Carson Kent

#86 · TE · 5th-year · Pittsburgh6′4″ · 250 lb · Milton, GA · Cambridge

Receiving yards31719th of 107 tight ends Last gameW 34–11vs Georgia Tech · Oct 31

Nextvs Florida StateFri Nov 13 · 7 pm ET

via pittsburghpanthers.com ↗

Worth knowing

Carson Kent was second-team All-Conference USA in 2024 at Kennesaw State.

Every catch and target this season

102030

leftmiddleright

a catch, dashed to the catch point then solid afterthrown to him, incomplete

Seen from behind the quarterback; numbers are yards past the line of scrimmage. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed. Of his catches with a spot in the play text: left 6, middle 2, right 7.

Carson Kent

TE · Pittsburgh · #86

Filling the Shoesas of Nov 4

Carson Kent takes over from Justin Holmes at Pittsburgh.

317receiving yards30catches1receiving TD

TEAM RECEIVING YARDS LEADER

317

Team leader in receiving yards (317).

Read the story so far

Carson Kent lines up at TE for Pittsburgh.

On the field, the headline is 317 rec yds, with 30 rec.

Carson Kent inherited the TE job from Justin Holmes (3-star).

The number to watch: 317 — team receiving yards leader.

TE successionleap of faith

Inherited fromJustin Holmes 3★

AI-generated narrative · may contain errors · not journalism · updated 2026-11-04

Style of play

Play style

Shows up in the passing game from any alignment.

Similar players

Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.

Henry Krieger-CobleIowa · 2015 · 88% season match
Hayden PlinkeUTEP · 2015 · 87% season match
Cody TuttleEastern Michigan · 2015 · 85% season match
Willie RodriguezKentucky · 2026 · 81% season match
Xavier WatsonUConn · 2026 · 80% season match

Fans

No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.

Pittsburgh in the news

Cornell coach Ed Dawson diesPittsburgh Post-Gazette Oct 24

Where to follow

Career stats

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Season	Team
2026	Pittsburgh	30	317	10.6	1	38
2025	Oklahoma	3	26	8.7	0	13
2024	Kennesaw State	18	217	12.1	3	30
Career		51	560	11.0	4	38

Last game (Wk 9): 41 receiving yards, 4 catches.

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2026 season · 9 games

Box score · CFBD

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Wk	Opp	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG	Note
Wk 1	W 59-14vs Miami (OH)	2	29	14.5	0	23
Wk 2	W 12-7vs UCF	1	5	5.0	0	5
Wk 3	W 27-13vs Syracuse	2	63	31.5	0	38	Season-high 63 yds
Wk 4	W 59-0vs Bucknell	6	57	9.5	1	20
Wk 5	W 35-33@ Virginia Tech	1	3	3.0	0	3
Wk 6	L 17-21vs North Carolina	7	61	8.7	0	15
Wk 7	L 21-27@ Boston College	2	20	10.0	0	14
Wk 8	L 23-52@ No. 1 Miami	5	38	7.6	0	15
Wk 9	W 34-11vs Georgia Tech	4	41	10.3	0	13
Total		30	317	10.6	1	38

The latest game

Oct. 31 · W 34-11 vs Georgia Tech

4 catches for 41 yards.

His season, game by game

The season, game by game

W 34-11 vs Georgia TechOct. 3141 yds4 catchesPlay by play just above

L 23-52 at MiamiOct. 2438 yds5 catches6 of Pittsburgh’s 34 passes

Play by playOn the field

5 catches for 38 yards. Pittsburgh threw to him on 6 of its 34 passes.

5 of 6 targets caught
3 moved the chains
1 of 2 on 3rd and 4th down
1 broken up (M. Lightfoot)

Second quarterbegan down 10-0
3rd & 52
3rd & 811 1st down
Third quarterbegan down 31-7
2nd & 99 1st down
2nd & 6broken up
Fourth quarterbegan down 45-14
1st & 1015 1st down1
2nd & 41
FinalL 23-52

a catch, by its yardsa touchdownthrown to him, incomplete

1
15-yard catch. Fourth quarter, down 52-14.

102030

leftmiddleright

a catch, dashed to the catch point then solid afterthrown to him, incomplete

Seen from behind the quarterback; numbers are yards past the line of scrimmage. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.

3 more games, with the play by play

L 21-27 at Boston CollegeOct. 1720 yds2 catches4 of Pittsburgh’s 25 passes

Play by playOn the field

2 catches for 20 yards. Pittsburgh threw to him on 4 of its 25 passes.

2 of 4 targets caught
2 moved the chains
1 broken up (C. Davis)

Third quarterbegan down 14-12
2nd & 614 1st down1
2nd & 11broken up
1st & 10incomplete
Fourth quarterbegan down 21-18
2nd & 66 1st down
FinalL 21-27

a catch, by its yardsa touchdownthrown to him, incomplete

1
14-yard catch. Third quarter, down 21-12.

102030

leftmiddleright

a catch, dashed to the catch point then solid afterthrown to him, incomplete

Seen from behind the quarterback; numbers are yards past the line of scrimmage. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.

