Pitt running back Rodney Hammond’s strange senior season — which began with him being ruled ineligible by the program days before kickoff of the season opener and proceeded with his reinstatement five weeks later — has ended, head coach Pat Narduzzi announced on Monday afternoon.
Hammond did not travel with the team for its Week 13 contest at Louisville this past weekend and Narduzzi said it was because Hammond intends to redshirt and preserve his final year of college eligibility. Hammond has appeared in four games this season. If he had played in one more, he would be ineligible for a redshirt year, and his collegiate career would be over.
“Rodney would like to redshirt. I’m going to grant his wishes,” Narduzzi said. “Would I like him to play? Yeah. But he’s got to do what he’s got to do, and everybody has got to make a business decision, and I’ll make a business decision, as well, at times.”
Narduzzi added that Hammond has not informed the team of whether he intends to stay in Pittsburgh or enter the transfer portal when it officially opens on Dec. 9.
“That’s the last thing I’m worried about,” Narduzzi said. “I’m worried about our football team that’s playing right now.”
Hammond could have been a useful piece for the Panthers, whose ranks at running back have thinned in recent weeks. Daniel Carter, the team’s third-leading rusher behind quarterback Eli Holstein, is out for the season after suffering a grisly leg injury against Clemson, and there is limited experience elsewhere on the roster.
True freshman Juelz Goff and junior Derrick Davis Jr. are the backups to Reid now that Hammond and Carter won’t be able to play this weekend.
Hammond was declared ineligible on Aug. 30, roughly 24 hours before the Panthers opened the 2024 season against Kent State at Acrisure Stadium.
He was Pitt’s leading rusher during the 2023 campaign and has accounted for just 45 total yards on 14 rushes and receptions during his limited action in 2024.
The starting job that Hammond took over last season was claimed by Reid, the Western Carolina transfer who has become Pitt’s best playmaker this year. The 5-foot-9 and 175-pound Reid has rushed for 797 yards and four touchdowns and is currently the Panthers’ leading receiver with 47 catches for 564 yards and four more touchdowns.
The transfer portal was a hot topic during Narduzzi’s weekly Monday press conference as he and the team look forward to the regular season finale against Boston College. Pitt won seven games in a row to open the season and climbed to as high as 18th in the AP poll and College Football Playoff rankings before dropping four straight contests in November.
With the opening of the transfer portal and national signing day so close to the end of the season, players will have to make quick decisions about their futures.
However, Narduzzi is working hard to keep his team focused on Boston College in the meantime. Players will make their decisions about where to play football next year when that time comes, but for now, Pitt has at least one more game to play before the portal begins to siphon pieces from rosters around the country.
“That’s going to happen either way. You’re going to have to deal with the portal. Not really worried about it,” Narduzzi said. “I think our guys in here are pretty happy. The ones that aren’t — hey. But we feel pretty good about that.”
DL gains one veteran, loses another
There weren’t many positives to take away from Pitt’s 37-9 loss at Louisville last Saturday, but it did feature the return of a veteran defensive lineman who was thought to be out for the season. Sixth-year senior Nate Temple saw his first game action of the season after suffering a knee injury in preseason training camp.
Temple had been slowly ramping up during practices over the latter half of the season. The reward for working hard to get “way ahead” of his scheduled recovery time, as Narduzzi put it, was 16 snaps on Saturday night and perhaps another year of eligibility.
“He’s still rusty and raw, but that will come with time,” Narduzzi said.
“It was good to have Nate back. He’s got a motor. He cares. And I love his attitude.”
Still, Narduzzi had some bad news to share about one of his senior defensive linemen. Defensive tackle Anthony Johnson, a Pittsburgh native who transferred in from Youngstown State this offseason, hasn’t played since the season opener after suffering what Narduzzi called a “scary” back injury in practice the following week and won’t return this season.
Johnson had been using a walker but is now able to move on his own. The program is looking into getting him a medical waiver and more eligibility, but Narduzzi can’t say for sure if that will be possible.
“He’s getting better now, thank God. … He’s back moving around pretty good,” Narduzzi said. “But my heart goes out to Anthony — just another one of those injuries. I don’t think he’s got another year left. We’ll still have to look at that.”
While Johnson’s ailment isn’t new, it’s one part of a constantly growing injury report that Pitt has dealt with during the second half of the season.
