Unique move from Penn State to Pitt
Central Catholic grad Petrishen finds footing in Oakland
John right call.
On Nov. 8, 2019, Central Catholic ousted Mt. Lebanon, 31-14, at Fox Chapel in the WPIAL semifinals. Petrishen, then a recent transfer from Penn State to Pitt, attended with Damar Hamlin and David Green, former Central teammates and fellow Panthers.
It was a cold night. And when Petrishen parked his car, he realized he had only one outer layer with him — his Penn State letterman’s jacket.
“I almost put it on, and I thought to myself, ‘Nah, that’s not a good idea,’ ” Petrishen said with a smile. “It turns out the first person I saw when I walked into the stadium on the sideline was Coach Narduzzi. So that would not have been good. … I think I had a few hot chocolates to warm me up.”
Petrishen laughed off the story Thursday, meeting with local media over Zoom for the first time since his cross-state transfer. It has been almost 600 days since Petrishen’s decision to leave Penn State for a return home was announced midway through Pitt’s 2019 training camp — a return that undoubtedly raised eyebrows.
“I feel like I have a very unique perspective. I absolutely love both schools. I have no complaints about either,” Petrishen said. “It’s really the best of both worlds for me. I grew up a Pitt fan. I love Pitt. And I love Penn State, too.”
Petrishen was a three-star prospect coming out of Central Catholic in 2015. The all-state safety grew up cheering for the Panthers, but he committed to Penn State on Jan. 31, 2015, a month after Narduzzi was hired to replace Paul Chryst. Petrishen said he liked Narduzzi and his staff, but signing with James Franklin and the Nittany Lions “felt like the right decision” for him at the time.
Petrishen never found the on
Petrishen made the -field success he was hoping to attain. Hampered by injuries, needing three surgeries in four years, Petrishen made eight tackles in 16 appearances for the Nittany Lions. Off the field, though, he made long-lasting bonds with his former teammates — relationships that were on display when Pitt traveled to Penn State two seasons ago.
Petrishen, after officially joining Pitt on Aug. 21, 2019, didn’t play in the Week 2 matchup. He had offseason shoulder surgery and wouldn’t suit up for the Panthers until October. But he was at Beaver Stadium, wearing a white and blue Pitt jersey on the away sideline.
Petrishen was a hot commodity during postgame pleasantries. Countless Nittany Lions approached him at midfield. Everyone from Pat Freiermuth to KJ Hamler to Tariq Castro-Fields dapped him up or gave him a hug.
“You know, it was weird when I first transferred here toward the end of August, and we played Penn State in Week 2. … I don’t even think I knew everybody’s name on the team at Pitt yet,” Petrishen said. “I don’t think I could’ve prepared for that. But all my teammates at Penn State were so nice to me. It wasn’t awkward at all.”
Petrishen didn’t set lofty goals for his first year with Pitt. He just wanted to get out of the season healthy with an eye to 2020. Then the pandemic hit, nixing most of spring camp. And on the doorstep of August training camp, Petrishen switched from safety to linebacker and was put on scholarship.
Petrishen appeared in all 11 games, showing up on special teams and blocking a punt at Clemson. Narduzzi recently called Petrishen “a gamer” for how he handled the 2020 season. “But he wasn’t a great practice player, because I don’t think he
knew what he was doing,” the coach added.
Now, he does. Narduzzi said Petrishen has had “a heck of a spring” and is “light years from where he was last year.”
Petrishen will still be up against it for snaps in 2021. Linebacker is probably Pitt’s deepest position, boasting five players — SirVocea Dennis, Cam Bright, Phil Campbell, Wendell Davis and Chase Pine — with starting experience. But Petrishen is enjoying the precursor to his seventh season of college football.
At 24 years and 10 months old, he is the oldest member of the team, five weeks older than fellow seventh-year player and Apollo-Ridge graduate Tre Tipton.
“It’s kind of an inside joke that we go back and forth telling guys who’s the oldest on the team,” Petrishen said. “But it’s funny because Tre and I go back to like
sixth grade when we played AAU basketball together. … We’ve been on this journey, this marathon for a while now.”
Petrishen knew he was going to come back to Pitt in 2021, utilizing the NCAA’s blanket eligibility waiver. He’s happy Tipton did, too, so he wasn’t alone in being the team’s resident old guy.
Back in February, on Pitt’s final day of winter workouts, the team played dodgeball. Petrishen is a fan of the 2004 comedy “Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story,” but couldn’t remember the name of Vince Vaughn’s character. He turned and asked one of the early enrollee freshmen if he knew.
“They were like, ‘Dodgeball? I’ve never seen that movie.’ And I was like, ‘Are you kidding me? That’s one of my favorite movies of all time,’” Petrishen said. “That was the first time I felt old.”
But it doesn’t bother Petrishen. He said most of the time he doesn’t even feel that old. Because of his three surgeries, he feels like 2021 is really his fourth season of college ball — the season he has been looking forward to for a long time.
“Knock on wood, I’ll stay healthy, and things should take care of [themselves]. I’ve never lost love for the game. That’s why I came back for another year. … And I’m grateful for the whole thing,” Petrishen said of his journey. “I’d be lying if I said it was easy. Because it was very challenging and trying at times. Sometimes I was just like, ‘ Why is this happening?’ But I know at the end of the day, if I keep working hard, it’s all going to work out.”