Pitt suffered a significant loss on defense on Wednesday with the announcement that senior linebacker and captain Quintin Wirginis would miss the rest of the season due to a non-contact injury suffered at practice. Now, Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi is tasked with replacing his star defender, and he said on his radio show that the role will go to Elias Reynolds or Chase Pine.
Reynolds has been listed as Wirginis’ backup this season at the “Mike” linebacker position, and Pine sits directly behind Reynolds on the Pitt depth chart. So it appears Reynolds is the candidate most likely to win the starting job with Wirginis’ career with the Panthers now over.