The Panther-Lair Podcast

Will there be any surprise starters? Which games are the swing games on Pitt's schedule? What will it take to make the College Football Playoffs? Answers to those questions and more in this week's Morning Pitt Mailbag.

Pitt opened training camp and held Media Day yesterday, giving us plenty to talk about on today's Morning Pitt. From the running back situation to two big themes and more, here are three things that stood out on the first day of camp.

It's time: training camp starts today. To get you ready for everything in camp, we're talking about everything with a couple quick thoughts on every position group on the team.

Training camp starts tomorrow, so today we've got five big storylines to watch with Pitt football in 2025. From stars being stars to addressing weaknesses and reaching for a great season, we've got a lot to talk about on today's Morning Pitt.

Training camp is almost here, and on today's Morning Pitt, we've got a rundown of everything you need to know. Which players did Pitt lose this offseason? Who did the Panthers add? How many starters are back? How many does the team need to replace? All that and more on the Monday edition of the Morning Pitt.

Should there be hype or concern for Eli Holstein? What is Pitt's deepest position? Who is the Panthers' best college linebacker since 2001? All that and more in this week's Morning Pitt Mailbag.

We've been talking a lot about the big names like Kyle Louis and Desmond Reid - not to mention the quarterback - but who are some of the other Pitt players you should be aware of before training camp starts? We've got five breakout candidates on today's Morning Pitt.

ACC Football Kickoff started in Charlotte yesterday; what was said and what did we learn? Maybe something, maybe nothing, but with two new rules and the big topic of college football on the table, there's plenty to talk about on today's Morning Pitt.

Pitt has added 68 transfers since Pat Narduzzi became head coach. That's a big group of players and the results have been mixed. But who are the top five transfers to join the Panthers under Narduzzi? On today's Morning Pitt, we're ranking them - as well as a few honorable mentions - as we look at the impact transfers have made in the last 10 years.

Which Pitt players are prospects for the 2026 NFL Draft? Who will start at left tackle this season? Answers to those questions and more in this week's Morning Pitt Mailbag.  …

The Athletic ranked every starting quarterback in the country this week. Where does Pitt's Eli Holstein check in? And how does he compare to the rest of the ACC? We're talking about Holstein's place in the conference on today's Morning Pitt.

When you sit down to make a list of the top five linebackers of the Narduzzi era at Pitt, something interesting happens: you realize that a lot of that list comes from the very recent past - and soon, almost the entire list could come from the last three years. We're talking about the best linebackers Pitt has had on today's Morning Pitt.

ACC Football Kickoff - aka ACC Media Day - will be held next week, and each team in the conference will send player representatives. Pitt's list of reps is a solid one, but there's one notable exception. On today's Morning Pitt, we're talking about that exception, how much we should read into it and a lot more.

Which freshmen and redshirt freshmen will do the most this season? What's the best-case scenario for the floor and ceiling in 2025? Should Pitt play Temple? Answers to those questions and more in this week's Morning Pitt Mailbag.

After ranking the offensive positions yesterday, we're moving on to the defense. How do Pitt's five defensive positions - end, tackle, linebacker, cornerback and safety - rank heading into the 2025 season? We've got the ranking on today's Morning Pitt.

Pitt's offense has a lot of returning contributors - and a lot of question marks. How do you rank the five position groups on that side of the ball? We're putting them in order on today's Morning Pitt.

The decommitment of Day'jon Moore on Friday was nothing new. In fact, decommitments have been a regular occurrence in the recruiting process since June official visits started in the summer of 2018. Today, we're looking at Pitt's history with decommitments.

Pitt lost an offensive line recruit over the weekend. What will the Panthers do now? We're looking at the state of Pitt's recruiting class and how the coaches will respond to the news on today's Morning Pitt.

itt's defensive ends have been viewed as a strength in the Pat Narduzzi era, but is that really the case? On today's Morning Pitt, we're taking a closer look at the Panthers' defensive ends from the last 10 seasons.

Kyle Louis is getting a lot of preseason hype, including first-team All-America honors this week. Will the Pitt linebacker live up to the hype? We're looking at Louis and what he can do in 2025 on today's Morning Pitt.

It's July 1, 2025, which means the new era of college sports starts today. How did we get here? And where will we go from here? We're looking at those questions and more on today's Morning Pitt.

The 2025 football season starts in exactly two months. So as the calendar turns to July, let's look at some of Pitt's biggest questions for the coming season. What are the make-or-break factors for the Panthers this year? We're breaking them down on today's Morning Pitt.

From projecting which positions should produce to the biggest stats to recalling some of the most impressive individual performances in Pitt history, we've got some great questions in this week's Mailbag.

Pitt added another commitment to the 2026 recruiting class this week with DePaul Catholic defensive lineman Logan Nagle. On today's Morning Pitt, we're looking at how Nagle fits in the class and what's next for the Panthers.

In the new era of college sports, schools will share more than $20 million with student-athletes every year. How is Pitt going to come up with that kind of cash? We've got a few ideas on today's episode of the Morning Pitt.

