Inside The Panthers

Pitt CB Declares for NFL Draft

The Pitt Panthers will lose a veteran cornerback as he pursues his professional prospects.
Stephen Thompson|
Pitt CB Declares for NFL Draft
Pitt CB Declares for NFL Draft

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Pittsburgh Panthers

PITTSBURGH -- The offseason attrition has already begun for the Pitt Panthers after their disappointing 3-9 campaign in 2023 came to a close over the weekend. 

Super senior cornerback Marquis Williams was among the first to announce that he would not return to Pitt next season. He said via an Instagram post that he will declare for the 2024 NFL Draft at the end of his decorated career with the Panthers. 

Williams ended his time at Pitt having started 45 games over five full seasons in blue and gold. He amassed 109 total tackles, 5.5 for loss, six interceptions, 17 passes defended and a forced fumble. He scored two defensive touchdowns in 2022. Williams was a crucial member of the 2021 ACC Championship team and the Panthers won two Coastal Division titles while he was on the roster. 

This announcement doesn't come as a surprise necessarily - Williams exhausted his final season of eligibility in 2023 - but it does leave the Panthers without much depth at cornerback. The other two top corners on the roster, multi-year starters A.J. Woods and M.J. Devonshire, are both expected to depart Pitt this offseason as well. 

Woods is out of eligibility and Devonshire, even with some uneven play at points in 2022, is one of the better NFL prospects on this team. 

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Stephen Thompson
STEPHEN THOMPSON

Stephen Thompson graduated with a bachelor's degree in communications and political science from Pitt in April 2022 after spending four years as a sports writer and editor at The Pitt News, the University of Pittsburgh's independent, student-run newspaper.  He primarily worked the Pitt men's basketball beat, and filled in on coverage of football, volleyball, softball, gymnastics and lacrosse, in addition to other sports as needed. His work at The Pitt News has won awards from the Pennsylvania News Media Association and Associated College Press.  During the spring and summer of 2021, Stephen interned for Pittsburgh Sports Now, covering baseball in western Pennsylvania. Hailing from Washington D.C., family ties have cultivated a love of Boston's professional teams and Pitt athletics, and a fascination with sports in general.  You can reach Stephen by email at stephenethompson00@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter. Read his latest work:

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