Pittsburgh Panthers NFL Draft Prospects

Pittsburgh finished 8-5 (6-2 ACC) in 2025, a second-place league showing that stood as the program's best conference finish in four years and its most victories since 2022. The turnaround was powered by an unlikely source: lightly recruited true freshman Mason Heintschel, who took the job after a 2-2 start and rattled off five straight wins to push the Panthers into the national conversation before losses to Notre Dame and Miami cooled the run. The season ended on a sour note, a 38-7 home defeat to Miami with an ACC Championship Game berth on the line, followed by a 23-17 Military Bowl loss to East Carolina.

The defining offseason story sits at quarterback, where the job now belongs to Heintschel after Eli Holstein, who opened 2024 as the starter, transferred to Virginia. Coach Pat Narduzzi, more than a decade into his tenure at 80-61, brings back coordinator Kade Bell for a third season and keeps his defensive system intact under new coordinator Cory Sanders, a longtime staff holdover.