Pitt Expects Starting OL Back From Injury Soon
PITTSBURGH -- The offensive line was a meat grinder for the Pitt Panthers last year, who because of injuries were forced to use as many as eight different starting combinations but there is some good news on the horizon as they begin preparations for the 2024 campaign.
Not only did four players with multiple games of starting experience return to Pittsburgh, but Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi said he expects interior offensive lineman Ryan Jacoby to return from injury soon. He didn't participate in the first full practice of spring ball this week but is nearing full strength.
"We have to stay healthy. We don’t have Jacoby back yet, but soon enough," Narduzzi said. "It looks like he’s ready, but I’m not the doctor or the trainer. He looks ready to roll."
Jacoby had turned in a strong 2023 training camp with the Panthers this year and was in the thick of, if not leading, a battle to win starting reps at the outset of the season before a season-ending injury derailed everything. He figures to be a prime candidate to start at guard this coming season.
Jacoby was a blue-chip prospect coming out of high school in 2019 and played his first two seasons at Ohio State before transferring to Pitt in 2021. He saw the field in the final three games of that season as a reserve offensive lineman and started in the Peach Bowl against Michigan State.
He returned in 2022 and saw action in all 13 games - five of which came in the form of starts as a tight end. Jacoby played primarily as a guard last season, but was being worked out as a tackle this year prior to his injury.
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