The Pitt football team is no stranger to transfer players in the new era of college sports. With transfer players making a large percentage of their contributions, Pitt has embraced the transfer era. Here is the current list of Pitt\u2019s additions and who they\u2019ve lost ahead of the 2026-27 season.<\/p>\n
Transfers In\n<\/p>\n
Redshirt junior offensive tackle Netinho Olivieri \u2014 Penn\n<\/p>\n
Olivieri transferred in on Jan. 4, becoming the first transfer of the 2026 class. Olivieri was a 2025 First Team All-Ivy League honoree at left tackle, starting all 10 games for Penn.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Redshirt junior wide receiver Malik Knight \u2014 Western Carolina\n<\/p>\n
Knight was the top receiving option at Western Carolina, hauling in 47 catches, 774 yards and seven touchdowns this season at the FCS level. Knight was the second commitment of the 2026 class, joining the team on Jan. 7.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Redshirt junior offensive guard Keylen Davis \u2014 Akron\n<\/p>\n
Davis was a Third Team All-MAC honoree at right guard and has started in 22-of-31 appearances in college. Davis signed with Pitt on Jan. 7.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Redshirt junior cornerback Kanye Thompson, R-Jr. \u2014 Slippery Rock (DII)\n<\/p>\n
On Jan. 8, McKeesport High School alum Thompson committed to Pitt following a season that saw him earn All-PSAC honors, notching 60 tackles, 5.5 for a loss, three sacks, 10 passes defended and four forced fumbles. Thompson is a multi-sport athlete and ran a 10.13-second 100-meter dash, the fastest in PSAC history. He is expected to start.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Junior cornerback CB Raion Strader \u2014 Auburn\n<\/p>\n
Strader is a transfer from SEC stalwart Auburn, where he made the move on Jan. 8, where he played one season, playing in all of Auburn\u2019s games and logging no starts. In 2023 and 2024, the WPIAL alum played in 25 games, starting 22. Strader earned the 2024 MAC Cornerback of the Year and finished the 2025 season tied for third-most career pass breakups.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Redshirt first-year long snapper Justin Schmidt \u2014 Purdue\n<\/p>\n
The Purdue transfer hails from WPIAL powerhouse Thomas Jefferson, and fills a need with the transfers of Crawford and Searcy and the graduation of Nilay Upadhyayula. He is set to start.<\/p>\n
Redshirt junior tight end Carson Kent \u2014 Oklahoma\n<\/p>\n
Kent is a 4-year college player, beginning his collegiate career at Kennesaw State for three seasons, including their final two FCS seasons and their first at the FBS level. At Oklahoma, Kent had three catches for 23 yards and is likely to see an elevated role in Pittsburgh.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Redshirt sophomore punter Gabe Russo \u2014 Idaho State\n<\/p>\n
Russo is a transfer from FCS Idaho State who averaged 46.3 yards per punt and will likely take the starting role following the departure of Caleb Junko.<\/p>\n
Redshirt senior running back La\u2019Vell Wright \u2014 Western Kentucky\n<\/p>\n
Wright rushed for 10 touchdowns for Western Kentucky this season, an offense mostly predicated on the pass game. With 6 running back departures, Wright is expected to receive a large platoon role. Wright also had stops at Kentucky and Austin Peay<\/p>\n
Redshirt sophomore defensive tackle Jeremiah Warren \u2014 Illinois\n<\/p>\n
Warren is a rotational defensive tackle with Big Ten experience and has 13 tackles across 26 games played in three seasons at Illinois.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Junior tight end Elijah Lagg \u2014 UAB\n<\/p>\n
Lagg joins Pitt after two seasons at junior college and his third season at UAB. He will likely split touches with Kent at the tight end position.<\/p>\n
Redshirt sophomore linebacker DeMarco Ward \u2014 Memphis\n<\/p>\n
Ward will aid a linebacker room reeling from the loss of Rasheem Biles to Texas, but will have to compete with young talent to crack into the rotation.<\/p>\n
Sophomore kicker Samuel Hunsaker \u2014 Northern Arizona\n<\/p>\n
After the surprise transfer by Butkowski, Hunsaker joins the team from the FCS level and will likely take the starting role due to Carpenter\u2019s transfer. Hunsaker is 15-of-22 on field goals and 63-of-64 on extra points.<\/p>\n
Redshirt sophomore defensive tackle Eliyt Nairne \u2014 Tulane\n<\/p>\n
