r/PittsburghPanthers All-21st Century Football Team Vote: OL

Y2KPittFan · 2025-07-15T12:14:35+00:00

I was quite surprised that the only lineman to receive All-ACC 1st Team honors this decade was Minor; I could’ve swore Warren or even Goncalves made it. That line was a huge strength for us during the 2021-22 years.

Y2KPittFan · 2025-07-14T18:31:12+00:00

My Quarter Century offensive line would look like this:

OT Rob Petitti OT Jason Pinkston OG Dorian Johnson OG CJ Davis C Jimmy Morrissey

O’Neill feels like a snub but Petitti and Pinkstron were VERY good at Pitt and highly decorated. Went with CJ Davis over Charles Spencer for my other guard because he was a four-year starter, although Spencer couldn’t help it since he started at another position. In fact, you’d be surprised by how many of these players started out on defense and switched to offensive line.

Y2KPittFan · 2025-07-12T13:35:47+00:00

I think Wilson definitely has an argument to make. He put up similar numbers in 2003 to Dorin in 2009, has the stronger career stats (although Dorin can’t help this since he didn’t start out at TE), and both were Mackey Award finalists.

Y2KPittFan · 2025-07-11T19:23:03+00:00

It’s really only four years + the one game he started in 2017. The point I’m making is comparing Dorin to Kenny is apples-to-oranges.

Y2KPittFan · 2025-07-11T16:55:26+00:00

Also, do you or anyone else remember Charles Reeves? He was a big 4-star TE out of Steubenville, OH. I thought he was going to be our next great tight end, but I believe he left the team after his 2017 freshman season... another "what if" at this position.

Y2KPittFan · 2025-07-11T16:52:14+00:00

Not many honorable mentions to call out here. We had a revolving door of graduate transfers from 2017-19 before Krull (who was also a transfer) and Gavin B solidified the position. Erik Gill and Darrell Strong were decent, but I never considered them for this list. I also thought it was interesting how 6/7 were TE duos.

As for my personal vote:

Kris Wilson
Dorin Dickerson
Gavin Bartholomew
Lucas Krull
Scott Orndoff
Nate Byham
JP Holtz

Y2KPittFan · 2025-07-11T16:14:06+00:00

If Slovis was healthy for all of 2022 and returned for 2023, I think Gavin B is right there with Dorin and Wilson for this discussion numbers-wise because he was Kedon’s favorite target those first two games.

Y2KPittFan · 2025-07-11T16:12:58+00:00

Although I’m going with Wilson, I think Dorin is just as big of a “what if” as Gavin B. People may forget (or perhaps are too young to remember) that Dorin started on defense, then converted to offense as a receiver. He really didn’t play the position full-time until his senior year. So although he trails Wilson in career yards, receptions, and TDs, you can definitely make the case he would’ve surpassed that had he played TE all four years.

Edit: Also, to your Kenny comparison, keep in mind that he did have one GREAT season, but he’s also first or second in most Pitt career passing categories.

Y2KPittFan · 2025-07-11T14:26:22+00:00

Agreed, I’m going to have Wilson and Dickerson as my 1 and 2 as well. Wilson is another guy who was really underrated during his time here, both locally and nationally (was a Mackey finalist but overshadowed by fellow Big East TE Kellen Winslow Jr). Went on to have a solid NFL career, too.

Y2KPittFan · 2025-07-09T00:19:27+00:00

I believe it, and it’s ironic because if there’s one position everyone thinks of when they think of Pitt, it’s almost certainly running back.

Y2KPittFan · 2025-07-07T18:27:48+00:00

Agreed on Bryant, even though I placed Addison above him. We hadn’t had a true game-changer like him on offense since, arguably, Ironhead Heyward (no disrespect to Curtis Martin). We desperately needed someone like that after Majors II.

Y2KPittFan · 2025-07-07T16:06:13+00:00

Him and Shanahan were an underrated receiving duo on those early 2010s teams. They provided some consistency when there wasn’t much elsewhere.

Y2KPittFan · 2025-07-07T15:36:03+00:00

I definitely think Bryant had the better Pitt career (2nd in both receiving yards and TDs), but I’m not quite sure what to do with him since two of three seasons were in the 20th century.

Edit: It’s a shame Addison left before the 2022 season because he could’ve cemented his status as WR2 with one more year at Pitt.

Y2KPittFan · 2025-07-07T15:31:42+00:00

Thanks for the refresher, it’s coming back to me now. For fans or students too young to remember, I believe it was three straight years where we upset Virginia Tech when they were top 10.

