Inside The Panthers

Deion Sanders Fires Back at Pitt HC Pat Narduzzi over Transfer Portal

Deion Sanders responded to criticism from Pitt Panthers head coach Pat Narduzzi.

Stephen Thompson

Deion Sanders Fires Back at Pitt HC Pat Narduzzi over Transfer Portal
Deion Sanders Fires Back at Pitt HC Pat Narduzzi over Transfer Portal /
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PITTSBURGH -- Pitt Panthers head coach Pat Narduzzi made headlines earlier this spring when he called out his counterpart at Colorado, Deion Sanders, for what he thought was an improper use of the transfer portal. 

Entering his ninth season as head coach of the Panthers, Narduzzi believed that Sanders' wholesale overhaul of the Buffaloes' roster, which included 70 players transferring of their own accord or being allegedly forced out by the new coaching staff in some cases. 

"That's not the way it's meant to be," Narduzzi said in an interview with 247Sports. "That's not what the rule intended to be. It was not to overhaul your roster. We'll see how it works out but that, to me, looks bad on college football coaches across the country. 

Narduzzi went on to say that he believes its "bad for the sport" and claimed he didn't force any players out when he took the Pitt job in 2015. 

Sanders had the opportunity to respond this week in an interview with Carl Reed, also of 247Sports and he brushed off the criticism from Narduzzi, saying it's just sour grapes from when Pitt lost Jordan Addison to USC and Lincoln Riley in the summer of 2022. 

"What was his situation when he came to Pitt?" Sanders said. "He had a different situation than me. He is not mad at me, he is mad at the situation in football now that allowed his best player to leave a year ago. He’s not mad at me, he’s using me to shoot bullets at another coach who he has an issue with." 

Sanders went on to brush off Narduzzi further. 

"I don’t know who he is," Sanders said of Narduzzi. "If he walked in here right now, I wouldn’t know him."

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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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