Each Pitt Freshman's Final Redshirt Status Revealed

PITTSBURGH — The Pitt Panthers have wrapped up the 2025 regular season, which makes this a good time to check in and see the redshirt statuses of each true freshman.

A player can only redshirt if they appear in four games or less in any given season, and a redshirt can only be used once in a player's career, excluding injuries or any other factors that could earn a player a redshirt. Conference championships, bowl games, and the College Football Playoff do not count towards that four-game total.

Redshirting mostly occurs with freshmen for developmental reasons. Many freshmen are unlikely to play or start instantly and redshirting offers them another year of eligibility. However, some freshmen do play and start instantly. Pitt had a mix this year.

The Panthers had eight true freshmen to lose redshirt eligibility this season, and 22 are eligible to redshirt.

Burned Redshirts

DB Josh Guerrier — 12 games
DB Shawn Lee Jr. — 12 games
WR Tony Kinsler — 11 games
RB Ja'Kyrian Turner — 11 games
K Trey Butkowski — 10 games
LB Emmanuel Taylor — 10 games
WR Bryce Yates — 10 games
QB Mason Heintschel — 9 games

Not many surprises here. Names like Mason Heintschel, Ja'Kyrian Turner, Trey Butkowski and Shawn Lee Jr. were seen on the field often this season.

Heintschel and Turner led the offense in passing and rushing, with 2,098 yards and 652 yards, respectively. Butkowski had perhaps the best freshman season of any Pitt kicker ever, going 19-for-22 on field goal attempts and breaking the program record for most consecutive conversions. Lee was also one of the most impressive young defensive backs in the nation, allowing just 14 catches, 71 yards and two touchdowns in coverage this season, according to Pro Football Focus.

Central Michigan Chippewas wide receiver Nasir Williams (16) against Pittsburgh Panthers defensive back Shawn Lee Jr. (28) — Sep 6, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Central Michigan Chippewas wide receiver Nasir Williams (16) runs after a catch against Pittsburgh Panthers defensive back Shawn Lee Jr. (28) during the third quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Josh Guerrier and Bryce Yates also made an impact, but played primarily as rotational, depth players.

Gurrier had only eight tackles and three pass breakups, but did block a punt in the win over Florida State and was an important depth piece in the safeties room. With Javon McIntyre and Kavir Bains-Marquez graduating, Guerrier will look to be a starter in 2026. Yates was in a similar role with the wide receivers, where he had just nine catches for 190 yards and one score. But he made a few big plays, like a 68-yard catch against West Virginia and a 60-yard touchdown against Duquesne.

Tony Kinsler and Emmanuel Taylor were the other two freshmen to burn their redshirts and they both played primarily on special teams. Taylor appeared in four games on defense, recording four tackles, and appeared in 10 games on special teams, recording two more tackles in 79 snaps. Kinsler played 42 snaps of special teams across 11 games, recording eight tackles, and seven games on offense, with one catch for four yards.

Will Redshirt

TE Max Hunt — 4 games
DL Trevor Sommers — 3 games
OL Torian Chester — 3 games
WR Cam Sapp — 2 games
DB Cole Woodson — 1 game
DL JuJu Anderson — 1 game
LB Justin Thompson — 1 game
OL Akram Elnagmi — 1 game
DL Ben Kauffman — 1 game
LS Henry Searcy — 1 game
QB Beau Jackson — 0 games
RB Synkwan Smith — 0 games
RB Jaylin Brown — 0 games
LB John Wetzel — 0 games
LB Emory Fluhr — 0 games
DB Valdez Stuvaints — 0 games
DL Charlie Donehue — 0 games
DL Denim Cook — 0 games
OL Shep Turk — 0 games
OL Jordan Fields — 0 games
OL Josh Nindl — 0 games
P Kaemon Tijerina — 0 games

No real surprises here.

Tight end Max Hunt was the only freshman to hit the maximum number of games played to retain a redshirt. Hunt played in three games on special teams and only appeared against Central Michigan on offense.

Torian Chester and Trevor Sommers also got close to losing eligibility. Chester played in all three phases of the game, with seven snaps at left guard, two snaps at nose tackle and 10 snaps of special teams. Sommers played just two snaps of special teams and 17 snaps at defensive tackle.

A handful of freshmen played in just one game this season and the majority never played a snap.

Pitt welcomed its 2026 recruiting class last week and will have 21 more freshmen, along with some walk-ons, come the start of next season.

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