Head coach Pat Narduzzi and the Pitt Panthers received their first transfer portal commitment of the offseason as former Nebraska Cornhuskers‘ defensive back Tamon Lynum has adjusted the biography on his Instagram page.
I’m not always the greatest detective, but Nebraska DB Tamon Lynum appears to now be Pitt DB Tamon Lynum on Instagram. Pitt picks up its first transfer portal commitment pic.twitter.com/p4eMJUSCFq
— Jim Hammett (@JimHammett) December 10, 2023
Lynum entered the portal Thursday after four seasons with the Huskers. His 2022 season was cut short by a season-ending injury after just four games. The former three-star recruit visited Pitt this weekend, according to Chris Peak of Panther Lair.
Lynum participated in 23 games as a Husker, yet he only started one time. This season saw Lynum put up career-high numbers on 117 snaps this season with 12 tackles, a sack and two forced fumbles. In a Nebraska Rivals article, Nebraska defensive back coach Evan Cooper praised Lynum’s work ethic.
“At the end of spring, I was really honest with him, I told him how I felt about him and how I saw the trajectory of his career, and he’s been attacking it,” Nebraska DBs coach Evan Cooper said last July. “I expect him to compete to get into games, to play, to start. Those spots, they’re open. So hopefully he’ll show up when it comes time to compete, but he’s been working his tail off.”
Tamon Lynum is a Much-Needed Addition to a Thin Pitt Panthers’ Cornerback Room
Pittsburgh’s cornerback room already lost starting cornerbacks A.J. Woods and Marquis Williams, who used their last years of college eligibility in the 2023 season. Their top cornerback, M.J. Devonshire, has yet to make a decision regarding his future. The loss of Devonshire would be significant for the Panthers as he’s turned into one of the top cornerbacks in college football.
Pat Narduzzi’s ability to attract and retain talent was called into question this season after a 58-7 blowout loss to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. In an article from ESPN, Narduzzi addressed his concerns with the teams talent following the loss, and he hopes that experienced players like Lynum can fill the holes of notable departures.
“I’ll go back, as a football coach you lose a lot of good players from a year ago and you think as a coach you’re going to replace them and obviously we haven’t,” Narduzzi said Saturday. “Again, it starts with me. I didn’t do a good enough job coaching today. Put it on me and we’ve got to make plays.”
Pitt and Lynum’s former Husker team were remarkably similar statistically in the 2023 season. Nebraska had the 42nd best pass defense in the nation whereas Pitt had the 43rd best pass defense in the nation, allowing 210.6 and 211.4 passing yards per game, respectively. Nebraska also eked out the better number in the touchdown category with 14 passing touchdowns allowed to Pitt’s 16.
6-foot-2, 185-pound Tamon Lynum’s four years of experience at the Big Ten level will bring much-needed experience to the Pitt secondary. Lynum will have two seasons of eligibility remaining as a member of Narduzzi’s Panther squad.
Pitt Panthers’ Defensive Back Tamon Lynum is Just the 3rd Nebraska Cornhusker to Enter the Transfer Portal This Season
Although Lynum is the fifth player from the Cornhuskers’ secondary to depart, he is the first scholarship player from that room to enter the transfer portal. The Huskers lost Omar Brown, Quinton Newsom and Phalen Sanford due to the exhaustion of their eligibility. Walk-on Javier Morton has also entered the transfer portal.
Lynum was a role player in a Nebraska secondary that defied expectations this season. First-year defensive coordinator Tony White had the Cornhuskers at 13th in total defense as they allowed just 303.5 yards per game. The Huskers 14 passing touchdowns allowed on the season was worse than just 17 teams.
Neither Pitt nor Nebraska will compete in a bowl game this year. Ninth-year coach Pat Narduzzi wen just 3-9 this season, while first-year head coach Matt Rhule almost made a bowl game with a 5-7 record. While Rhule’s failure to make a bowl game was seen as a disappointment after a 5-3 start, the low number of transfers bode well for the program he is trying to build.
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