Inside The Panthers

Former Pitt WR Target Back in Transfer Portal

The Pitt Panthers could try to re-recruit a former transfer wide receiver target.

Stephen Thompson

Former Pitt WR Target Back in Transfer Portal
Former Pitt WR Target Back in Transfer Portal /
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PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers worked hard to try and get former Kent State receiver Datne Cephas to come back to his hometown of Pittsburgh last offseason, but he spurned the Panthers for Penn State. 

Now Cephas is back in the transfer portal after a slow season stepping up to the Power 5 level and the former Penn Hills High School standout could be a target for Pitt during his second attempt to find a new home. 

He caught 22 passes for 246 yards and two touchdowns in his lone season with the Nittany Lions in 2023. 

Cephas' initial transfer recruitment has been a roller coaster ride. The Pittsburgh native stayed close to home, visiting Pitt multiple times during the days immediately following his appearance in the transfer portal. Then rumors flew that he was leaning towards picking Penn State, but his NIL representation Jordan Rooney and Cephas himself quickly dispelled those rumors. Later, ESPN's Pete Thamel predicted it would be the Panthers who would land Cephas before he eventually settled on Penn State.

Cephas certainly had his pick of schools. He held offers from Georgia, Miami, Oklahoma, Virginia Tech, Notre Dame, West Virginia, Maryland and Penn State in addition to Pitt. He garnered all that attention after catching 82 passes for 1,240 yards and nine touchdowns in 2021 as a junior. He produced at a similar rate - better than 15 yards per catch, but with just three touchdowns - in 2022 but played in just nine games and caught only 48 balls. He still earned first-team All-MAC honors in both 2021 and 2022.

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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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