When the NFL released its all-decade team for the 2010s in April, former Pitt players littered the list.
Four Panthers were selected, and each -- Larry Fitzgerald at wide receiver, LeSean McCoy at running back, Aaron Donald at defensive tackle and Darrelle Revis at cornerback -- was an obvious choice. When it comes to Pitt's reputation for producing elite NFL talent no matter the team's win totals, those four are big reasons why.
But Donald, who regularly enters the conversation about the NFL's best players, is the only one who played at Pitt the past decade, and it made me wonder: What would the Panthers' all-decade team look like?
Obviously, Donald anchors the defensive line, but what about at running back, wide receiver, linebacker? Some positions are more loaded with talent than others.
And given Pitt is about to embark on a new decade of football, it seemed like an opportune time to look back at the best of the past decade.
My offensive picks from 2010-19:
QB: NATHAN PETERMAN
That Peterman remains on a NFL roster -- he's with the Las Vegas Raiders -- is a divisive issue (to put in nicely), but during the 2015 and '16 seasons with Pitt, the transfer from Tennessee displayed a knack for winning the big game. Peterman passed for more than 5,000 yards, 47 touchdowns and only 17 interceptions in his two seasons. Pitt beat Penn State and Clemson with Peterman as starting quarterback
Also considered: Kenny Pickett
RB: JAMES CONNER
A former two-way player and one of college football's better stories, Conner ran his way into the Pitt and ACC record books with an award-worthy performance in 2014. He posted back-to-back 200-yard games early that season and finished with 1,765 rushing yards and an ACC-record 26 rushing touchdowns, which earned him conference player of the year and first-team All-American honors. After returning from Hodgkin's lymphoma and an ACL injury, Conner added a second 1,000-yard season in 2016. His 3,733 career rushing yards are second on Pitt's all-time list, and his 56 career touchdowns are second in ACC history to Clemson's Travis Etienne.
#TBT James Conner in Pitt retro colors
Setting the ACC all-time TD record ?
? via @theACCDN#H2P #TAKEIT pic.twitter.com/nwvBwKuCHp
— Pitt Football (@Pitt_FB) August 17, 2017
Good luck to Brian O’Neill as he makes his playoff debut today!
The @Vikings starting RT is one of the top pass blockers in the @NFL.
And he can score touchdowns... ? #H2Ppic.twitter.com/RQTNCuXGEr
— Pitt Football (@Pitt_FB) January 5, 2020
Pitt
At Clemson 2016. Chris Blewitt kicks the game winning 48-yard field goal to put Pitt past the eventual National Champion Clemson.
pic.twitter.com/BdgtIs5WFm
— Average Conference Content (@ACContent__) May 17, 2020
