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With training camp one month away, Pitt’s projected scholarship roster for the 2022 season is nearly full.
As of the first week of July, the Panthers are projected to have 84 scholarship players - one shy of the NCAA-mandated limit of 85.
Those 84 scholarship players include seven super seniors - players whose standard eligibility has expired but have one additional year due to being on a roster during the “Covid year” of 2020. That includes transfer quarterback Derek Kyler, transfer linebacker Tylar Wiltz, defensive end Deslin Alexandre and offensive linemen Owen Drexel, Gabe Houy, Marcus Minor and Carter Warren.
Those seven super seniors push the total number of scholarship seniors on the roster to 27 - a giant amount in today’s world of college football and 32% of the available scholarships. Similar, Pitt’s junior-eligible class in 2022 is a big one, with 21 juniors or redshirt juniors on the projected scholarship roster.
Of those 21, 14 have taken redshirts but all 21 will be eligible to play not just in 2023 but also 2024 as super seniors.
The potential super seniors don’t end there, though. The NCAA granted an extra year of eligibility to any player who was on a roster in 2020; that means that Pitt’s five redshirt sophomores this season - offensive lineman Branson Taylor, defensive end Sam Williams, linebacker Aydin Henningham, cornerback Jahvante Royal and kicker Ben Sauls - will all be eligible to play through the 2025 season, if they are so inclined.
The remaining 31 freshmen, redshirt freshmen and true sophomores on the roster will not have that option.
Still, so much of the roster is concentrated in the top two classes. 48 of the current 84 scholarship players are junior or senior-eligible, which is atypical; usually most of the scholarships are in the lower classes and the numbers thin out as classes progress. But with a top-heavy roster, Pitt should be in position to take several larger recruiting classes in 2023 and 2024.
