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Pitt defensive lineman Jaylen Twyman was the Panthers’ breakout player of the year in 2019, as he ascended from second-string status to become the star of the team’s potent defense. With that rapid ascent came speculation that he would enter the NFL draft and move on to a professional career, but that was quieted on Thursday night, as Twyman’s father revealed his son would stay at Pitt for another season.
”We didn’t want to leave nothing on the table as far as the draft,” Twyman’s father Guy Young told John McGonigal of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “Jaylen will come back to work on his craft. Football can be gone like that with an injury. At the end of the day, we want him to get his education. ... We’ll wait until next year.”
Twyman finished the 2019 regular season as Pitt’s sack leader with 10.5 sacks and ranked second nationally among interior defensive linemen in the category as well. In addition, he led Pitt with 12 tackles for losses in the regular season and came up with a total of 38 tackles. For his performance, he earned first-team All-ACC and second-team All-America honors.