PITTSBURGH — The Pitt Panthers saw one of their former players find their new team for next season.
Offensive lineman Moritz Schmoranzer announced his commitment to Appalachian State after visiting them on April 21. He also held transfer offers from Liberty and FCS schools in Bucknell and Eastern Kentucky.
home. pic.twitter.com/6WjZ3t4bnI
— Moritz “Schmo” Schmoranzer (@MoritzSchmoran1) April 22, 2025
Schmoranzer hails from the Germany in the town of Langenfeld in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of around 60,000.
He would move to Virginia before his sophomore year of high school in 2021 and played for North Cross School in Roanoke, a college preparatory boardings chool.
Schmoranzer played both sides of the line and excelled, earning Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association (VISAA) Division II All-State honors, making the First Team offense and Second Team defense.
He also led North Cross to a 21-3 record over his final two seasons and back-to-back VISAA Division II state championships.
Schmoranzer had four schools in his finalists, but would commit to Pitt on June 30, 2023, picking them over Miami, Virginia Tech and West Virginia.
He enrolled mid-year to Pitt as a member of the Class of 2024 in January, as he participated in spring practices before last season and this season too.
Schmoranzer never saw the field this past season and redshirted, giving him four years of eligibility wherever he chooses to go.
He is one of five offensive lineman from the Panthers that entered the transfer portal after spring practices, along with fellow redshirt freshman Adham Abouraya, walk-on twin duo in redshirt sophomores, Brody and Graysen Riffe and redshirt senior Terrence Enos Jr.
Schmoranzer is also one of eight players from Pitt that has left for the transfer portal following the Spring Game, along with redshirt senior tight end Jake Renda and wide receivers in redshirt sophomore wide receiver Andy Jean, who transferred in from Florida on Jan. 4, and fellow redshirt freshman Cameron Monteiro.
Pitt added three transfer offensive lineman in the winter window, in sixth year Jeffrey Persi from Michigan, redshirt senior Keith Gouveia from Richmond and redshirt junior Kendall Stanley from Charlotte.
They also have returning starters in redshirt junior Ryan Baer, redshirt senior Lyndon Cooper and junior BJ Williams.
The Panthers have a number of scholarship offensive lineman headed into 2025. This includes redshirt juniors in Isaiah Montgomery and Jackson Brown, redshirt sophomores in Ryan Caretta and Tai Ray and redshirt freshmen in Caleb Holmes, Jiavanni Cooley and Mason Lindsay.
They also have four incoming offensive lineman in the Class of 2025, who signed their National Letter of Intent on Dec. 4.
This includes Shep Turk from nearby Thomas Jefferson High School in Jefferson Hills, PA, Torian Chester from Westover High School in Albany, GA, Jordan Fields out of North Shore High School in Houston and Akram Elnagmi, who hails from the NFL Academy in London, U.K.
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