Pitt Star Receives Another All-American Honor

PITTSBURGH -- A Pitt Panthers star received another honor for his play in 2024, establishing himself amongst the best in the nation.

ESPN released their All-American teams and placed Panthers junior running back Desmond Reid as their Second Team All-American all-purpose back.

Reid has also earned Second Team All-American honors as an all-purpose back from CBS Sports, The Athletic, Phil Steele, the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA). and the Associated Press.

He also joined redshirt sophomore linebacker Kyle Louis as the first two Pitt players to earn AP All-American honors since defensive tackle Calijah Kancey and running back Israel Abanikanda did so in 2022.

Reid earned All-ACC First Team honors as both all-purpose and return specialist and an All-ACC Honorable Mention at running back. AP also named him as All-ACC First Team All-Purpose.

He showed his talent in the season opener against Kent State at home on Aug. 31, leading Pitt with 10 rushes for 145 yards and returning a punt for a 78-yard touchdown. He also broke through the Kent State defense for a 46-yard rushing touchdown, running right past any defender that came remotely near him.

Reid had an even better game against Cincinnati in the River City Rivalry on the road in Week 2 on Sept. 7.

Reid finished with six catches for 106 receiving yards and a touchdown and had 19 carries for 148 yards, recording the first game a Pitt player had 100+ yards receiving and rushing. His best play came in the fourth quarter, as he took a pass from redshirt freshman quarterback Eli Holstein and ran 56 yards for a touchdown to cut the lead down to just two points.

He earned ACC Running Back of the Week honors for that performance, and led Pitt on a comeback, down 27-6 in the third quarter, to win 28-27, their largest comeback in more than 50 years.

Reid also earned ACC Wide Receiver of the Week honors in the 34-24 road win over North Carolina in Week 6 on Oct. 5.

He had 18 carries for 55 yards on the ground, but starred as option in the passing game for Holstein, making 11 catches for 155 yards and a touchdown in the victory.

The Pitt offense struggled in the 17-15 win vs. Cal in Week 7, but Reid had a 72-yard rushing touchdown, plus one from five yards out for two scores.

Reid finished with a season-high 165 rushing yards on 32 carries and ran for a touchdown in the loss to Toledo in the GameAbove Sports Bowl in Detroit.

He ended the season with 184 carries for 966 yards, 5.3 yards per carry, and five touchdowns, 52 catches for 579 yards and four touchdowns and 13 punt returns for 159 yards and the touchdown vs. Kent State, in 11 games.