Inside The Panthers

Pitt Believes Kyle Louis Ready for Massive Leap

The Pitt Panthers are hopefull that Kyle Louis will step up to fill a void at outside linebacker.

Stephen Thompson

Kyle Louis participates in spring practices at Pitt.
Kyle Louis participates in spring practices at Pitt. / Via Kyle Louis on Twitter.

PITTSBURGH -- Over the past two off-seasons the Pitt Panthers have losgt three starting linebackers to either the transfer portal or the NFL Draft, meaning that some of the youngest members of that group have had to grow up quickly.

Rising redshirt sophomore Kyle Louis was one of those players thrown into the fire as soon as he was healthy because of either offseason attrition at linebacker or midseason injuries and that early experience seems to have paid off, according to Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi.

“There’s not a player in the locker room that won’t talk about Kyle Louis and what he did this spring as an outside linebacker,” Narduzzi told ACC Network's David Hale last week. “He’s energetic, he’s physical, he’s tough and plays the game you’re supposed to.”

Louis saw the first real action of his college career during his redshirt freshman year in 2023, appearing in nine games and making two starts while racking up 19 total tackles, including 1.5 for a loss. At just 6'0 and 220 pounds, he's not the biggest linebacker Pitt's ever had but the Panthers are certainly no stranger to undersized players becoming stars - think SirVocea Dennis or Calijah Kancey for some recent examples.

With Bangally Kamara and Solomon DeShields headed elsewhere in the transfer portal, the Panthers will need a big year from Louis, who looks like he's now in a position to start heading into 2024 training camp.

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Stephen Thompson
STEPHEN THOMPSON

Stephen Thompson graduated with a bachelor's degree in communications and political science from Pitt in April 2022 after spending four years as a sports writer and editor at The Pitt News, the University of Pittsburgh's independent, student-run newspaper.  He primarily worked the Pitt men's basketball beat, and filled in on coverage of football, volleyball, softball, gymnastics and lacrosse, in addition to other sports as needed. His work at The Pitt News has won awards from the Pennsylvania News Media Association and Associated College Press.  During the spring and summer of 2021, Stephen interned for Pittsburgh Sports Now, covering baseball in western Pennsylvania. Hailing from Washington D.C., family ties have cultivated a love of Boston's professional teams and Pitt athletics, and a fascination with sports in general.  You can reach Stephen by email at stephenethompson00@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter. Read his latest work:

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