Ex-Rutgers tight end Nakia Griffin-Stewart commits to Pitt

collected by :Molly Tony

as mentioned in A second former Rutgers football player has jumped to another Power 5 conference program as a graduate transfer in as many days. Tight end Nakia Griffin-Stewart, a Tenafly native, will play his final college season at Pitt. Pitt does not have much depth at tight end, so Griffin should have a good chance to see significant playing time and potentially win a starting job after falling behind several younger players on the depth chart at Rutgers. Griffin's move will evoke memories of former Rutgers tight end Matt Flanagan, another in-state product who went to Pitt as a graduate transfer and finished last season on the Washington Redskins' active roster. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook.

Why Rutgers' tight end depth is a concern after Nakia Griffin-Stewart transfer

Nakia Griffin-Stewart did not have big receiving numbers at tight end in his Rutgers career, but he did provide proven depth. Rutgers' tight ends room was far from crowded to begin with. Here's a closer look at Rutgers' tight end situation going forward:Three's company for now: Rutgers now has just three tight ends it definitively knows will be eligible to play in 2019 on the roster. Assessing impact of Jonah Jackson transfer on Rutgers' offensive line: Position changes coming? Redshirt freshman Jalen Jordan, who started at tight end last year before moving to wideout, could be another wild card in the mix.

Nakia Griffin-Stewart a key part of Rutgers' tight end group

As it stated in The tight end position played a pivotal role in Rutgers offense last season under Jerry Kill, and that only projects to increase with former NFL tight ends coach John McNulty replacing Kill as offensive coordinator this offseason. Nakia Griffin-Stewart, the elder statesman of the position group, saw a strong camp from his teammates. McNulty's style emphasizes the tight end position as much as any, he said. "The tight end position is a very, very vital position in this offense," he said. "(Rising sophomore) Travis (Vokolek) being young, this is his first spring so he's doing an excellent job in his first spring.