By Mark Pszonak
With action in the transfer portal slowing down, it is time to take a closer look at how each P4 school did during this cycle. Up now are the Pittsburgh Panthers
The skinny: There were ups and downs during this portal cycle for Pittsburgh, but some questions still remain as we head towards the season. Most of those questions lie on the defensive side of the ball, where the Panthers lost several likely starters. Were adequate replacements already on the roster or found through the portal by head coach Pat Narduzzi?
Total # entries into portal: 29
Total # of scholarship players who entered portal: 20
Number of scholarship players who withdrew: 1
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Key losses: LB Bangally Kamara (South Carolina), DL Samuel Okunlola (Colorado), LB Solomon DeShields (Texas A&M), DL Dayon Hayes (Colorado)
Key additions: DB Jeremiah Anglin (Kentucky), DE Nate Matlack (Kansas State), LB Keye Thompson (Ohio), RB Desmond Reid (Western Carolina)
Final thoughts: No matter how you look at it, losing Bangally Kamara, Solomon DeShields, Samuel Okunlola and Dayon Hayes from the defense won’t be easy to overcome. All were veterans with All-ACC potential. Two additions who should help are Nate Matlack, an immediate starter at end, and Keye Thompson, who despite some injuries during the spring has the potential to be a key contributor at linebacker. The secondary, especially at safety, was less of a concern, but the spring addition of CB Jeremiah Anglin was a nice surprise. Offensively, most of the additions were for depth, but Desmond Reid is an intriguing back who has the versatility to form a very productive duo along with Rodney Hammond. Pittsburgh will be entering this season a bit under-the-radar, so it will be up to them to get noticed in the ACC.
