The Pitt Panthers had one of their veteran offensive players depart the program for another opportunity.
Redshirt junior wide receiver Peter Vardzel announced on Twitter that he is leaving Pitt and will head to the transfer portal for his final year of eligibility.
Vardzel hails from Charleston, S.C. and played for Wando High School, with 35 catches for 582 yards in seven games as a senior in a shortened 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
He spent four seasons with the Panthers, winning the ACC Championship in 2021, playing in 13 games during that time as a reserve wide receiver or on special teams.
Vardzel is one of six walk-ons from Pitt that entered the transfer portal after last season. This includes redshirt freshmen in placekicker Franco Fernandez-Enko and fellow wide receiver in redshirt freshman Devin Whitlock, redshirt juniors in offensive lineman Matt Metrosky, linebacker Dylan Bennnett and quarterback Jake Frantl, who landed back home at Division III powerhouse Wisconsin-Whitewater, and redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Thomas Aden, who went to Kent State.
He is one of five Pitt wide receivers who entered the transfer portal, along with redshirt senior Jake McConnachie, who landed at UMass, redshirt junior Daejon Reynolds, who went to UNLV, and fellow redshirt freshmen in Lamar Seymore and Whitlock.
McConnachie is also one of 12 players on offense from the Panthers who departed from the program.
This includes quarterbacks in redshirt freshman Ty Dieffenbach, who landed at Cal Poly and redshirt juniors in Nate Yarnell, who went to Texas State, and Frantl.
It also features running backs in senior Rodney Hammond Jr., who transferred to Sacramento State, and redshirt freshman Montravius Lloyd, plus redshirt junior offensive linemen in Terrence Moore, who landed at Toledo, and Metrosky.
Vardzel is one of 25 players overall who left Pitt for the transfer portal, with 12 players on defense also doing so.
This features six defensive linemen in redshirt juniors in Chief Borders, who went to UNLV, Elliot Donald and Nakhi Johnson, who landed at Tulsa, redshirt freshman David Ojiegbe and freshman Sincere Edwards, who transferred to UCF, plus Aden.
It also includes four defensive backs, including redshirt juniors in Tamarion Crumpley, who went to UAB, and Noah Biglow, who landed at Louisiana Tech, redshirt sophomore Ryland Gandy, who went to Indiana, plus redshirt freshman Jaremiah Anglin Jr. Sophomore linebacker Jordan Bass also transferred to Virginia Tech.
Leave a Reply