Inside The Panthers

Pitt TE Accepts Senior Bowl Invite

A Pitt Panthers tight end accepted their senior bowl invite.

Dominic Campbell

Nov 30, 2024; Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers tight end Gavin Bartholomew (86) celebrates with his teammates after scoring a touchdown against the Boston College Eagles during the second half at Alumni Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images
Nov 30, 2024; Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers tight end Gavin Bartholomew (86) celebrates with his teammates after scoring a touchdown against the Boston College Eagles during the second half at Alumni Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images / Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images
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PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers will have senior tight end Gavin Bartholomew represent them at the Reese's Senior Bowl, as he accepted an invite to play in the game.

He came out of Blue Mountain High School in Schuylkill Haven, Pa. with little fan fare and Pitt as his only Power Five offer.

Bartholomew had a great freshman season in 2021, playing in all 14 games and starting eight as Pitt won the ACC Championship.

With Heisman finalist quarterback Kenny Pickett under center, Bartholomew made 27 catches for 317 yards and four touchdowns. He earned an All-ACC Honourable Mention, as well as second team Freshman All-American honors from The Athletic and Pro Football Network for his efforts.

The next two seasons should've shown improvement for Bartholomew, but his stats remained either similar or lesser than his freshman campaign.

Offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr. didn't put much emphasis into getting Bartholomew the ball as much, plus the struggles of quarterbacks like Kedon Slovis, Phil Jurkovec and Christian Veilleux, led to a stagnation in statistical production. 

Bartholomew had 21 catches for 283 yards and two touchdowns as a sophomore in 2022 and then only 18 catches for 326 yards and a touchdown as a junior last season. 

He finished his senior season in 2024 with a career-high 37 catches for 303 yards and tied his career-high with four touchdowns.

Bartholomew had a season-high five catches for 59 yards in the 55-24 victory over Kent State in the season opener.

He grabbed one touchdown each in the home losses to Virginia in Week 12 and Clemson in Week 13 and then two touchdown catches in the road loss to Boston College in Week 14, his first multi-touchdown game.

Bartholomew was on the Senior Bowl Watch List heading into the season, as Jim Nagy, the Senior Bolw Executive Director, has praised him on numerous occassions. He also went to see him prior to the road match vs. Cincinnati in Week 2, which ended in the Pitt's biggest comeback in 50 years.

Bartholomew is out of eligibility, after playing four seasons and not redshirting. He also doesn't have a year of COVID-19 eligibility, since he came in the Class of 2021 and not 2020 or prior.

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Dominic Campbell
DOMINIC CAMPBELL

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