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Bub Means believes that everything happens for a reason, and given the course his career has taken over the last three years, it’s hard not to agree.

The former three-star receiver prospect began his career at Tennessee, but he left the Volunteers after one year because he wanted to play receiver rather than defensive back, which he had been playing in Knoxville.

He ended up at Louisiana Tech, where he put up some impressive numbers in 2021 after sitting out the 2020 season due to NCAA transfer rules. But the transition to Sonny Cumbie’s new coaching staff this offseason didn’t seem to work for Means, and he entered the transfer portal once again earlier this month.

That’s a lot of transition for the first three years of college, but at one point during that journey, Means met Tiquan Underwood.

Underwood was the receivers coach at Rutgers and tried to land Means when he was transferring from Tennessee. That didn’t work out, but two years later, Means was back in the portal and Underwood was at Pitt.

This time, it all lined up.

“We had that little connection from before, so when I saw I had another chance to get coached by him, I couldn’t do anything but jump on that opportunity,” Means told Panther-Lair.com. “Everything happens for a reason, and we hooked up the second time around.”

That connection led Means to visit Pitt this past weekend, and before he left campus, the 6’2” 215-pound receiver was committed to the Panthers.

“I think it really hit me when they were talking about my development,” Means said. “I was meeting with the offensive coordinator and he was telling me all the things they focus on with receivers - about getting in and out of breaks, about using your stance, and that’s what I want to learn. I want to learn the science, and they were telling me all of that. They were teaching me and I like coaches who teach.

“Coach Underwood is a real cool dude. He’s been where want to be and he’s going to develop me as a receiver. I can make plays athletically but he’s going to help me as a route-runner and being a more complete receiver.”

Means knew Underwood from his previous experience in the transfer portal, but this past weekend was his first time meeting Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi.

“He’s a real good dude and I like him a lot,” Means said of Narduzzi. “He’s a people person. He cares more about the people than anything else and I appreciate everything about him. He gave see a great opportunity, even just bringing me up for the visit, and he cares about the people.

“You can go anywhere in the world but if you don’t like the people, you won’t be happy. He really puts the emphasis on the player.”

To that end, Means also spent plenty of time with players on Pitt’s current roster, and he found that he certainly likes the people he’ll be with when he joins the Panthers.

“I met B-Hill (Brandon Hill), Konata (Mumpfield); he transferred from Akron but we work out with the same person in Atlanta so I met him before,” Means said. “I saw Jordan (Addison), too, and a few defensive players.

“We all clicked real well. They want to win and that’s what I want. They told us straight-up: they want to win a natty and double back and win another ACC. They said they want to keep doing what they’re doing and keep winning.”

While Means is hopeful he can join the team on the field this season to contribute to those efforts, it remains to be seen if he will receiver a waiver from the NCAA to play immediately, since he has already transferred once. But Means isn’t wasting time wondering what the NCAA will ultimately decide.

“I’ve really learned to stop worrying about things,” he said. “I used to plan on, you know, I would be in a school and do three years and go to the league, and that was the plan. But after everything, I just started to go with believing that God will take care of everything and God blessed me with the opportunity to go to Pitt.”

So, when Louisiana Tech’s quarter ends, Means will pack up and move to Pittsburgh. This past weekend was his first time in the city, but he found it to be perfect - except for one thing.

“That was my first time in Pitt, and I thought it would be colder but it was great,” he said. “It’s a football town. The athletes who go there there to be pros; that’s where athletes go to be pros and that makes it perfect.

“It's just great there. The food is really good, too. They really have everything except sweet tea.”