Pitt Gets Back Four Key Starters for Miami Matchup

PITTSBURGH — The final ACC Availability Report for the Pitt Panthers' last regular season home game against the No. 12-ranked Miami Hurricanes has been released.

Out

DL Zach Crothers
LB Jayden Bonsu
RB Jaylin Brown
DB Nigel Maynard
LB Nick Lapi
LB Jeremiah Marcelin
RB Derrick Davis Jr.
DL Denim Cook
OL Keith Gouveia

Game Time Decision

DL Sean FitzSimmons

The Panthers will return Desomond Reid, Ryan Carrtta and Trey Butkowski this week.

Reid missed last week's game against Georgia Tech after suffering an injury that saw him being carried off the field by his teammates against Notre Dame the week before. True freshman back Ja'Kyrian Turner filled in for Reid last week and recorded a career high 201 rushing yards and sealed the 42-28 win over the Yellow Jackets with a 56-yard touchdown.

Ryan Carretta was a game-time decision last week and ultimately did not play. Backup left tackle Kendall Stanley stepped in for Carretta and allowed just one pressure, while Jeff Persi recorded his first start since his injury and allowed six pressures and a sack.

Carretta is a backup himself and was promoted to a starter after Keith Gouveia went down with a season-ending injury.

Trey Butkowski has missed the last two games due to an illness. Pat Narduzzi addressed Butkowski's absence and said that there was no official timeline for his return earlier this week.

"I wish there was," he said on Nov. 24.

Sam Carpenter was Pitt's kicker while Butkowski was out and went 1-for-3 on field goal attempts. He missed his only attempt just before halftime in last week's game.

Defensive tackle Francis Brewu was also upgraded from questionable to active. Brewu went down twice last week with apparent injuries and appeared on the first injury report earlier this week. He has 32 total tackles, one sack and a forced fumble this season.

Toledo Rockets quarterback Tucker Gleason (4) avoids being tackled by Pittsburgh Panthers defensive lineman Francis Brewu (95), during one of the six overtimes in the 2024 GameAbove Sports Bowl at Ford Field in Detroit, on Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. | Kimberly P. Mitchell / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Bewu being active is big for the Panthers' defensive line, as there is a chance that Sean FitzSimmons misses another game. FitzSimmons was listed as a game-time decision on the injury report after being ruled out for the last two games against Notre Dame and Georgia Tech.

Pitt's defensive tackle group was thin in their last game, with just Brewu, Nick James and Jahsear Whittington recording snaps.

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