Former Pitt DE Transfers to UCF

A former Pitt Panthers defensive end transferred to UCF.

Oct 12, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; California Golden Bears offensive lineman T.J. Session (72) blocks at the line of scrimmage against Pittsburgh Panthers defensive lineman Sincere Edwards (90) during the first quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers lost one of their young, promising talents on defense recently, and they found their new home for next season.

Freshman defensive end Sincere Edwards, who left Pitt for the transfer portal on Dec. 27, announced on Twitter that he transferred to UCF, with three years of eligibility remaining.

DL @SincereEdwards0 is a Knight 🔥⚔️ pic.twitter.com/zZqgv0NMIQ

— UCF Football (@UCF_Football) January 2, 2025

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 one of six defensive linemen that left Pitt following the end of the season. This includes redshirt juniors in Borders, Elliot Donald and Nakhi Johnson, who landed at Tulsa, redshirt sophomore/walk-onThomas Aden, who ended up at Kent State, and redshirt freshman David Ojiegbe.

Edwards is also one of 11 players on defense for the Panthers that entered the transfer portal, along with defensive backs in redshirt juniors in Tamarion Crumpley and Noah Biglow, who landed atLouisiana Tech, redshirt sophomore Ryland Gandy and redshirt freshman Jaremiah Anglin Jr, plus sophomore linebacker Jordan Bass.

He is amongst 21 Pitt players that left for the transfer portal this offseason, with 10 more players coming on the offensive side of the ball.

This inlcudes quaterbacks in redshirt freshman Ty Dieffenbach, who landed at Cal Poly and redshirt juniors in Nate Yarnell, who went to Texas State, and walk-on Jake Frantl, who went to Division III powerhouse Wisconsin-Whitewater.

It also features running backs in senior Rodney Hammond Jr. and redshirt freshman  Montravius Lloyd, wide receivers in redshirt senior Jake McConnachie, redshirt junior Daejon Reynolds and redshirt freshman Lamar Seymore and redshirt junior offensive linemen in Terrence Moore, who landed at Toledo, and walk-on Matt Metrosky.

Rising redshirt junior Jimmy Scott is the only returner at defensive end for the Panthers who played meaningful snaps.

Pitt will also has returning defensive ends in rising seventh year Nate Temple, redshirt freshman Maverick Gracio, freshmen in Zachary Crothers, Ty Yuhas, as well as Scott

They also have 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.

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