Former Illinois QB Could Make Impact at Pitt

Deuce Spann is a speedy 6’4” receiver who's been opening eyes since joining the Pitt Panthers.

The former 3-star ranked as the 33rd dual threat QB in the class of 2020 coming out of high school according to 247Sports. After receiving offers from programs all over the country he decided to become a Fighting Illini. In high school Span threw for 4,771 yards and 45 TD’s. He also ran for 2,165 yards and 27 TDs.

At Illinois he made the switch over to receiver for his redshirt freshman year. That season he had 5 receptions for 124 yards and 2 touchdowns before that year before transferring to Florida State where he played that last three seasons.

During his time with the Noles he played in 27 games and had 92 receiving yards to go along with 348 yards on 13 kick returns. He also completed 2 passes for 24 yards.

I don’t think this play by FSU WR Deuce Spann gets the recognition it deserves.
Harold Perkins in pursuit, Spann flips the field and beats two defenders to the corner. Then he throws the ball off his outside foot while simultaneously leading Johnny inside with the pass. Crazy. pic.twitter.com/QPvNRWezne
— Clay Fink (@clay_fink) August 9, 2024

He entered his name into the transfer portal for a second time on December 1st making Pitt his third and final school.

Now in Pittsburgh he will look to return kicks alongside Kenny Johnson who led the ACC with 524 kick return yards last season. In 2023, Spann took a 99-yard kick return to the house in 2023 against Duke.

“He just keeps getting better and better, he had at least 3 deep ball catches which at 6-foot-4 you just want to see him go up and get the ball, you get a little corner out there its a major mismatch, you get an average size 6-foot corner it still should be a mismatch” Narduzzi stated after practice yesterday.

Spann has also shown flashes of being able to catch the ball downfield. He had 2 receptions at Florida St that were 20+ yards and at Illinois he grabbed a 33 yard TD against WVU and a 31 yard TD against UTSA.

Being the tallest threat in Pitt’s entire WR room the Panthers will more than likely use Spann to stretch the field. Pitt’s leading returners in the room based off production last year are Kenny Johnson and Raphael ‘Poppi’ WIlliams. Johnson stands at 6’1” well Poppi is at 5’10”. Caden Smith and Amah Agwu are both walk-on receivers listed at 6’3”. Spann is also the heaviest at 210 the second is Kenny Johnson at 200.

“We can get the ball in his hands on screens, he can block, and getting that deep ball is what we like to see him do too.” Narduzzi stated.

Whether it’s as a vertical threat, a weapon in the return game, a blocking force, or a red zone mismatch Spann has all the tools to carve himself out a major role in 2025 with Pitt.

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