One of Pitt’s most acclaimed players from its football recruiting class two years ago is leaving the program, as are a central figure on a Netflix show and two others from the defensive side of the ball.
Kaezon Pugh, Kam Carter, Henry Miller and Malik Henderson have asked for and been granted their releases to transfer, according to sources. Pitt now is two under the 85-scholarship limit heading into February’s national signing day.
Pugh, a former Aliquippa High School star who signed with the Panthers as a four-star prospect in 2016, didn’t play in any games this past season as a redshirt freshman. He arrived at Pitt as a linebacker but was moved to defensive end last spring, a position change that didn’t lead to any on-field action in 2017.
Pugh (6 feet 1, 250 pound)s was never listed on Pitt’s official injury report this past season but also didn’t dress for some games, with no reason given publicly. He fell behind in the competition at defensive end, as classmates Rashad Weaver and Patrick Jones, as well as juniors Dewayne Hendrix and James Folston all will return. Pugh was never listed on the two-deep depth chart throughout the year.
Pugh was known more for his running prowess in high school, racking up 4,979 career yards, including 2,451 his senior year when he was the Pennsylvania Class AA player of the year. But the Panthers coaching staff thought he could be an undersized rush end in the mold of former standout Ejuan Price. There’s mutual interest between Pugh and Division II California, Pa., where he could play right away and have three more years, per a source.
Carter, who similarly never made much of a move in the defensive tackle race, will have two years of eligibility remaining. He’s best known for his appearance on the “Last Chance U” documentary series, which preceded his time at Pitt when he played for East Mississippi Community College. Carter started his college career at Penn State but was dismissed from the team. He played in nine games in 2017, registering 8 tackles, 1.5 tackles for a loss and 1 fumble recovery.
At 6-3, 205 pounds, Miller seemed to hold long-term potential upon his move from defensive back to linebacker midway through his redshirt freshman year. But the Kissimmee, Fla., native never made much of an impact on special teams or on defense, where there are several other young players ahead of him.
Henderson is another Floridian who enrolled early at Pitt in January 2015, but the redshirt sophomore had been passed up by other cornerbacks after three seasons. He was injured at times in 2017 and didn’t play in any games.
The quartet of defections was first reported Friday morning by Panther-Lair.com.
Brian Batko: bbatko@post-gazette.com and Twitter @BrianBatko.
First Published: January 5, 2018, 4:45 p.m.
