The Pitt Panthers will have a few players at the NFL Combine, where they’ll have a great opportunity to impress ahead of the draft.
The NFL announced their combine invites, which included four Pitt players in tight end Gavin Bartholomew, wide receiver Konata Mumpfield, placekicker Ben Sauls and offensive tackle Branson Taylor.
Bartholomew had a great freshman season in 2021, playing in all 14 games and starting eight as Pitt won the ACC Championship.
With Heisman finalist quarterback Kenny Pickett under center, Bartholomew made 27 catches for 317 yards and four touchdowns. He earned an All-ACC Honourable Mention, as well as second team Freshman All-American honors from The Athletic and Pro Football Network for his efforts.
The next two seasons should’ve shown improvement for Bartholomew, but his stats remained either similar or lesser than his freshman campaign.
Offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr. didn’t put much emphasis into getting Bartholomew the ball as much, plus the struggles of quarterbacks like Kedon Slovis, Phil Jurkovec and Christian Veilleux, led to a stagnation in statistical production.
Bartholomew had 21 catches for 283 yards and two touchdowns as a sophomore in 2022 and then only 18 catches for 326 yards and a touchdown as a junior last season.
He finished his senior season in 2024 with a career-high 38 catches for 322 yards and tied his career-high with four touchdowns.
Bartholomew had a season-high five catches for 59 yards in the 55-24 victory over Kent State in the season opener.
He grabbed one touchdown each in the home losses to Virginia in Week 12 and Clemson in Week 13 and then two touchdown catches in the road loss to Boston College in Week 14, his first multi-touchdown game.
Bartholomew also competed at the Senior Bowl down in Mobile, Ala. on Feb. 1, where NFL scout took his measurements and saw him compete as well.
Mumpfield had an excellent freshman campaign with the Zips, leading the team with 63 catches, 751 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. He also had three 100-yard receiving games, including career-highs of 11 catches for 121 yards, plus two touchdowns against Western Michigan in Week 10.
He received All-MAC Second Team honors and The Athletic, Pro Football Network and Maxwell Football Club named him as a Freshman All-American.
Mumpfield then transferred to Pitt ahead of the 2022 season, playing in 12 games, missing just one, and starting nine contests. He made 58 receptions for 551 yards and a touchdown that season, including three games of seven catches. He also had a season-high of 78 yards and that touchdown in the Sun Bowl win over UCLA.
He then led the Panthers with 44 catches in 2023 and also had 576 yards and five touchdowns. His season-high of 99 yards on three catches came in a loss to then ranked No. 4 Florida State in Week 10, when he had an 82-yard reception. He had a touchdown catch in the win over then ranked No. 14 Louisville and tied a career-high of two touchdowns in the loss against Cincinnati in Week 2.
Mumpfield had 52 catches for a career-high 813 yards and five touchdowns, starting all 12 games this season, thriving in new offensive coordinator Kade Bell’s offense.
He made five catches for 123 yards and two touchdowns in the 27-26 comeback win vs. Cincinnati on the road in Week 2, earning ACC Receiver of the Week honors. This included an 11-yard touchdown, a 38-yard touchdown on fourth down and a 34-yard reception to set up the winning field goal for Sauls.
Mumpfield had three catches for 111 yards against North Carolina, including two catches of 43 yards and 46 yards, helping Pitt get their first ever road win there in Week 6.
He would finish the regular season with his best performance for Pitt, making eight catches for 144 yards and one touchdown in the 34-23 road loss to Boston College.
He finished his Pitt career with 154 catches for 1,940 yards and 11 touchdowns, with his receptions ranking No. 10 all-time in program history.
Sauls had a fantastic 2024 season, going 44-for-44 on PATs and 21-for-24 on field goals, with one blocked. He made his first 13 attempts, before missing a 47-yard field goal in the second quarter of the 48-25 loss to then ranked No. 20 SMU on the road in Week 10.
He also made six 50+ yard field goals, with the 57-yarder he made at the end of the first half in the road loss to Boston College in Week 14 marking the most in a season for a field goal kicker.
His 49-yard field goal in the first quarter for Syracuse in Week 9 was his 13th straight field goal dating back to 2023, which set a new school record for most consecutive field goals. This eclipsed the previous record of 12, that both Chris Ferenick in 1995 and Conor Lee in 2007 set, and he had 15 consecutive he made before that miss vs. SMU.
Sauls also made a 58-yard field goal vs. Cal in their Week 7 matchup on Oct. 12 at Acrisure Stadium, that tied former Pitt kicker Alex Kessman’s 58-yarder he converted against Boston College in 2020 to send the game into overtime. It is also the longest field goal at Acrisure Stadium in Pitt history, as Chris Boswell of the Pittsburgh Steelers made one from 59 yards there.
His best game of the season came against Cincinnati in the River City Rivalry on the road in Week 2, for which he earned ACC Specialist of the Week and Lou Groza Star of the Week honors.
Sauls finished the day 3-for-3 on field goals, including the only points in the second half from 47 yards and a career-high of 53 yards at the end of the first half. He would also hit the game winning field goal from 35 yards out in front of his friends and family, as he grew up 65 miles north of Cincinnati.
His six field goals of 50 yards or more in 2024 are the most in program history, which included a 57-yarder in the 48-46 loss to Toledo in the GameAbove Sports Bowl.
Sauls is most famous for his heroics against UCLA in the 2022 Sun Bowl. Against the Bruins, Sauls went 5-of-5 in the El Paso, Texas wind. He made kicks from 22, 49, 31, 27 and 47 yards against UCLA. Sauls made the 47-yard field goal as time dwindled down to seal the Sun Bowl victory for the Panthers.
He was also just the third Panther to earn a Lou Groza Semifinalist honor, along with Kessman in 2020 and Ferencik, who was a finalist for the 1995 award. Sauls finished his Pitt career going 52-of-64 on field goals, 81.3%, and 122-of-124 on PATs.
Both Mumpfield and Sauls competed at the East-West Shrine Bowl, with both players turning heads with their performances. Taylor made 12 appearances in the 2021 season on the PAT/field goal unit, as the Panthers won their first ever ACC title. He also played in three games in the 2020 season, preserving a redshirt.
He played in all 13 games in 2022, starting four at left tackle when Carter Warren went down with an injury that kept him out most of the season. This makes it three straight seasons that a Pitt left tackle has suffered a serious injury.
Taylor started the first three games of the 2023 season at right tackle and then started eight of the next nine games at left tackle, following a season-ending injury to Matt Goncavles. Goncalves departed for the NFL and the Indianapolis Colts took him in the Third Round in the 2024 Draft.
He started the first six games of this past season at left tackle, playing in 343 snaps, before suffering an injury in the 17-15 home win vs. Cal in Week 7.
Taylor didn’t leave the sideline during that game, but the extent of the injury came following and Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi announced he was out for the season following their home win vs. Syracuse.
The NFL Combine takes place Feb. 27-March 2 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, the home of the Indianapolis Colts.
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