Pitt Football DL Nate Temple Out for 2024 Season with Injury

Pitt football lost one of their veteran players on defense to injury for the upcoming 2024 season in sixth year defensive lineman Nate Temple.

Head coach Pat Narduzzi announced the news Tuesday morning at spring practice at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on the South Side. He said that Temple suffered a lower leg injury back on practice last Friday and that it is severe enough to keep him out for the rest of the year.

Temple played in 11 games this past season, only missing out against Boston College on Nov. 16. He made 26 tackles, eight solo, 4.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and three quarterbacks hits in 2023. His best game of the season came in a loss to Cincinnati in the River City Rivalry on Sept. 9, making seven tackles, three solo, 0.5 tackles for loss and one quarterback hit.

He has played in 26 career games for Pitt football, making 31 tackles, 11 solo and one pass defended from 2020-23. Prior to this past season, he played as a reserve defensive end and also on special teams. Injuries ended his redshirt freshman season in 2020 after seven games and his redshirt junior season in 2022 after three games.

Temple originally chose to transfer at the end of the 2023 season, but decided to come back and finish his career with the Panthers.

He has two years left of eligibility remaining with the COVID-19 year and also if he receives a medical redshirt for this season. This would allow him to play through the 2026 season as an eighth year.

Fellow sixth-year Bam Brima will and redshirt sophomore Jimmy Scott are two returning players that have a shot to take over Temple’s snaps at left defensive end. Transfers in redshirt freshman David Ojiegbe from Clemson and fifth year Nate Matlack from Kansas State will also look to get more playing time at defensive end themselves.