Nine Pitt Seniors Who Haven't Declared For 2026 NFL Draft

PITTSBURGH — With the conclusion of the Pitt Panthers' 2025 season, many players on the roster have already taken the next step in their careers. Whether that's entering the transfer portal, remaining committed to Pitt or declaring for the NFL Draft.

Pitt watched 20 total players walk on Senior Day this season, 18 of whom were in their last season of eligibility. Of those 18 seniors, nine have declared for the 2026 NFL Draft and the other nine have yet to announce their future plans.

With the draft coming up in April — taking place in Pittsburgh — and the NFL Combine in March, now is the time when many college seniors or draft-eligible players officially declare to be drafted into the pros.

As of Jan. 14, here are all the Pitt players to declare for the 2026 NFL Draft.

Name	Position	Class
Desmond Reid	RB	Senior
Jalynn Williams	RB	Sixth-Year
Raphael "Poppi" Williams	WR	Redshirt Senior
Deuce Spann	WR	Sixth-Year
Jake Overman	TE	Sixth-Year
Kyle Louis	LB	Redshirt Junior
Tamon Lynum	CB	Sixth-Year
Rashad Battle	CB	Sixth-Year
Kavir Bains-Marquez	S	Fifth-Year
Javon McIntyre	S	Redshirt Senior

Of the remaining eight players who have not declared so far, four were starters, two were rotational players and three were former walk-ons.

Justin Holmes

Justin Holmes was one of the best transfers Pitt added last offseason. Holmes quickly emerged as the starter and ultimately led Pitt's tight ends in receiving with 28 catches for 301 yards and four touchdowns.

Holmes spent the first three years of his college career at Kent State and Marshall. In his career, he collected 49 receptions, 500 yards and four touchdowns.

Holmes has yet to publicly announce his declaration to the draft, but his tight end counterpart, Jake Overman, has. Overman had 10 catches for 78 yards and a touchdown this past season, and has 35 career catches for 308 yards and two touchdowns.

Jeff Persi

Pitt's starting left tackle Jeff Persi has not announced his future plans yet. Persi is another one-and-done transfer for the Panthers. Persi started eight games in 2025 and missed four due to an injury.

According to Pro Football Focus, Persi allowed the second-most sacks and pressures with five and 23, respectively. At Michigan, Persi appeared in 16 games and started three in four seasons.

Sep 6, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers offensive lineman Jeff Persi (78) takes the field to warm up against the Central Michigan Chippewas at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Persi could be attractive to some NFL teams if he declares. Although he struggled in pass protection, Persi is still 6-foot-8, 315 pounds and could become a valuable asset with his size.

Blaine Spires

Blaine Spires is coming off of two seasons at Utah State, where he tallied 35 tackles and five sacks at defensive end. Before that, he played three years at Bowling Green and totaled 66 tackles and 2.5 sacks.

Spires was another veteran who was hit with an injury this season. He played nine games, started five and recorded 15 tackles and two sacks in his only season with the Panthers.

In six seasons of college football, Spires has registered 116 total tackles and 10.5 sacks.

Joey Zelinsky

Joey Zelinsky is the fourth transfer on this list. In his only season at Pitt, Zelinsky had 23 tackles and two sacks as a rotational player. According to PFF, he recorded the seventh-most pressures on the defense with 17, and beat his blocker 11.6% of the time.

Zelinsky spent his first four seasons at Eastern Michigan, where he appeared in 36 games and totaled 78 tackles, 12 for a loss, 5.5 sacks.

Nov 22, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets quarterback Haynes King (10) is tackled by Pittsburgh Panthers defensive lineman Joey Zelinsky (45) in the third quarter at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Nate Temple

Nate Temple was one of the most-veteran players on this Pitt roster in 2025 as a seventh-year senior. His freshman season was in 2019, where he redshirted and received another redshirt for playing during the 2020 season and one more for being injured for most of the 2024 season.

Temple's best year at Pitt came in 2023 when he played in 11 games, totaling 26 tackles, 4.5 for loss and 1.5 sacks. This past season, Temple played in 12 games, recording 11 tackles and 1.5 for a loss.

Temple now leaves Pitt with 44 total tackles, 7.5 for loss and 1.5 sacks in 41 games across seven seasons.

Nilay Upadhyayula

Pitt's long snapper Nilay Upadhyayula joined the team after three seasons at UConn, where he played in 16 games and was the starting long snapper in 2023.

He transferred to Pitt in 2024 and played in all 13 games that season as the long snapper for the punt team. Upadhyayula dealt with an injury this season and did not play in five games in his final season at Pitt.

Walk-Ons

Nick Lapi
Caleb Junko
Luke DelGaudio

The last three seniors — Nick Lapi, Caleb Junko and Luke DelGaudio — all joined Pitt as walk-ons, but Lapi and Junko later became scholarship players.

Lapi spent most of his time on special teams and as a reserve linebacker, playing in 44 games over five seasons with the Panthers. He tallied 32 tackles, including 3.5 for a loss.

Junko was the team's starting punter for the last three seasons. In his career, he averaged 43.7 yards per kick, placed 44 punts inside of the 20-yard line and had a career-long of 85 yards. Junko played in 45 games across five seasons and attempted 183 punts for a total of 7,994 yards.

DelGaudio joined Pitt in 2020 and has played in 27 games since. He started as a wide receiver, but at 6-foot-2 and 215 pounds, he was moved to linebacker. DelGaudio spent most of his time on special teams and registered two career tackles, both of which came in 2025.

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