Pitt released its two-deep for the Sun Bowl on Tuesday. Here's a look at the notable changes in the wake of several transfers and opt-outs.
On the offensive side, the most prominent impact of the opt-outs came at starting quarterback and starting running back after Kedon Slovis transferred to BYU and Israel Abanikanda declared for the NFL.
Their replacements aren’t a surprise, though. Redshirt senior Nick Patti will take over for Slovis at quarterback, while sophomore Rodney Hammond will step in at running back for Abanikanda.
Pitt also lost receiver Jaylon Barden from the two-deep when the junior receiver transferred to Georgia Southern. The coaches elevated walk-on Jake McConnachie to the depth chart as a corresponding move. McConnachie played in two games this season, loggia two snaps each in the wins at Virginia and Miami. He also played 16 snaps in 2021.
Along the offensive line, senior tackle Gabe Houy announced that he will not be playing in the Sun Bowl. He appeared in nine total games this season and started five of the final six, but injuries limited his contributions for most of the year.
As such, redshirt junior Matt Goncalves made seven starts at left tackle and five at right tackle; with Houy out, Goncalves is back to his starting role at left tackle. For the right tackle spot, redshirt sophomore Branson Taylor is the listed starter; he started three games there this season, with the most recent start coming in the win at Virginia.
On the defensive side, Pitt will have to replace two starting ends after John Morgan transferred to Arkansas and Deslin Alexandre announced he is opting out of the Sun Bowl. Redshirt senior Habakkuk Baldonado is listed as the starter at one end spot, but he only played nine games this season and missed the final two games of the regular season.
Redshirt senior Chris Maloney is listed as Baldonado’s backup, and freshman Samuel Okunlola, who played at Virginia and Miami, made his two-deep debut as the second backup.
At the other end spot, Dayon Hayes is listed as the starter. He played 61 snaps in the final two games of the season and figures to be a projected starter next season.
There were a few adjustments at linebacker - some due to departures and some not. SirVocea Dennis announced that he will not be playing in the Sun Bowl, and the coaches responded by listing Shayne Simon as the starter there; Simon started every game at Money linebacker but played some snaps at middle linebacker throughout the season.
Simon’s backup in the middle is senior Brandon George, who played just three games this season while dealing with an injury. He is expected to be available for the Sun Bowl, but limiting his participation to only four games this season will allow him to preserve a redshirt and have eligibility remaining for 2023 and 2024.
With Simon moving to the middle, Tylar Wiltz shifted to the starting job at Money linebacker and freshman Kyle Louis, who has played three games on special teams, was elevated to backup Star linebacker behind Bangally Kamara.
In the secondary, everything was status quo other than the boundary safety position, where Javon McIntyre was elevated to the starting role after Brandon Hill declared for the NFL.
The significant change on special teams was the absence of redshirt junior kicker Sam Scarton. He had been Ben Sauls’ backup but did not appear in any games this season and does not appear on the official roster for the Sun Bowl.
