The updated Scholarship Board
MORE HEADLINES - Video: Narduzzi's first press conference | FULL TRANSCRIPT: Everything Narduzzi said at his Monday press conference | The first two-deep is out: What was notable in the first depth chart? | Under the Lights: How did Pitt's commits do this weekend? | FREE ARTICLE: Pitt adding grad transfer QB | The latest Pitt football Mailbag | 12 in 12: Breaking down Notre Dame | PODCAST: New scholarships, a new addition, Shawn Watson and more
With the news of two walk-ons getting scholarships, Pitt seems to have formally filled its 2018 scholarship allotment, as the Panthers are poised to enter the regular season with a full complement of 85 players on scholarship.
The final two spots were handed out last week. The first went to Jim Medure, a redshirt junior from Neshannock who played in 11 games on special teams last season to earn his first varsity letter. Medure has played linebacker and defensive end in his time at Pitt, but he moved to tight end this summer.
Tight ends coach Tim Salem said last week before Medure went on scholarship that the move wasn’t just made for depth.
“If Jimmy Medure was playing tomorrow, I would sleep tonight. That’s a confidence thing with a coach, going to bed saying, ‘I have all the confidence in the world that kid’s going to play and go play.’ So if he’s in the game, I have no problem with that kid.”
In the first published depth chart of the season, Medure was listed as George Aston’s backup at fullback. There’s overlap between that position and the tight ends, as Matt Flanagan and Tyler Sear both worked at fullback last season after Aston was injured, and Sear has practiced there as well this year.
McAlone, a redshirt senior receiver, was an obvious candidate for the other scholarship spot. He entered training camp as the only three-time letter-winner after contributing on special teams in each of the last three seasons. Plus, he has put in considerable time off the field in various volunteer efforts and has generally been a positive representative of the Pitt football program.
“He's done so much community service-wise,” Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi said Monday. “The guy works his tail off in anything he does on the football field. So he deserved that scholarship. It started with what he did on the field.”
Medure and McAlone appear to have taken the final two scholarships. Since both players have been in the program for more than two years, neither counts against Pitt’s allotment of 25 initial scholarships for the 2018-19 school year (a number that becomes relevant as the Pitt coaches look to “count back” any recruits who enroll in January).
Those two additions to the scholarship roster don’t change much with the needs at each position, though. McAlone is done after 2018; Medure has one year of eligibility remaining after this season. While he will be on the roster in 2019, the coaches will likely proceed with their plan at tight end, which could mean adding one more high school commitment to go with JUCO transfer Travis Koontz and West Deptford (NJ) standout Jason Collier, a prospect with enough size to potentially move to offensive tackle.
At receiver, McAlone’s spot will open again after this season, but the coaches weren’t setting the target number high at that position in the 2019 class. They have one commitment in Jared Wayne and could potentially take another if the right prospect wants to commit. But the numbers are fairly strong throughout the current receiver roster, with Taysir Mack as a redshirt sophomore, Dontavius Butler-Jenkins, Michael Smith and Darian Street as redshirt freshmen and Shocky Jacques-Louis and Cameron O’Neil as true freshmen.