Keyshon Camp out for season with knee injury

Pitt defensive lineman Keyshon Camp suffered a knee injury during his team’s season-opening matchup with Virginia last Saturday, and as a result, he will undergo surgery and miss the remainder of the 2019 season, according to an announcement from Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi on Wednesday.

”We are really heartbroken for Keyshon,” Narduzzi said in a statement. “He put a tremendous amount of work in during the offseason and was outstanding against Virginia before he got hurt. Keyshon is a strong young man, though, and I know he won’t let this adversity sidetrack him.”

The injury sidelines the redshirt junior after an offseason of hard work that saw him climb the depth chart and beat out Jaylen Twyman for a spot on the defensive line as a starter. The two were separated by an “or” on the initial 2019 depth chart that was released in July, indicating the position battle was too close to call.

However, after emerging victorious from training camp, Camp rewarded Narduzzi’s faith in him by putting on a standout performance in the Panthers’ 30-14 loss to the Cavaliers. As a result, he was applauded by Pro Football Focus, which gave him a pass-rush grade of 88.1 after he logged six quarterback pressures, half a sack and one defensive stop.

The loss of Camp represents a second major blow to Pitt’s defensive line this season, as Panthers defensive end Rashad Weaver was also lost for the season after suffering an ACL injury in training camp back in August. Weaver led the team in sacks and tackles for losses in 2018, with 6.5 and 14.0, respectively.