Inside The Panthers

Pitt Football DL Earns Spot in ESPN's Top 100 Players of 2022

ESPN expects big things from one Pitt Panther defensive lineman this season.

Stephen Thompson

Pitt Football DL Earns Spot in ESPN's Top 100 Players of 2022
Pitt Football DL Earns Spot in ESPN's Top 100 Players of 2022 /
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PITTSBURGH -- ESPN released a list of the top 100 players in college football on Wednesday morning and one Pitt Panther cracked their rankings. Senior defensive lineman Habakkuk Baldonado checked in at No. 83, right behind a fellow ACC defender and NC State linebacker Drake Thomas. 

"Coach Pat Narduzzi has recruited and developed strong defensive linemen at Pitt -- Baldonado is no exception," the write up on Baldonado said. "Last season, Baldonado had 42 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss and nine sacks (that ranked No. 3 in the ACC). Now consider that Baldonado only played one year of high school football in the United States, moving to Florida in 2017 after playing three years in his native Italy. That makes his rapid development more impressive."

Baldonado, a candidate for the Chuck Bednarik Award, was already named to the preseason All-ACC first team earlier this month. He is one of the anchors of a Pitt defensive line that expects to be among the national leaders in sacks and tackles for loss like they have for the past three seasons. 

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Stephen Thompson
STEPHEN THOMPSON

Stephen Thompson graduated with a bachelor's degree in communications and political science from Pitt in April 2022 after spending four years as a sports writer and editor at The Pitt News, the University of Pittsburgh's independent, student-run newspaper.  He primarily worked the Pitt men's basketball beat, and filled in on coverage of football, volleyball, softball, gymnastics and lacrosse, in addition to other sports as needed. His work at The Pitt News has won awards from the Pennsylvania News Media Association and Associated College Press.  During the spring and summer of 2021, Stephen interned for Pittsburgh Sports Now, covering baseball in western Pennsylvania. Hailing from Washington D.C., family ties have cultivated a love of Boston's professional teams and Pitt athletics, and a fascination with sports in general.  You can reach Stephen by email at stephenethompson00@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter. Read his latest work:

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