Pitt RB No Longer with Program

The Pitt Panthers have a player that isn't on the team anymore.

Sep 21, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers wide receiver Che Nwabuko (21) runs after a catch on his way to scoring a touchdown against at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

PITTSBURGH — The Pitt Panthers released their spring roster, which had one player missing from it from last season.

Running back Che Nwabuko is not on the Pitt football spring roster, with practices starting on March 11. He didn't make any transfer portal nor departure announcement, and still has Pitt in his Twitter bio.

Nwabuko hails from Manor, Texas and played for Manor High School, just outside of Austin, where he had almost 3,000 all-purpose yards in high school.

He had a sensational senior season in 2021, where he had 45 catches for 739 yards, 16.4 yards per catch, and eight touchdowns, while rushing for 215 yards on 41 carries (5.2 yards average) and a touchdown.

Nwabuko also gained notoriety for his speed, winning three gold medals at the University Interscholastic League (UIL) State 5A Track and Field Championships in the 100-meters, 200-meters and 4x100 meter relay events.

247Sports rated Nwabuko as a four-star in the Class of 2022, ranking him the No. 48 wide receiver and No. 49 recruit in Texas. On3, Rivals and ESPN all rated him as a three-star, with On3 ranking him No. 110 at his position and No. 98 in the state and ESPN ranking him the No. 72 athlete and No. 108 recruit in Texas.

Nwabuko committed to Pitt as a wide receiver over Power Five offers from Kansas, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota and Purdue.

He redshirted in the 2022 season and then played in all 12 games in 2023 on special teams and as a reserve wide receiver. He had three total rushes for 22 yards and two kickoff returns for 22 yards that campaign.

Nwabuko played in seven games this past season, transitioning to running back, with six carries for 76 yards and a touchdown. Most of that came on a 57-yard rushing touchdown in the 73-17 blowout win over FCS program Youngstown State in Week 4 at home.

He also spent time on the Pitt track and field team, competing in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 indoor seasons. He record a personal best of 6.71 seconds in the 60-meter dash and finished seventh in the ACC Championships 200-meters event at 21.08 seconds.

Pitt has four scholarship running backs in the roster, in All-American senior Desmond Reid, redshirt senior Derrick Davis Jr., redshirt freshman Juelz Goff and mid-year enrollee freshman Ja'Kyrian Turner. They also have two incoming running backs in Jaylin Brown and Synkwan Smith.

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