Pitt landed another local recruit on Monday when Steel Valley defensive back Da'Ron Barksdale announced for the Panthers. On today's Morning Pitt, we're looking at how Barksdale fits in Pitt's defense, what his commitment means for the Panthers, where Pitt stands in the WPIAL and a lot more.

Pitt has 12 commitments on offense in the class of 2026. How does that side of the ball look so far? What do the Panthers have and what do they need? We're breaking it down on today's Morning Pitt.

Could Eli Holstein have a monster year? Who is footing the bill for the back pay? Which underrated WPIAL recruit could be the best? And what's up with the comically oversized hat? Answers to those questions and more in this week's Morning Pitt Mailbag.

Tight end has been the weakest position at Pitt under Pat Narduzzi. Why is that? Today we're looking back at the history of Panther tight ends in the last 10 years to figure out why that position has been such an issue.

With a returning All-American, the best production in a long time and some real results on the recruiting trail, linebacker has become Pitt's strength. How did it happen? And what does it mean for the future? We're taking a long look at the linebackers on today's Morning Pitt.

Pitt's second official visit weekend of June was another success, as the Panthers landed four more commitments for the 2026 recruiting class plus a new commitment in the 2027 class. On today's Morning Pitt, we're breaking down the newest commits and more from the weekend. Note: While four recruits from the official visits committed to Pitt over the weekend, only three announced their commitments before we recorded this episode of the Morning Pitt, so we limited our discussion to those three.

We're covering a lot of ground in this week's Morning Pitt Mailbag, with questions from Pitt fans ranging from the Panthers' chances at the ACC title game to landing a pair of teammates and more.

After landing commitments from three Western Pa. recruits over the weekend, is Pitt making progress with local prospects? We're looking at the Panthers' efforts, success and more in the WPIAL on the Tuesday edition of the Morning Pitt.

Pitt's first official visit weekend had some hits, as the Panthers landed 10 commitments to triple the size of their 2026 recruiting class. Who committed to Pitt? We've got the full breakdown on the Monday edition of the Morning Pitt.

How many commitments will Pitt get from this weekend? How many passes will the tight ends and running backs catch? And which rivals were the most entertaining? All that and more in this week's Morning Pitt Mailbag.

From tight end production to WPIAL recruiting, we've got five things we're thinking about on today's Morning Pitt.

In this week's Morning Pitt Mailbag, we're taking questions on how transfers develop, whether there's a panic level with Eli Holstein and a lot more. Plus: a send-off to long-time Pitt SID E.J. Borghetti.

We're talking depth and improvement on today's Morning Pitt. Which positions on the 2025 roster are the thinnest and the deepest? And which position is our pick to improve the most this season? All that and more on today's Morning Pitt.

Pitt's running back room is a study in extremes, and on today's Morning Pitt, we're asking a simple question: are you concerned about what the Panthers' backfield looks like?

Has the Pitt coaching staff changed its philosophy with recruiting linebackers? Should Jeff Capel be worried about visa issues? And how will the Panthers' kicking game do this year? We've got answers to those questions and more in this week's Morning Pitt Mailbag.

Yesterday we counted down the top five Pitt players of the century. Today we're narrowing the focus a bit: who are the top 10 players of the Pat Narduzzi era at Pitt? It's trickier than it looks, but we're counting them down on today's Morning Pitt.

Pitt has had some great players in the last 25 years, but who are the best? The top two might be easy to name, but filling out the rest of the top five is tougher. That's what we're doing on today's Morning Pitt.

In 10 years with Pat Narduzzi as head coach, Pitt's quarterback position has been a mixed bag, ranging from the success of Kenny Pickett in 2021 to something quite a bit less than success in other years. On today's Morning Pitt, we're looking at the history of quarterbacks under Narduzzi.

What are the chances that Pat Narduzzi leads Pitt to the playoffs? And can the Panthers' run game improve in 2025? Answers to those questions and more in this week's Morning Pitt Mailbag.

There were points in 2024 when Pitt's offense looked unstoppable - and points when the Panthers were very much stoppable. What will it be this season? What should we expect? Should we be optimistic or skeptical? We're breaking it down on today's Morning Pitt.

There are breakout players every year, and on today's Morning Pitt, we're looking at five Panthers who could be on the verge of breakout performances - and how those performances could impact the Pitt football team this season.

Pitt has plenty of open starting jobs to fill this season, and on today's Morning Pitt, we're breaking down the top five position battles on the team, from the left side of the offensive line to the safeties and more. 

We're turning our focus to Pitt football this week, and we're starting off with five players who we should be talking about more than we are.

We've got some great questions in this week's Mailbag. How did Pitt do in the transfer portal? How will this season's offense stack up against previous years? And how much does a competitive roster cost? All that and more in this week's Morning Pitt Mailbag.

Pitt landed another receiver for the 2026 recruiting class this week, continuing the ongoing process of rebuilding the receiver room. How have Kade Bell and the Panthers' offensive coaches approached that process? We're breaking it down on today's Morning Pitt.

Pitt Athletic Director Allen Greene has been on the job for six months, and there are a few things Pitt fans would like to hear from him. What are the biggest questions Greene needs to answer? We've got a few on today's Morning Pitt.