Pitt Star LB Enters Transfer Portal

PITTSBURGH — The Pitt Panthers will be without two of their three starting linebackers next season.

Star linebacker Rasheem Biles is reportedly entering the NCAA Transfer Portal on Jan. 2, On'3 Hayes Fawcett and ESPN's Pete Thamel have reported.

"Biles will be one of the top linebackers available in the portal. He’ll have one year of eligibility remaining. He has 185 career tackles. He’s told the Pitt staff that returning to Pitt remains an option, per a source," Thamel wrote on X.

All-American linebacker Kyle Louis is Pitt's other starter who will not return in 2026. Louis declared for the 2026 NFL Draft on Dec. 19. Desmond Reid, Kavir Bains-Marquez, Rashad Battle and Raphael "Poppi" Wiliams have also declared for April's draft.

Biles Enters Transfer Portal

Biles just had the best season of his career in 2025. He was named a second-team All-ACC linebacker by the Associated Press and the conference.

Biles posted 4.5 sacks, 17 tackles for loss, four pass breakups, forced two fumbles, two interceptions, each returned for a touchdown, and a team-high 100 total tackles this season in just 10 of Pitt's 13 games. His total tackles, forced fumbles, interceptions and touchdowns were all career-highs.

Nov 29, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Miami Hurricanes quarterback Carson Beck (11) runs the ball as Pittsburgh Panthers linebacker Rasheem Biles (3) tackles during the first quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

In the Military Bowl, Biles had his best game of the year, totaling 16 tackles, five for loss, two sacks, a forced fumble and a touchdown in the 23-17 loss to East Carolina.

In his three years at Pitt, Biles has accumulated 185 tackles, 32 for a loss, 10.5 sacks, three interceptions, 16 pass deflections, three forced fumbles, two recoveries and two touchdowns.

Pitt's Losses on Defense

Without Biles and Louis, Braylan Lovelace is the only linebacker set to return for 2026 so far. Lovelace, a rising senior, was the team's second-leading tackler with 80 stops, and also added 5.5 tackles for loss, one sack, two interceptions, four pass breakups and a touchdown.

Some potential contributing factors to Biles' decision to enter the portal are the losses of defensive coordinator Randy Bates and linebackers coach Ryan Manalac. The program announced that Bates would retire following the Military Bowl and Manalac has reportedly taken the defensive coordinator position at UConn.

Since then, Cory Sanders has been promoted to defensive coordinator, however, his roles as assistant head coach and safeties coach are now both open, along with the linebackers coach position.

Pitt's Portal Update

The following Pitt players have all announced their intentions or have been reported to enter the transfer portal:

QB David Lynch, R-So.
RB Juelz Goff, R-Fr.
WR Kenny Johnson, Jr.
WR Zion Fowler-El, R-So.
WR Jesse Anderson, R-So.
TE Malachi Thomas, So.
OT Tai Ray, R-So.
OL Jackson Brown, R-Jr.
LB Rasheem Biles, Jr.
CB Davion Pritchard, R-Fr.
CB Mathew Amofa, R-Jr.
K Sam Carpenter, R-So.
LS Nico Crawford, R-Jr.

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