Four Injured Pitt Players will Not Participate in Spring Drills
As the first week of spring camp came to an end Friday for Pitt football, head coach Pat Narduzzi provided a status update on a few injuries.
Narduzzi noted that defensive end Zach Crothers, offensive lineman Keith Gouveia, linebacker Jayden Bonsu and cornerback Nigel Maynard will not participate in spring drills as they continue to rehab injuries from the 2025 season.
Crothers was a rising name last year in his second year with the program, but was lost for the season against Louisville. He racked up 15 tackles, three tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. He enters his redshirt sophomore season and looks to be a key figure of a four-man rotation when healthy.
“Zach Crothers won’t go through spring ball,” Narduzzi said Friday. “Matter of fact, I put him out on skelly [skeleton drills], pass skelly, throw the ball. Put him in there at d-end today just to get lined up, look at the sideline, get the signals, all that kind of stuff. He had the biggest smile on his face just to be able to go out and do something.”
Gouveia joined Pitt out of the transfer portal for the 2025 season from Richmond. After battling through camp, he earned the starting left guard role. In his fourth game for the Panthers against Louisville, Gouveia suffered a season-ending injury as he was carted off the field with a splint on his right left. He received a medical waiver for an extra year of eligibility.
“Keith will be out, too,” Narduzzi said. “He’s doing great. He obviously got his extra year of eligibility. He’ll be ready to go, but yeah, he won’t be 100 percent. He had a pretty bad deal.”
Bonsu, who transferred in from Ohio State, was lost for the 2025 season in training camp. He figured to be a top-five linebacker piece. He enters his redshirt junior season. As for Maynard, he appeared in five games — primarily on special teams — before suffering a season-ending injury against Boston College. He is a redshirt sophomore.
“Bonsu and Nigel as well won’t go through — both coming off achilles, so they won’t go through spring ball. They’re getting back and on track to be where we want them to. They’ll be back for fall and the summer,” Narduzzi said.
Pitt will also monitor redshirt freshman running back Jaylin Brown closely as he rehabbed an injury from high school throughout the 2025 season.
“Brown’s out there going through individual, you guys see him out there, but we’re not going to give him any live contact, so I would say he’s not going to be in a scrimmage,” Narduzzi said.
