Pitt Signs Veteran RB Out of Transfer Portal
Pitt football’s running back room was looking for a veteran addition to complement some of the young talent, and the Panthers did so with the signing of La’Vell Wright.
Wright, who joins Pitt after one season at Western Kentucky, will be a sixth-year senior in 2026 and brings some size and power at 6-foot, 222 pounds.
This past fall, Wright ran for 471 yards on 85 carries with 10 touchdowns. He also caught 10 passes out of the backfield for 88 yards and a score. He was named the Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week during the final week of September after rushing for 91 yards and two touchdowns against Missouri State.
Prior to WKU, he spent a year at Austin Peay in which he rushed for 609 yards and 15 touchdowns on 115 carries. He also compiled five receptions for 32 yards.
Wright’s career began with the Kentucky Wildcats. He played in four games before redshirting in 2021. The following year, he appear in all 13 games and was accumulated 39 carries for 130 yards to go along with six receptions for 28 yards. He would then miss the entire 2023 season due to injury, giving him a medical year.
A native of Louisville, Ky., Wright came out of North Hardin High School as an On3 three-star prospect. He owned a solid Power Four offer sheet with schools like Kentucky, Tennessee, Maryland, Missouri, West Virginia, Virginia, Northwestern, Indiana, Duke and Purdue offering.
Wright will look to slot in right away as RB2 for the Panthers behind Ja’Kyrian Turner who played his way into the top running back role in 2025. The rest of Pitt’s running back room will be filled with younger talent with redshirt freshmen Jaylin Brown and Synkwan Smith and incoming freshman Damon Ferguson to go along with walk-on redshirt senior Justin Cook.
Pitt’s running back unit lost Desmond Reid (out of eligibility), Jalynn Williams (out of eligibility), Juelz Goff (portal), Derrick Davis Jr. (portal) and walk-on Caleb Williams (portal).
Pitt has now added five transfer portal players on offense with Wright, tight end Carson Kent, wide receiver Malik Knight and offensive linemen Netinho Olivieri and Keylen Davis.
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