Pitt Freshmen Make Impact in Win vs. Duquesne

PITTSBURGH — Several freshmen were able to make an impact in the Pitt Panthers' 61-9 blowout win over Duquesne on Saturday.

Freshman kicker Trey Butkowski made his Pitt debut after being named the starter earlier in August, freshman wide receiver Bryce Yates led the Panthers in receiving yards, redshirt freshman running back Juelz Goff scored his first-career touchdown and redshirt linebacker Cam Lindsey nearly forced a fumble that could've resulted in a touchdown.

Butkowski went 7-for-8 on PATs, with one blocked, and 2-for-2 on field goal attempts. Both of Butkowski's field goal attempts from 27 yards out.

"I thought he was outstanding," Narduzzi said. "It was really good to get those field goals in at the end, to be honest with you, just to get him feeling it. But for a true freshman, I was very impressed."

Yates, a former three-star recruit, hauled in two catches for 69 and a touchdown in his Pitt debut. His touchdown was a 60-yard catch and run on a vertical route from backup quarterback Cole Gonzales with 1:12 left in the game.

"It was good to see Bryce Yates at the end finish," Narduzzi said. "Good to see him. A couple of balls late, those guys came in. They’ve got to make plays. We expect those plays to be made. That ball touches your hands, I don’t care if it’s a little bit behind you, you’ve got to make plays on the ball."

Although he isn't a true freshman, Goff did make an impact by finding the end zone for the first time as a Panther. Goff played backup to Desmond Reid and had seven carries for 31 yards and a 1-yard touchdown.

Last year, Goff appeared in three games and totaled 18 carries for 46 yards. He also had six catches for 53 yards.

Reid and Goff arrived at Pitt in the same class, Reid as a transfer and Goff as a high school recruit, and Reid said the difference between this year and last is totally different.