Pitt Freshman DE Enters Transfer Portal

Edwards came out of Apopka, Fla. and played for Wekiva High School, where he made 116 tackles, 34 tackles for loss and 21 sacks his final two seasons. He earned Orlando Sentinel Varsity All-Area honors and ranked No. 3 on the Orlando Sentinel Central Florida Super60 for his efforts.

He originally committed to nearby UCF back on Aug. 10, 2022, but former Pitt defensive line coach Charlie Partridge put more work recruiting him. This would see Edwards decommit from UCF on June 21, 2023, take an official visit to Pitt the next day and then commit to Pitt on Aug. 15, 2023.

Rivals rated Edwards as a four-star prospect in the Class of 2024, the No. 24 strongside defensive end and No. 54 recruit in Florida. 247Sports and On3 both rated him as a three-star, with 247Sports rating him the No. 67 defensive lineman and No. 74 recruit in his state, while On3 rated him No. 96 at his position and No. 118 in Florida.

Edwards would enroll early to Pitt in January and benefitted from his time with the team. Patridge would leave for the same job with the Indianapolis Colts of the NFL, but Edwards stayed for his first full season with the team.

He would play in all 12 regular season games, one of just two true freshmen to do so on the Panthers, along with tight end Malachi Thomas, and also in the defeat to Toledo in the GameAbove Sports Bowl.

Edwards made 17 tackles (eight solo), six tackles for loss, three sacks, four quarterback hits and two pass breakups in 13 games as a true freshman. He was the backup behind both redshirt sophomore Jimmy Scott and redshirt senior Nate Matlack at defensive end, coming in along with redshirt junior Chief Borders.

He had a season-high four tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss in the season opener vs.Kent State, as well sacks vs. Cincinnati in Week 2 on the road, and against Syracuse in Week 9 and Clemson in Week 12, both at home.

Edwards also made three tackles, including a tackle for loss, in the win over North Carolina on the road in Week 6.

He is the fifth defensive lineman that the Panthers lost to the transfer portal following the end of the regular season. This includes redshirt juniors in Elliot Donald and Nakhi Johnson, who landed at Tulsa, redshirt sophomore/walk-on Thomas Aden, who ended up at Kent State, and redshirt freshman David Ojiegbe.

Edwards is also the eighth defensive player that departed Pitt, including sophomore linebacker Jordan Bass and defensive backs in redshirt freshman Jaremiah Anglin Jr. and redshirt junior Noah Biglow, who landed at Louisiana Tech.

Pitt also saw seven players on offense transfer out, making it 15 players overall who have done so in December. This includes quaterbacks in redshirt freshman Ty Dieffenbach and redshirt junior Nate Yarnell, who went to Texas State, running backs in senior Rodney Hammond Jr. and redshirt freshman Montravius Lloyd, wide receivers in redshirt junior Daejon Reynolds and redshirt freshman Lamar Seymore and redshirt junior offensive lineman Terrence Moore, who landed at Toledo.

The Panthers will have returning defensive ends in rising seventh year Nate Temple, redshirt freshman Maverick Gracio, freshmen in Zachary Crothers, Ty Yuhas, as well as Scott and Borders.

They also has three incoming freshmen defensive ends from the Class of 2025. This includes Julian Anderson out of Blair Academy in Blairstown, N.J., Trevor Sommers out powerhouse St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. and Denim Cook out of Bishop Hartley High School in Columbus, Ohio.