Beginning at midnight Friday, the transfer portal officially opened, with players across college football free to enter their names and formally begin the process of finding new homes.
At Pitt, a trickling of portal announcements began early last month, before the Panthers’ eventual loss to East Carolina in the Military Bowl on Dec. 27.
Now, with the portal season kicking into high gear, coach Pat Narduzzi and his staff are watching as an increasing number of players — from reserves to starters and standouts on both sides of the ball — announce their intention to transfer from Pitt.
Below is a look at those who have announced or been reported as having entered the portal.
Note: This story will be updated. The transfer portal window runs through Jan. 16.
2 top performers
On Dec. 29, two days after the Panthers’ deflating bowl loss, a handful of Pitt players were set to enter the transfer portal, but the commonality they shared was largely being reserves.
Then news surfaced that second-leading wideout Kenny Johnson would join that pack, depriving Pitt of a talented offensive weapon who broke out in 2025, making 48 catches for 695 yards and five scores.
Johnson’s departure, combined with Poppi Williams’ graduation, leaves the Panthers without their two most productive receivers heading into the offseason. Tight end Justin Holmes, third on the Panthers with 28 catches, also graduated.
In 2024, Johnson took some major strides, recording 46 catches for 537 yards and three touchdowns. He concluded his Pitt career, which also featured a pair of touchdowns on kick and punt return duty, with 109 catches for 1,354 yards.
Two days later, Pitt received a gut punch on the other side of the ball, as two-time All-ACC linebacker and tackle-for-loss machine Rasheem Biles also hit the portal Dec. 31.
Biles did so on the heels of a dominant individual performance in the Military Bowl, racking up 16 tackles, two sacks and a scoop-and-score touchdown vs. the Pirates.
He led Pitt this season with 100 tackles, leading the ACC with 17 for loss. Biles also posted 4.5 sacks, four passes defended and returned both of his interceptions vs. Louisville and Notre Dame for touchdowns.
Pitt still has Braylan Lovelace and up-and-coming playmakers at linebacker such as Cameron Lindsey, but losing Biles and All-American Kyle Louis — who declared for the 2026 NFL Draft — will be a huge loss.
QBs room
All eyes are turning to quarterback Mason Heintschel, as Pitt stares down the possibility of losing its promising young signal-caller.
Heintschel, after supplanting Eli Holstein as starter Oct. 4, went 7-3 as Pitt’s starting quarterback, completing 63.6% (201 of 316) of his passes for 2,354 yards, 16 touchdowns and eight picks as a true freshman.
When Narduzzi made the bold decision to turn to Heintschel, Pitt was 2-2, having blown back-to-back leads against West Virginia and Louisville.
Upon taking center stage, Heintschel led Pitt on a five-game conference win streak, as well as a road upset of No. 16 Georgia Tech on Nov. 22.
He has remained quiet on social media after the Military Bowl. The decision he makes will have major implications for Pitt’s offseason approach and immediate prospects heading into 2026.
Looking at the rest of Pitt’s quarterbacks room, there’s been significant movement.
Unsurprisingly, after losing the starter’s gig, Holstein has reportedly opted to enter the portal.
The former Alabama transfer began the year under center for Pitt, completing 61.6% (77 of 125) passes for 1,081 yards, 12 touchdowns and six interceptions before being benched after four games.
In 2024, Holstein was named starter out of fall camp and led Pitt to a 7-0 start. A litany of second-half injuries he suffered contributed mightily to the Panthers’ 0-6 finish.
Holstein, limited to playing parts of 10 games, still threw for 2,225 yards, 17 touchdowns and seven picks.
He is joined in the portal by fellow position mates David Lynch, Pitt’s starter in the 2024 GameAbove Sports Bowl, and Western Carolina transfer Cole Gonzales.
OL departures
When Pitt center Lyndon Cooper was not recognized on Senior Day on Nov. 29 against Miami, it suggested that the former N.C. State transfer could possess additional eligibility following five collegiate campaigns.
It appears Cooper will explore using that eligibility elsewhere after he announced Wednesday he would enter the portal.
Cooper started 25 games, including two bowl games, for the Panthers the past two seasons.
He has been joined in the portal by reserve offensive lineman Tai Ray.
Promising DB leaves
True freshmen played starring roles for Pitt in all three phases in 2025.
On defense, cornerback Shawn Lee stepped up as a regular contributor, filling in for injuries before carving out a role for himself.
Lee, reported to be hitting the portal Thursday, played in all 13 games for the Panthers, recording 31 tackles and breaking up four passes.
His biggest season highlight came Nov. 1 against Stanford, when he returned an interception 30 yards for a touchdown.
Rest of the list
Additional Pitt players to hit the transfer portal include: tailback Juelz Goff, receivers Zion Fowler-El and Jesse Anderson, offensive lineman Jackson Brown, long snapper Nico Crawford, kicker Sam Carpenter, defensive back Davion Pritchard, defensive end Maverick Gracio and tight end Malachi Thomas.
Of the group, Goff and Thomas were the most productive.
Goff rushed for 275 yards and five scores before seeing his workload cede significantly to true freshman Ja’Kyrian Turner as the season went on.
Thomas made 13 receptions for 192 yards and two touchdowns. In the Military Bowl, he recorded a season-high 36 yards.
