Inside The Panthers

Pitt Football Lands Oregon Transfer

The Pitt Panthers landed a talented Oregon Ducks defensive transfer.

Dominic Campbell

Central Valley Christian High School's Jaeden Moore practices on Aug. 4, 2021 in Visalia. Moore
Central Valley Christian High School's Jaeden Moore practices on Aug. 4, 2021 in Visalia. Moore / Vongni Yang via Imagn Content Services, LLC
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PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers landed a talented transfer on the defensive side of the ball from one of the top programs in the country.

Pete Nakos of On3 reported that Oregon redshirt freshman linebacker/edge rusher Jaeden Moore signed with Pitt. Moore took a visit to Pitt last weekend, which helped the program secure his signature. He has three seasons of eligibility remaining.

Moore played for Central Valley Christian in Visalia, Calif., playing on both sides of the ball. He made 24 catches for 485 yards, 19.4 yards per reception, plus 15 rushes for 194 yards, 12.4 yards per carry, on offense as a receiver.

He also made 68 tackles (32 solo), a team-high 17 tackles for loss, nine sacks, eight passes defended and three fumble recoveries as a senior in 2022.

On3 gave Moore the highest rating of any site in the Class of 2023 at a four-star, ranking him No. 37 at edge rusher and No. 23 in the state of California.

247Sports, Rivals and ESPN all rated him as a three-star, with 247Sports ranking him No. 54 at his position and No. 50 in the state, Rivals giving him a 5.5 rating and ESPN ranking him No. 67 at defensive end and No. 54 in California.

Moore committed to Oregon and played in just four games and made just two tackles in the 2023 season, preserving a redshirt.

He then played 104 snaps on defense in 13 games this past season for the Ducks, with six tackles (one solo), one tackle for loss and one pass defended.

While Moore can also play linebacker, Pitt needs defensive ends heading into next season.

The Panthers lost six defensive linemen to the transfer portal, including three defensive ends in redshirt junior Chief Borders, redshirt freshman David Ojiegbe and freshman Sincere Edwards. They also lost starter Nate Matlack, who chose to graduate.

Rising redshirt junior Jimmy Scott is the only returner at defensive end for the Panthers who played meaningful snaps.

They did add two defensive ends from the transfer portal after visits this weekend in rising redshirt senior Joey Zelinksy from Eastern Michigan and rising seventh year Blaine Spires from Utah State.

Pitt will also have returning defensive ends in rising seventh year Nate Temple, redshirt freshman Maverick Gracio, freshmen in Zachary Crothers, Ty Yuhas, as well as Scott.

They also have three incoming freshmen defensive ends from the Class of 2025. This includes Julian Anderson out of Blair Academy in Blairstown, N.J., Trevor Sommers out powerhouse St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. and Denim Cook out of Bishop Hartley High School in Columbus, Ohio.

Moore, along with Zelinsky and Spires, is one of eight commitments from the transfer portal this past weekend for Pitt, as they hosted a number of recruits on visits. They also have 11 players that transferred in this offseason.

This includes offensive players in wide receivers, rising sixth year Deuce Spann from Florida State and rising redshirt sophomore Andy Jean from Florida and offensive lineman in rising redshirt senior Keith Gouveia from Richmond and rising redshirt junior Kendall Stanley from Charlotte.

It also features defensive backs in rising sixth year Kavir Bains from UC Davis, rising senior Rashan Murray from Division II program California (Pa.) and rising redshirt sophomore Jayden Bonsu from Ohio State, plus rising junior kicker James London from Murray State.

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Dominic Campbell
DOMINIC CAMPBELL

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