Nairne transfers to Pitt following a season at Tulane as a rotational piece. He was a starter at Liberty in 2024 and will factor into a big defensive line grouping.<\/p>\n
Junior linebacker Alex Sanford Jr. \u2014 Purdue\n<\/p>\n
Sanford is a fourth-year player with experience at both Arkansas and Purdue, where he has seen time as mostly a rotational linebacker and special teamer. He could fill a similar role as Gracio did before his departure.<\/p>\n
Transfers Out\n<\/p>\n
Senior quarterback Cole Gonzales \u2014 Charlotte\n<\/p>\n
2025 season: 3 GP, 0 GS, 11 Cmp, 22 Att, 118 yd, 1TD, 1 Int<\/p>\n
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Eli Holstein \u2014 Virginia\n<\/p>\n
2025 season: 8 GP, 4 GS, 77 Cmp, 125 Att, 1081 yd, 12 TD, 6 Int<\/p>\n
Holstein began the season as the starting quarterback then was benched in favor of true first-year quarterback Mason Heintschel after four games.<\/p>\n
Redshirt sophomore quarterback David Lynch \u2014 Holy Cross\n<\/p>\n
2025 season: 0 appearances\n<\/p>\n
2024 season: 3 GP 1 GS, 16 Cmp, 27 Att, 111 yd, 0 TD, 3 Int<\/p>\n
Redshirt senior running back Derrick Davis Jr.\n<\/p>\n
2025 season: 0 appearances, out with injury\n<\/p>\n
2024 season: 27 att, 70 yd, 2 TD\n<\/p>\n
Redshirt first-year running back Juelz Goff \u2014 Boise State\n<\/p>\n
2025 season:12 GP, 69 att, 270 yd, 5 TD\n<\/p>\n
Redshirt sophomore running back Caleb Williams\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
2025 season: 6 GP, 7 att, 10 yd\n<\/p>\n
Junior wide receiver Kenny Johnson \u2014 Texas Tech\n<\/p>\n
2023 to 2025: 38 GP, 109 rec, 1354 yd, 9 TD\n<\/p>\n
Redshirt sophomore wide receiver Zion Fowler-El\n<\/p>\n
2025 season: 8 GP, 7 rec, 80 yd\n<\/p>\n
Redshirt sophomore wide receiver\/defensive back Jesse Anderson \u2014 Kentucky\n<\/p>\n
2025 season: 10 GP on special teams, 2 tackles\n<\/p>\n
Sophomore tight end Malachi Thomas \u2014 LSU\n<\/p>\n
2025 season: 13 GP, 13 rec, 192 yd\n<\/p>\n
Redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Tai Ray \u2014 Western Kentucky\n<\/p>\n
2025 season: 13 GP\n<\/p>\n
Redshirt senior offensive lineman Lyndon Cooper \u2014 Vanderbilt\n<\/p>\n
2025 season: 13 GP, starting center, 2,118 career snaps\n<\/p>\n
Redshirt junior offensive lineman Jackson Brown \u2014 UNLV\n<\/p>\n
2025 season: 10 GP\n<\/p>\n
Redshirt first-year offensive lineman Caleb Holmes\n<\/p>\n
2025 season: 0 GP\n<\/p>\n
Sophomore defensive tackle Francis Brewu \u2014 Notre Dame\n<\/p>\n
2025 season: 36 tackles, 8 TFLs, 2 sacks\n<\/p>\n
Redshirt first-year defensive tackle Jahsear Whittington \u2014 Nebraska\n<\/p>\n
2025 season: 10 GP, 12 tackles, 1 sack\n<\/p>\n
Redshirt sophomore defensive end Maverick Gracio \u2014 Ball State\n<\/p>\n
2024 season: blocked punt against West Virginia\n<\/p>\n
2025 season: 7 GP, 4 tackles, 1 sack\n<\/p>\n
Junior linebacker Rasheem Biles\u00a0 \u2014 Texas\n<\/p>\n
2025 season: Second Team All-ACC, 101 tackles, 17 TFLs, 4.5 sacks, 2 Int<\/p>\n
Redshirt first-year cornerback Davion Pritchard \u2014 Kent State\n<\/p>\n
2025 season: 2 GP, 1 tackle\n<\/p>\n
Redshirt junior cornerback Matthew Amofa\n<\/p>\n
2025 season: 0 GP\n<\/p>\n
Redshirt senior safety Marcus Serrano\n<\/p>\n
2025 season: 0 GP\n<\/p>\n
Redshirt sophomore kicker Sam Carpenter\n<\/p>\n
2025 season: 9 GP, 6\/6 XP, 1\/3 FG\n<\/p>\n
First-year kicker Trey Butkowski \u2014 Michigan\n<\/p>\n
2025 season: 11 GP, 43\/44 XP, 20\/23 FG\n<\/p>\n
Redshirt junior long snapper Nico Crawford \u2014 Michigan\n<\/p>\n
2025 season: 13 GP\n<\/p>\n
First-year long snapper Henry Searcy \u2014 Charlotte\n<\/p>\n
2025 season: 0 GP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Pitt football team is no stranger to transfer players in the new era of college sports. With…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":681736,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2026],"tags":[7,28748,22169,4156],"class_list":["post-681735","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-football","tag-pitt-football","tag-pitt-panthers","tag-transfer-portal"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115904813070019888","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/681735","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=681735"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/681735\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/681736"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=681735"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=681735"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=681735"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}