Pitt LB Enters Transfer Portal

A Pitt Panthers linebacker entered the transfer portal.

Oct 24, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers linebacker Jordan Bass (20) tackles Syracuse Orange wide receiver Emanuel Ross (18) during the second quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Barry Reeger-Imagn Images / Barry Reeger-Imagn Images

PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers lost another player to the transfer portal following the end of the season, with one of their younger players on defense departing the program.

Panthers sophomore linebacker Jordan Bass announced on a statement on Twitter that he had entered the transfer portal after two seasons with the program. He has two years left of eligibility.

Bass came out of Phoebus High School in Hampton, Va. as the top rated recruit in the Class of 2023 for the Panthers.

247Sports rated Bass as the No. 5 recruit in Virginia, No. 14 linebacker and No. 176 recruit in the country and On3 ranked him as the top recruit in the state, No. 4 linebacker and No. 48 in the country, with both recruiting sites rating him as a four-star.

He played in 10 games as a true freshman in 2023 and earned one start at the Star or Outside linebacker spot against Wake Forest in Week 8, a 21-17 loss on Oct. 21. He made 11 tackles (six solo) and two tackles for loss that season.

Bass played in nine games this season, making 14 tackles (nine solo), 3.5 tackles for loss, one sack, two quarterback hits and one pass breakup. He played a total of 172 snaps, including 115 on defense and 57 on offense.

His best game came against Syracuse, playing a season-high 32 snaps, making five tackles (four solo), 1.5 tackles for loss, one quarterback hit and tipped a pass that led to an interception.

Panthers head coach Pat Narduzzi announced that Bass suffered a season-ending injury in the loss to Virginia in Week 11 at home and needed surgery. He also dealt with an injury in spring camp, which hampered him coming into this season.

Bass fell behind fellow sophomores on the depth chart in Braylan Lovelace and Rasheem Biles, who both started at Money linebacker in 2024 and he is likely looking for more playing time somewhere else.

He was also the backup at Star linebacker, behind starter in redshirt sophomore Kyle Louis, who earned All-American honors this season and also has two years left of eligibility.

The Panthers have had 14 players enter the transfer portal following the end of the regular season, which saw the team finish 7-5 overall on a five-game losing streak.

Bass is the only linebacker headed for the transfer portal, but is one of seven defensive players to do so.

This includes defensive linemen in redshirt juniors, Nakhi Johnson and Elliot Donald, redshirt freshman David Ojiegbe and redshirt sophomore/walk-on Thomas Aden, who landed at Kent State.

The other two defensive players include defensive backs in redshirt freshman Jaremiah Anglin Jr. and redshirt junior Noah Biglow, who transferred to Louisiana Tech.

Pitt had seven offensive players enter the transfer portal, including quarterbacks in redshirt junior Nate Yarnell and redshirt freshman Ty Dieffenbach, running backs in senior Rodney Hammond Jr. and redshirt freshman Montravius Lloyd, wide receivers in redshirt junior Daejon Reynolds and redshirt freshman Lamar Seymore and redshirt junior offensive lineman Terrence Moore, who landed at Toledo.

The Panthers will have returning linebackers in Louis, Biles and Lovelace, plus rising sixth year Nick Lapi, rising sophomore Jeremiah Marcelin and rising redshirt freshmen in Cameron Lindsey and Davin Brewton.

They also have two incoming linebackers in their Class of 2024, in Justin Thompson of Our Lady of Good Counsel in Olney, Md. and Emmanuel "Manny" Taylor out of Green Run High School in Virginia Beach, Va.

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