Pitt Football Contacts Three Transfer WRs

The Pitt Panthers have contacted three transfer WRs, as they look to bolster that position group.

Oct 21, 2023; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Colorado State Rams wide receiver Justus Ross-Simmons (2) / Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers have contacted three wide receivers in the transfer portal this past week, as they look to improve the position group heading into the fall.

The three wideouts include Justus Ross-Simmons from Colorado State, Jacoby Jones from Ohio and Raylen Sharpe from Missouri State in the FCS. Pitt hasn't offered any of these players so far, with their one wide receiver offer going to Jacob Bostick from Iowa.

Ross-Simmons played for the Rams for two seasons, playing in all 24 games. He made 26 catches for 424 yards and three touchdowns as a freshman in 2022 and then 45 catches for 724 yards and three touchdowns as a sophomore last season, receiving an All-Mountain West Honorable Mention.

Standing at 6-foot-3 and 205 pounds, Ross-Simmons is an incredibly tough wide receiver to bring down. His size also helps him run faster and stronger than his contemporaries, while his route running and hands complete him as a great target for any college offense.

The Rochester, N.Y. native went on a visit to Syracuse last weekend and will take a visit to Florida this upcoming weekend. He holds offers from Vanderbilt and mid-majors in USF, Liberty, Coastal Carolina and Georgia State.

At least 45 schools have come in for his services, featuring a number of Power 5 schools. This include ACC schools like Cal, Duke, Florida State, Louisville, Miami and Virginia Tech, Big Ten schools in Michigan State, Minnesota, Penn State, USC, Washington and Wisconsin, Big 12 schools in Arizona State, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF and SEC schools in Arkansas, South Carolina and Texas A&M.

Jones didn't receive a star-rating in high school and played at Northwest Mississippi Community College. He made 63 catches for 929 yards and five touchdowns while there and landed a spot at Ohio.

He spent two seasons with the Bobcats, playing in all 14 games in 2022, recording 45 catches for 776 yards and six toucdowns, leading them to the MAC Championship game and overtime win over Wyoming in the Arizona Bowl.

Jones struggled with injuries last season, missing the first two games and then playing the next three, making a solid four catches for 85 yards in a win against Bowling Green in Week 4. He suffered a leg injury in that game, which required him to get surgery, ending his season in September.

16 schools have contacted him since entering the transfer portal, including Power Five schools in Arkansas, Duke, Florida, Oklahoma State and UCF, Sun Belt schools in Arkansas State, Coastal Carolina, Marshall and Southern Miss, as well as Eastern Kentucky, Jacksonville State, New Mexico, North Texas, Tulane and Utah State. He has one year of eligibility remaining.

Sharpe spent his freshman season in 2021 at Houston, playing in just one game, while also competing in track and field, before transferring to Missouri State, where he would play 21 games over the past two seasons.

He made 16 receptions for 307 yards and one touchdown as a sophomore in 2022 and then excelled last season as a junior, catching a school record 73 passes for 991 yards and seven touchdowns.

Sharpe earned All-American honors from the Associated Press, Phil Steele and Stats Perform for his efforst in 2023, as well as First-Team All-MIssouri Valley Conference honors.

pic.twitter.com/ZioE720FeW

— Raylen Sharpe (@SharpeRaylen) April 17, 2024

He holds offers from Fresno State, Georgia State, Jacksonville State, New Mexico State, North Texas San Jose State. He is also going on an official visit to Fresno State this weekend and visited Iowa.

25 teams in total have contacted Sharpe, including ACC schools in Boston College, Cal, Duke, Louisville, SEC schools in Arkansas, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt, MAC schools in Bowling Green and Buffalo, Sun Belt schools in Marshall and Louisiana-Monore as well as Arizona, Kansas, Liberty, Temple, UTEP and Washington.

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