Following a turbulent season, Pitt football coach Pat Narduzzi has dismissed running back Chawntez Moss, according to a team spokesperson.
Moss entered 2017 as Pitt’s leading returning rusher, and made a case to seize the lead role in the backfield early in the year as a sophomore, but then couldn’t get out of Narduzzi’s dog house. For starters, Moss was dressed but didn’t play in the season opener against Youngstown State, with Narduzzi declining to say why.
Then, Oct. 7, Moss didn’t make the trip to Syracuse because of a suspension for an undisclosed violation. Just the week before, against Rice, Moss started at tailback and scored two touchdowns on 84 yards of offense.
Of course, the four games Moss eventually missed as part of his punishment helped open the door for Darrin Hall, who will go into his senior year coming off a breakout second half of the season in which he ran for 104 yards per game in the final five. Qadree Ollison has another year of eligibility, as well, in addition to a freshman duo of A.J. Davis, who played sparingly, and Todd Sibley, who redshirted.
Moss, a native of Bedford, Ohio, had just one carry the final four games and finished the season with 116 yards and two touchdowns on 42 rushes, plus five receptions for 71 yards and another score. Panther-Lair.com first reported Monday morning Moss would not return in 2018, but there had been speculation of that outcome since his midseason disciplinary measure and subsequent small role upon his return.
Brian Batko: bbatko@post-gazette.com and Twitter @BrianBatko.
First Published: December 4, 2017, 2:05 p.m.
