Why the Pitt Needs a Transfer Tight End

With Gavin Bartholomew out the door, Jake Overman is projected as the starting Pitt Panthers tight end. He’s an excellent leader, but is he on the level athletically that we saw from Bartholomew? 

That much is unclear. 

However, among underclassmen Malachi Thomas and Max Hunt, although that pair is inexperienced, the former, the latter, or both could prove to have the type of pass-catching ability Pitt needs to come close to replacing the impact of Bartholomew.

“I'll tell you what, Max Hunt, I haven't said enough about Max Hunt,” Narduzzi said prior to the spring game (available on YouTube). “For a young guy coming in, he had some injuries in high school, he's come in, he's been physical. He's been impressive. He really has.

“For a true freshman to come in and make it through 15 practices, not miss a day, and stay engaged, and continue to stay with the installs that Coach Kade Bell has thrown out there, I think he's done an excellent job.”

For Malachi Thomas, his predecessor played a big role in shoring up a key element of his overall game. But he believes his ability as a receiver is his primary skill.

“Gavin really taught me how to block, because he was a great blocker, and a great perimeter blocker. I just use that on the field and I just get pancakes,” Thomas said last month. “So, yeah, he was a great teacher.

“I'm definitely more of a wide receiver than a blocker, for sure,” Thomas explained.

Either way, it’s a position group thin on experience and depth, an issue amplified when Jake Renda announced that he’d entered the portal recently. It’s why the news of Indiana transfer tight end Sam West lining up a Pitt visit made perfect sense this week. 

It’s likely West won’t be the only portal tight end we see in Pitt headlines over the coming weeks.