Pitt Junior OL Enters Transfer Portal

Brown is the son of former Pitt star offensive lineman Tony Brown, who played for the Panthers from 1982-85.

Brown transferred to Pitt from Cal in 2023 after one season with the Golden Bears and will have one year of eligibility remaining.

Brown's Time at Pitt

Brown appeared in 19 games, started one and allowed nine pressures and four sacks in his three seasons at Pitt, according to Pro Football Focus. This past season, Brown was a backup left guard to Keith Gouveia and Ryan Carretta, and appeared in a career-high 10 games on special teams.

Gouveia suffered a season-ending injury and Carretta was banged up towards the end of the year, but played just 34 snaps the entire season. Left tackle Kendall Stanley moved to left guard to replace Carretta when Jeff Persi returned from his injury.

Pitt's OL Depth

The only offensive lineman the Panthers are expected to lose for eligibility reasons this offseason is Persi. Plus, Gouvieia's injury occurred in his fourth appearance of the season, meaning that he'll likely be given a medical redshirt and return for next season as a sixth-year senior.

Several more offensive linemen that are NFL Draft-eligible, like Kendall Stanley, Ryan Baer, Lyndon Cooper and BJ Williams, but not all are expected to declare for the draft. And then Pitt has signed three incoming true freshmen linemen in Mike van der Oord, Nick Howard and John Curran.

Pitt Transfer Portal Updates

Backup long snapper Nico Crawford was the first Pitt player to announce that he'll be entering the portal on Dec. 12. Then, wide receiver Zion Fowler-El was the first scholarship player to announce his intent to enter the portal on Dec. 16.

Brown, Crawford and Fowler-El are the only Pitt players in the transfer portal, for now.

The Panthers have also started to feel out the portal by contacting UC Davis running back Carter Vargas.

No moves in the portal will be officially made until Jan. 2, 2026, when the transfer portal opens. And due to the new NCAA rules, this will be the only transfer portal window of the season, which will close on Jan. 16.