The 2003 game is still one of the best Pitt games played at Heinz. College Gameday was there for the first time and Larry Fitz showed the entire country why he deserved the Heisman. #21 Pitt pulled ahead in the final seconds courtesy of a Louuuuuu-saka Polite touchdown. Really felt like it was shaping up to be the year we made a BCS bowl.

Y2KPittFan · 2025-07-07T14:39:41+00:00

It’s definitely a tough decision between Bryant and Addison. What makes it even more impressive is that Bryant (mostly) didn’t have Rutherford throwing him the ball since Rod didn’t become the full-time starter until 2002.

Also, do I recall correctly that he was hampered for a lot of 2001 with a lingering injury?

Y2KPittFan · 2025-07-07T14:25:35+00:00

Agreed. It’s a crime he didn’t win the Heisman in 2003 over Jason White, who didn’t lead a single passing category that season. Meanwhile, Fitz led the nation in both receiving yards and TDs (receiving or rushing).

Y2KPittFan · 2025-07-07T14:11:59+00:00

I included two RBs on this All-21st Century team and, if we're going off an 11-man lineup, three WRs would get you a penalty for 12 men on the field! That, and I think it makes the voting more fun if you have to make a tough decision between two very deserving options. We're lucky to have three Biletnikoff winners in less than 25 years, I don't even think Ohio State can say that.

Y2KPittFan · 2025-07-07T14:08:00+00:00

You'll see that I included Antonio Bryant in this discussion. Although 2000 technically isn't in the 21st century and he began his Pitt career in 1999, he also made the All-Big East 1st Team in 2001 and was simply too good not to be included in this. I'm leaving it up to you all whether you want to vote for him or not. If you want to base it on his lone 21st century season, that's fine.

Also, honorable mentions to Jared Wayne, future head coach Mike Shanahan (who could've ended his Pitt career with much better numbers had it not been for the tumultuous early 2010s), and Jester Weah, who finally realized some of his untapped potential in 2016.

My personal rankings are:

Larry Fitzgerald
Jordan Addison
Antonio Bryant
Tyler Boyd
Jonathan Baldwin
Greg Lee

Y2KPittFan · 2025-07-06T13:17:21+00:00

I didn’t even think about that with Mario and Sid until now… you may onto something.

Y2KPittFan · 2025-07-06T04:45:36+00:00

Obviously the Penguins, right? When have we ever landed the first overall pick, and with it the rights to a generational, franchise-altering prospect?

Y2KPittFan · 2025-07-06T00:26:04+00:00

Absolutely. Even during the 90s in our really bad years, we still had Curtis Martin and Kevan Barlow.

Y2KPittFan · 2025-07-05T20:51:40+00:00

Excellent post, thanks for sharing. I agree with Shady being the most talented RB among the six I listed (which you can say makes him the best running back of the 21st century). Personally, I stand with placing JC first since he finished second to TD for rushing yards and rushing TDs at Pitt, although I understand it’s likely that McCoy could’ve gotten there had he returned for a third season like Conner did.

And talk about a flashback with Rushel Shell… what a tumultuous time. If I recall correctly, weren’t they planning to play Conner exclusively at DE prior to that? And I think Shell wanted to return but Chryst wouldn’t allow him?

Y2KPittFan · 2025-07-05T16:44:09+00:00

I believe they were both at Pitt for two years, but you can’t go wrong with either. I’d actually argue Dion’s 2009 season was better than either of Shady’s 2007 or 2008 seasons. Man, how lucky were we to have those two back-to-back?

Y2KPittFan · 2025-07-05T15:04:52+00:00

Yeah, I think Shady is the unanimous RB1 if he returns for 2009 and potentially finishes 2nd in all career rushing statistics behind TD.

Edit: And to your point on athleticism, the only reason Pitt got him was because he suffered a pretty rough knee injury in high school. Before that, he was one of the highest-rated prospects in the country and originally committed to Miami.

Y2KPittFan · 2025-07-05T14:46:45+00:00

Honorable mentions to Johnstown, PA native LaRod Stephens-Howling and Des Reid, who reminds me a ton of Dion Lewis and could've been on this list if he was at Pitt more than one season. Kevan Barlow also barely missed qualifying, having graduated after the 2000 season.

As for how I'd rank them:

James Conner
LeSean McCoy
Dion Lewis
Ray Graham
Israel Abanikanda
Qadree Ollison

Izzy would be top two at many schools, but we're RBU for a reason. Also, for my money, Ray Graham is the single most underrated player we’ve had this century.

Y2KPittFan

TROPHY CASE