Pitt Football Roster Moves

The University of Pittsburgh officially announced the departures of several football players yesterday afternoon. Some guys are transferring, some are graduating and not using their fifth year of eligibility, and one player was removed from the team for conduct reasons. With a new coaching staff in charge, rosters tend to get flipped a little bit one way or another, and in fact, we knew about most of these moves before yesterday. Here is a quick rundown of what happened.

-- Titus Howard was officially dismissed from the Pitt football program.  Howard was suspended for the entire 2014 season, but many expected him to come in and compete for a starting cornerback spot going into next season. The Clairton standout played some as a true freshman and showed lots of promise, but obviously has had some off field issues that led to yesterday's events.  Hopefully for him he can straighten out and catch on at another program. It is rather unfortunate Howard never was able to sustain success here.

-- Trey Anderson decided to transfer for his fifth year of eligibility. Hard to blame the former walk-on from Texas brought on by Todd Graham to take a chance and possibly transfer closer to home.  Anderson gutted out his time here even after Graham left, and provided the program with depth and experience at the quarterback position.  Pitt fans were well aware of this move by Anderson for some time now, as Pat Narduzzi brought on local standout Ben DiNucci in the recruiting class, and swayed former Tennessee quarterback, Nathan Peterman, to transfer to Pitt to help fill the void.

-- Devin Cook decided to transfer to FCS Richmond for his fifth year of eligibility. Cook was a 6'4" defensive end originally from nearby Beaver Falls, PA.  Cook managed to play some in the 2012 season, including a big game against Virginia Tech, but injuries rattled most of his time at Pitt. He never was able to find a regular role on the team the past few seasons.

-- Luke Maclean has also opted to transfer out of the program. The 6'3" freshamn defensive end from Michigan redshirted in 2013, and was able to crack the depth chart this past season and appear in some games, but an injury ultimately ended his playing career here at Pitt. Maclean was a promising player at a position of need for the Panthers, but has decided to take his career elsewhere.

-- Connor Hayes also informed the coaching staff of his intention to transfer out of the program. Hayes was a redshirt freshman offensive linemen expected to be a backup this upcoming season. He may look to get closer to home, but decided Pitt was not the right fit for him anymore. Pitt has plenty of depth on the line, and though you don't like to see guys transfer, it comes at a position of great strength for this program.