Jordan Addison Calls Out Backlash after Transfer from Pitt

Former Pitt Panthers receiver Jordan Addison said the backlash from his team, fans and the media was the hardest part of transferring.

PITTSBURGH -- Jordan Addison ended his time as a Pitt Panther on sour terms. He entered the transfer portal amid rumors that USC and their head coach Lincoln Riley had tampered and offered Addison a lucrative NIL deal worth multiple millions of dollars if he left Pitt to join the Trojans. 

For the first time since the summer of 2022, Addison addressed his decision to transfer from Pitt at his introductory press conference after being drafted 23rd overall in the 2023 NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings. He cited coaching changes (both receivers coach Brennan Marion and offensive coordinator Mark Whipple left Pittsburgh at the end of the year) as the primary reason why he transfered. 

“That was just a gut feeling I had to go with," Addsion said. "A lot of coaching changes at the University of Pittsburgh and I just went with my gut feeling and stuck with it.”

Addison added that there was a lot of backlash from his team, the fans and the media in Pittsburgh that made his journey through the transfer portal and out west to USC difficult. 

“I would say the hardest part was going through that transfer portal," Addison said. "And then all the backlash I was getting from the previous team that I left and a lot of different fans and media. It’s nothing new.”

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