Inside The Panthers

Pitt Expects Starting OL Back From Injury Soon

The Pitt Panthers could get an expected starter at offensive line back soon.

Stephen Thompson

Pitt Expects Starting OL Back From Injury Soon
Pitt Expects Starting OL Back From Injury Soon /
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PITTSBURGH -- The offensive line was a meat grinder for the Pitt Panthers last year, who because of injuries were forced to use as many as eight different starting combinations but there is some good news on the horizon as they begin preparations for the 2024 campaign.  

Not only did four players with multiple games of starting experience return to Pittsburgh, but Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi said he expects interior offensive lineman Ryan Jacoby to return from injury soon. He didn't participate in the first full practice of spring ball this week but is nearing full strength. 

"We have to stay healthy. We don’t have Jacoby back yet, but soon enough," Narduzzi said. "It looks like he’s ready, but I’m not the doctor or the trainer. He looks ready to roll."

Jacoby had turned in a strong 2023 training camp with the Panthers this year and was in the thick of, if not leading, a battle to win starting reps at the outset of the season before a season-ending injury derailed everything. He figures to be a prime candidate to start at guard this coming season.

Jacoby was a blue-chip prospect coming out of high school in 2019 and played his first two seasons at Ohio State before transferring to Pitt in 2021. He saw the field in the final three games of that season as a reserve offensive lineman and started in the Peach Bowl against Michigan State.

He returned in 2022 and saw action in all 13 games - five of which came in the form of starts as a tight end. Jacoby played primarily as a guard last season, but was being worked out as a tackle this year prior to his injury. 

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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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