrence Enos

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- The coaches made two notable changes on the offensive two-deep. To start, they moved Nate Yarnell into the No. 1 spot at quarterback after he started the win over Boston College last Thursday.

- The staff also removed Gavin Bartholomew from the two-deep. Bartholomew was injured in the loss to Syracuse at Yankee Stadium and did not dress for the Boston College game; Pat Narduzzi announced on Monday that Bartholomew is out for what remains of the rest of the season.

- With Bartholomew out, Karter Johnson played a career-high 50 snaps, according to Pro Football Focus, while Malcolm Epps played a season-high 30 - the most he has seen in a single game since 2021.

- Pitt used its ninth different starting offensive line combination of the season in the win over Boston College, going with Branson Taylor at left tackle, Blake Zubovic at left guard, Terrence Moore at center, Jake Kradel at right guard and Ryan Baer at right tackle.

- Freshman BJ Williams rotated in at right guard on the final drive of the first half. In the second half, the coaches flipped Zubovic to right guard and Kradel to left guard to open the third quarter, rotated Williams in at right guard later in the quarter and then went with Zubovic (left) and Kradel (right) for the rest of the game.

- Through 11 games, here are the starters Pitt has used on the offensive line:

Branson Taylor - 10 starts (3 at right tackle, 7 at left tackle)
Terrence Moore - 8 starts (all at center)
Ryan Baer - 8 starts (7 at right tackle, 1 at left tackle)
Jake Kradel - 7 starts (3 at center, 3 at left guard, 1 at right guard)
Jason Collier - 7 starts (4 at right guard, 3 at left guard)
Blake Zubovic - 6 starts (5 at left guard, 1 at right guard)
BJ Williams - 5 starts (all at right guard)
Matt Goncalves - 3 starts (all at left tackle)
Terrence Enos - 1 start (right tackle)

- Not one offensive lineman has started every game for the Panthers this season. And of the eight linemen who have started multiple games, Moore, Williams and Goncalves are the only ones to make all of their starts at the same position.

Defense
Pos.PlayerPlayerPlayer

DE

Dayon Hayes

Samuel Okunlola

Nahki Johnson

DT

Deandre Jules

Sean FitzSimmons


DT

David Green

Tyler Bentley

Elliot Donald

DE

Nate Temple

Bam Brima

Jimmy Scott

Star

Solomon DeShields

Kyle Louis

MLB

Shayne Simon

Brandon George

Money

Bangally Kamara

Braylan Lovelace OR

Nick Lapi


CB

Marquis Williams OR

A.J. Woods


CB

M.J. Devonshire

Ryland Gandy

SS

Donovan McMillon

Stephon Hall

FS

Javon McIntyre

Phillip O'Brien

- The only change on the defensive two-deep was at defensive tackle, where super senior Devin Danielson is out for the year after suffering an injury in the loss to Syracuse and subsequently missing the win over Boston College.

- With Danielson out, Pitt’s four-man rotation at defensive tackle basically whittled down to three: Tyler Bentley led the way with 47 snaps, according to Pro Football Focus, while Deandre Jules played 45 and David Green played 36. After those three, there was a long drop-off to Elliot Donald (5 snaps) and Sean FitzSimmons (4 snaps).

- Nate Temple did not play against Boston College, leading to Samuel Okunlola’s first career start at defensive end, and Okunlola finished the game with 46 snaps - two fewer than fellow starter Dayon Hayes.

Bam Brima played 25 snaps at defensive end in that game, but more notable was the presence of redshirt freshman Jimmy Scott, who logged a career-high 21 snaps.

- Pitt has used more young players at linebacker than any other position on defense this season, but last Thursday was a bit of an exception, as redshirt freshman Kyle Louis logged 13 snaps and true freshmen Jordan Bass and Braylan Lovelace played four and two, respectively.

Special teams
Pos.PlayerPlayerPlayer

K

Ben Sauls

Samuel Carpenter

P

Caleb Junko

Cam Guess

H

Cam Guess

Caleb Junko

LS

Byron Floyd

James Fineran

KR

A.J. Woods OR

Kenny Johnson

Bub Means

Che Nwabuko

PR

M.J. Devonshire

Konata Mumpfield

KO

Ben Sauls

Samuel Carpenter