Pitt TE Gavin Bartholomew Opens Up About Final Season

Pitt Panthers tight end Gavin Bartholomew is excited for his final colllegiate football season.

Nov 4, 2023; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers tight end Gavin Bartholomew (86) takes the field to warm up before the game against the Florida State Seminoles at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports / Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

PITTSBURGH -- The final collegiate season for any football player is always tough, but for senior tight end Gavin Bartholomew, he's excited to get back out on the field and finish out on top.

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

He got a chance as a freshman in 2021 to show his talents, playing in all 14 games and starting eight as Pitt won the ACC Championship.

Bartholomew made 27 catches for 317 yards and four touchdowns that season, working with Heisman finalist quarterback Kenny Pickett under center. 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.

These past two seasons should've shown improvement in production for Bartholomew, but his stats remained either similar or lesser than his first season at Pitt.

Former Panthers 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 Bartholomew's overall numbers.

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, doing the most with little targets.

Many fans speculated that Bartholomew might leave after the 2023 season and search for a better opportunity, but he chose to stay and see out his final year with the team that believed in him from day one.

Bartholomew and fellow senior in running back Rodney Hammond both came back to help this offense function better in their final season, something that Bartholomew is ready for this fall.

"This university has given me everything that I didn’t think was possible and to have a coach that believes in you and trusts you, it’s amazing," Bartholomew said. "Sky’s the limit for what we can do together."

Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi praised both of them at the start of all camp, in terms of their leadership and their loyalty to the program.

"No question about it," Narduzzi said on Bartolomew's and Hammond's leadership qualities. "Both of them are better leaders than they were a year ago. I think both of those guys, Gavin and Rodney, have stepped up and are doing good things out there. It’s called loyalty and I think those guys all know. Again, I think if we won, eight or nine games last season, those guys are going to be at Pitt. That’s just who they are. I got a lot of those guys."

Bartholomew will have the chance to get more looks this fall compared to the past two seasons, with new offensive coordinator Kade Bell installing his system, which will work faster and spread the ball out to more options.

"Yeah, it just allows us to get open in space and free us up," Bartholomew said on the new offense. "Yesterday in the two-minute, I thought we had a great day. It was the best we’ve looked in a while, as far as the two-minute goes. It’s just great. Everything’s running smooth and everyone knows what they’re doing right now. It looks really good."

The most important part of this new offense is the quarterback, with redshirt junior Nate Yarnell most likely starting as the signal caller for the opening game.

Bartholomew likes Yarnell's leadership on the field with the team and the work he puts in off of it, seeing him improve greatly in just a few months.

"Nate’s always going to be hard on himself," Bartholomew said. "He’s a perfectionist. He wants to be perfect in everything he does. If it’s not right, we’re going to do it again. He’s the same as Coach Bell, Coach [Jacob] Bro[nowski] and all the other coaches we have. Everything’s got to be perfect. That’s how you go win on game days."

The speed of the offense is the tricky part for anyone learning it and it was a huge adjustment for Bartholomew and last season's players. Despite some of the trouble during spring ball, almost two weeks into fall camp, the team is looking much better and ready to go for the start of the season.

"Now? We’re really comfortable now," Bartholomew said. "At first, it was definitely a struggle to get used to, but now that we’re, I don’t even know what day it is. Day eight in camp? Or nine? I don’t even know. We feel great. Everything is running really smooth and we’re definitely used to it."

Bartholomew also has a new tight ends coach in Jacob Bronowski, who takes over from Tim Salem. Bronowski is also in charge of special teams, but his relationship with Bartholomew is one that has made him a better player and keeps him in check when needed.

"It’s been great," Bartholomew said on Bronwoski. "You know, Coach Bro, he’s always coming in with a smile on his face and keeping us accountable, which I love. If we’re not doing something right, he’s going to let us know. So we can get it fixed. He’s doing a great job. Brings the spirit up in the tight end room for sure."

Oregon State transfer and redshirt senior tight end Jake Overman has built a great friendship with Bartholomew on the field, but also off the field as they spend time together watching film and away from football too.

They will likely not play often at the same time in this new system, but the tight end duo push each other every day to get better results that will show on the field soon.

"It’s been great, Gavin’s now one of my buddies," Overman said. "So it’s fun when you get to work with your buddy rather than just a co-worker. So I’ve been able to learn from him and I think, hopefully, I’ve been able to help him as well. Just that whole tight end room. We’re bouncing ideas off of each other. We’re being able to play with each other and I think we all bring different skillsets to the table. So I think that’s something that has been cool for all of us to be able to learn from one another."

Bartholomew isn't the only player who wants the season to start, as the players who come back from last season feel similarly.

The Panthers finished 3-9 in 2023, their worst record in 25 years, when they ended 2-9 in 1998, and Bartholomew and his teammates want to put that in the past and get back to winning ways immediately.

"I just feel like everyone has, almost like a comeback, it’s like a comeback tour," Bartholomew said. "Obviously, last year was not our year. This year, we’re hungry. We’ve got a lot of vets, lots of guys that have experience and know what to do in tough situations. We’ve been through the highs and lows together and then we also got a lot of great rookies that are coming up."

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