Inside The Panthers

Pitt Football Lands Transfer Kicker

Pitt Panthers football landed a transfer kicker from the FCS.

Dominic Campbell

Nov 9, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; A Pittsburgh Panthers helmet on the sidelines against the Virginia Cavaliers during the first quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Nov 9, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; A Pittsburgh Panthers helmet on the sidelines against the Virginia Cavaliers during the first quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
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PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers added another player from the transfer portal, as they bolstered their special teams unit.

James London, a kicker who played for FCS program Murray State, announced that he committed to Pitt. He has two years left of eligibility.

London came out of Miami Central High School in Miami, helping his team win four straight Florida State Championships while there from 2019-22. He also held the No. 5 ranking for a kicker in the Class of 2023, according

He would commit to Murray State and played in all 11 games in his freshman season. He had 39 kickoffs for 2,231 yards, 57.2 yards per kickoff, while having 15 of them go for touchbacks and just one go out of bounds. He also made 2-of-4 field goals, a 27-yarder in the season opener home win vs. Presbyterian and a 53-yarder in the road loss to then ranked No. 12 North Dakota State in Week 9.

London would go 14-for-19 on field goals this past season as a sophomore, finishing first in the Missouri Valley Conference with those 14 makes and a .737 field goal percentage. He was also perfect on PATs, going 23-for-23.

He 47 kickoffs for a total of 2,948 yards, 62.7 yards on average, with just one going out of bounds and 28 going for touchbacks.

London earned Missouri Valley Conference Special Teams Player of the Week honors, as he made both of his field goals in the 52-6 road loss to then ranked No. 3 South Dakota State. He hit one from 35 yards out and his first for 55 yards, a career-high and the longest in the MVC this season.

He made his last seven field goals of the season, with the two vs. SDSU, three in the 59-31 home loss to No. 15 Missouri State, longest at 52 yards, and then two vs. Kentucky, from 32 yards and 36 yards.

London earned First Team All-Missouri Valley Conference honors for his play in 2024.

Pitt will look for London to replace All-ACC and PFF All-American kicker Ben Sauls, who is graduating and headed for the NFL.

Sauls had a fantastic 2024 season, going 18-for-21 on field goals, with one blocked .He also made five 50+ yard field goals, with the 57-yarder he made at the end of the first half in the road loss to Boston College in Week 14 marking the most in a season for a field goal kicker.

Rising redshirt sophomore Samuel Carpenter is the only other placekicker on the roster for Pitt next season.

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Dominic Campbell
DOMINIC CAMPBELL

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