Lost somewhat amidst all of the high school players signing their National Letters of Intents Wednesday was one of the top quarterbacks in the 2012 recruiting class officially moving on as well.
As had been speculated late last week, Pittsburgh announced Nathan Peterman had indeed transferred into the Panthers football program. As Peterman is a graduate transfer, he will be eligible to play immediately in 2015.
He’ll have two years of eligibility remaining beginning this season.
In a conversation with the Knoxville News Sentinel, Peterman confirmed that the presence of former UT offensive coordinator Jim Chaney on the Pitt staff in the same capacity played a role in his decision. He also confirmed that, with Josh Dobbs firmly ensconced as the Vols’ quarterback of the present and future, he wanted to go somewhere that he’d have a better shot at playing time.
“It was time to move on,” Peterman told the News Sentinel. "... I’ve been trying to see what other opportunities I could get to have a better opportunity to get on the field.”
A four-star member of UT’s 2012 recruiting class, Peterman was rated as the No. 8 pro-style quarterback in the country coming out of high school in Florida. After taking a redshirt as a true freshman, Peterman started one game in 2013, breaking his hand in the loss to Florida, and one game in 2014.
At Pitt, he’ll commence a quarterback competition with the incumbent, Chad Voytik, this spring.