It didn't take long for Pitt to find their potential star quarterback to replace Kenny Pickett in the Transfer Portal.
That's because Kedon Slovis, a junior quarterback with two years of eligibility left transferring from USC signed with Pitt Tuesday afternoon. The announcement was made over Slovis' Instagram account:
Kedon Slovis' official commitment announcement.
Slovis is a former three-star recruit who played with the Trojans between 2019-2021. His freshman season featured a burst onto the PAC-12 scene with 3,502 passing yards, 30 passing touchdowns and only nine interceptions in 2019, but his progression regressed with only 17 passing touchdowns in 2020 and only 11 in 2021.
Panther Nation let’s welcome @Kedonslovis to Pittsburgh! #H2P pic.twitter.com/kcO63rc7xE
— Pat Narduzzi (@CoachDuzzPittFB) December 21, 2021
And with former Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley taking over as the new USC head coach, changes to the offense and plans at quarterback would most likely follow. That led to Slovis entering the Portal and Pitt being among several programs trying to bring him in, including Notre Dame.
This statement from Slovis addressing his situation was published in the Player's Tribune Tuesday:
"Football is kind of like life," Slovis said. "You can’t control everything. Whether it’s injuries, or having to navigate a season with COVID and so many unknowns… some things you just don’t plan for. And everything didn’t go as I planned during the rest of my time at USC.
There were obstacles, for sure, and we didn’t win all the games we wanted to. But that didn’t stop me from giving all that I had to this team over these last three years. That much I promise you. None of those uncontrollables ever stopped me from working as hard as I could, or from wanting to be a leader for this team.
And I’m hoping that, if anything, the hurdles I’ve had to overcome have taught me a lot about how to succeed going forward. I’m hoping they’ve made me a better quarterback, and a better man."
Slovis joins Pitt with a total of 7,576 passing yards, 58 touchdown passes and 24 interceptions during his time at USC. He instantly jumps up to being a favorite to win the starting quarterback spot in Pitt's 2022 training camp before the Panthers' season opener against West Virginia on Sept. 3.
Pitt hasn't announced who would replace Pickett in the Peach Bowl yet between Nick Patti, Davis Beville, or Joey Yellen. Patti has been the primary backup for Pickett this season but Beville is the four-star recruit that looked to potentially be the guy the Panthers chose as the leader of the future.
Slovis jumping into the picture changes all of that, and moves for some of the quarterbacks in the Transfer Portal could be expected. Either way, it's a good problem for Pitt to have going into next season to decide between an experienced quarterback who can be molded into whatever new offensive system is introduced by the 2022 offensive coordinator after Mark Whipple's departure.
And with three years of eligibility, Pitt can take its time to make sure Slovis develops with the program rather than hoping for a one-year jump as a quarterback before his eligibility runs out.
The move comes a year and six days after Pickett's announcement back on Dec. 15, 2020 that he would return to Pitt for a fifth year that resulted in him leading the Panthers to their first ACC Championship, him finishing as the First Team All-ACC quarterback, and third in Heisman Trophy voting.
