Tennessee football at Pitt: Five Panthers to watch for against Vols

Last year’s matchup at least gives Tennessee football some familiarity with Pat Narduzzi and the Pittsburgh Panthers. However, with Kenny Pickett and Jordan Addison gone, this is a different Pitt team than the one that traveled to Knoxville and won 41-34 en route to its first ACC Championship season ever.

Still, this is a dangerous team that just beat the West Virginia Mountaineers 38-31, so it’s legitimately tested, and there are plenty of familiar faces in terms of players who gave the Vols trouble last year. The new faces appear to be major threats on their own as well.

As we get set to take a look at the Pitt players Tennessee football will need to focus on, both types of players will make this list. All of them directly fit the style of play Narduzzi focuses on, and UT will have to react accordingly. Let’s take a look at who stands out the most among them. Here are the five Panthers to watch for against the Vols.

These will be the key Pittsburgh players against the Tennessee football Volunteers.

6’1″ 180 pounds

There were two receivers who could have made this list in Pitt’s passing attack. Jared Wayne actually led the team in receiving in the Vols’ win against WVU, catching three balls for 89 yards. He also had 47 catches for 658 yards last year, and at 6’3″ 210 pounds, he’s a natural wideout who could give the Vols lots of trouble.

However, Konata Mumpfield was the favorite to be the go-to receiver going into the year, and one game shouldn’t change that. Mumpfield was still solid, catching five balls for 71 yards, and that follows him catching 63 passes for 751 yards and eight touchdowns last year with the Akron Zips, where he played before transferring.

Honestly, both could be an issue for Tennessee football, which still has plenty of questions in the secondary, but for now, Mumpfield is the guy they need to worry about more. His more proven production combined with questions surrounding UT in the slot put him on here.