Inside The Panthers

Pitt Announces Honorary Captain vs. Boston College

The Pitt Panthers announced their honorary captain vs. Boston College.

Dominic Campbell

Oct 28, 1989; South Bend, IN, USA; FILE PHOTO; Pittsburgh Panthers quarterback Alex Van Pelt (10) prepares for the snap against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Imagn Images
Oct 28, 1989; South Bend, IN, USA; FILE PHOTO; Pittsburgh Panthers quarterback Alex Van Pelt (10) prepares for the snap against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Imagn Images / RVR Photos-Imagn Images
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PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers announced their honorary captain ahead of their road matchup vs. the Boston College in Week 14.

Former quarterback Alex Van Pelt will serve as the honorary captain, as the Panthers look to end their losing streak and finish out the regular season with a win over the Eagles.

Van Pelt played quarterback for Pitt from 1989-92 and he finished with 11,267 passing yards and 64 touchdowns, ranking No. 2 and No. 4 in a career in program history.

His most successful season was as a freshman in 1989, leading Pitt to a 8-3-1 record and a 31-28 win over then ranked No. 16 Texas A&M in the Sun Bowl.

Van Pelt also threw for 2,881 yards, 2,770 yards of total offense and 17 touchdowns, all Pitt freshman records. His passing yards also rank eighth most in a season in program history.

He threw for his most passing yards as a senior in 1992, 3,163, which ranks fourth most in Panthers history.

Following his collegiate career, the Pittsburgh Steelers drafted Van Pelt in the 8th Round of the 1993 NFL Draft. They cut him and he then served on the practice squad for the Kansas Chiefs.

He would play for the Buffalo Bills for 10 seasons from 1994-2003. Van Pelt made 11 starts, appeared in 31 games and threw 16 touchdowns in his 11-year NFL career.

Van Pelt went into coaching after his career, working as quarterbacks coach for the Frankfurt Galaxy and as a volunteer quarterbacks coach for the University of Buffalo in 2005.

He then spent the next four seasons, 2006-09, with the Bills. He spent the first two seasons as an offensive quality control coach, 2008 as quarterbacks coach and 2009 as both offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

Van Pelt worked for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for two seasons, 2010-11, as their quarterbacks coach.

He then went to the Green Bay Packers for the next six seasons. He worked as running backs coach from 2012-13 and then quarterbacks coach from 2014-17.

Van Pelt spent two seasons as quarterbacks coach for the Cincinnati Bengals, 2018-19, and then the next four seasons as the offensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns.

He is currently the offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots, which is why he is the honorary captain for this game.

Pitt and Boston College will kickoff at 3:00 p.m. on the CW Network.

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Dominic Campbell
DOMINIC CAMPBELL

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