L 17-21 vs North CarolinaOct. 1061 yds7 catches7 of Pittsburgh’s 44 passes

Play by playOn the field

7 catches for 61 yards, his most this season. Pittsburgh threw to him on 7 of its 44 passes.

7 of 7 targets caught
6 moved the chains

First quarterbegan tied 0-0
2nd & 56 1st down
1st & 109
Second quarterbegan up 7-0
2nd & 26 1st down
2nd & 35 1st down
Third quarterbegan up 10-7
2nd & 813 1st down
Fourth quarterbegan down 14-10
2nd & 815 1st down1
2nd & 57 1st down
FinalL 17-21

a catch, by its yardsa touchdownthrown to him, incomplete

1
15-yard catch. Fourth quarter, down 21-17.

102030

leftmiddleright

a catch, dashed to the catch point then solid afterthrown to him, incomplete

Seen from behind the quarterback; numbers are yards past the line of scrimmage. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.

W 35-33 at Virginia TechOct. 23 yds1 catch2 of Pittsburgh’s 30 passes

Play by playOn the field

1 catch for 3 yards. Pittsburgh threw to him on 2 of its 30 passes. All of it came before halftime of a 35-33 win.

1 of 2 targets caught
0 moved the chains
1 broken up (E. Fall)

First quarterbegan tied 0-0
1st & 103 1
Fourth quarterbegan up 28-24
1st & 20broken up
FinalW 35-33

a catch, by its yardsa touchdownthrown to him, incomplete

1
3-yard catch. First quarter, down 14-0.

102030

leftmiddleright

a catch, dashed to the catch point then solid afterthrown to him, incomplete

Seen from behind the quarterback; numbers are yards past the line of scrimmage. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.

Signature game

Week 4 · 2026

W 59-0

vs Bucknell

6 rec · 57 yds · 1 TD

Dominant 59-point win at home against Bucknell.

With M. Heintschel — 403 yds · 6 TD · 0 INT · QBR 88.6 · 33 rush yds (3 car) · H. Geriner — 114 yds · 1 TD · 0 INT · QBR 22.7 · 15 rush yds (2 car)

Signature plays

The plays that mattered most

Week 6 · North Carolina · 2nd and 8 · Q4 · EPA +2.18Geriner to Kent: a 15-yard pass.
Week 5 · Virginia Tech · 4th and 1 · Q3 · EPA +2.17C.Kent rush middle for 2 yards gain to the UP 48 (G.Johnson III)
Week 8 · Miami · 2nd and 9 · Q3 · EPA +1.80Geriner to Kent: a 9-yard pass.
Week 7 · Boston College · 2nd and 6 · Q3 · EPA +1.73Dailey to Kent: a 14-yard pass.
Week 9 · Georgia Tech · 3rd and 9 · Q1 · EPA +1.38Geriner to Kent: a 13-yard pass.
Week 6 · North Carolina · 2nd and 8 · Q3 · EPA +1.10Geriner to Kent: a 13-yard pass.

4 more plays

Week 8 · Miami · 3rd and 8 · Q2 · EPA +1.04Geriner to Kent: an 11-yard pass.
Week 9 · Georgia Tech · 2nd and 10 · Q3 · EPA +0.90Geriner to Kent: an 11-yard pass.
Week 8 · Miami · 2nd and 4 · Q4 · EPA −0.89Dailey to Kent: a 1-yard pass.
Week 7 · Boston College · 2nd and 6 · Q4 · EPA +0.85Dailey to Kent: a 6-yard pass.

Where he ranks

Rec yards31719thAmong 107 tight ends with 12 or more catches

Receptions30tied for 13thAmong 107 tight ends with 12 or more catches

Yards / catch10.6tied for 56thAmong 107 tight ends with 12 or more catches

Rec TDs1tied for 60thAmong 107 tight ends with 12 or more catches

Long catch38tied for 33rdAmong 107 tight ends with 12 or more catches

Rush yards2tied for 16thAmong 24 tight ends with 12 or more catches

Fumbles lost1tied for 7thAmong 15 tight ends with 12 or more catches

231st in receiving yards, among all 2,086 FBS players with a receiving row this season, any position

Opponents faced, by strength

Ratings of the games shown run from -2 to +25 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).

Receiving profile

Receiver profile · Targets, catch rate, and throw depth

How often he's targeted, and how well it works

30 rec · 317 yds · 1 TD

30 of 30 receptions matched to play-by-play

43 of 43 targets charted for true throw depth

Targets

4314% of team targets

Catch rate

70%30 of 43 targets

Behind LOS · Negative air yds

14% of targets (6)

83%catch rate

Air -2.8 · YAC 12.4 avg

Short · 0–9 air yds

70% of targets (30)

70%catch rate

Air 3.4 · YAC 5.4 avg

Middle · 10–19 air yds

16% of targets (7)

57%catch rate

Air 13.7 · YAC 6.0 avg

70% catch rate on 43 targets · 14% of the team's targets.

Teams and coaches

2024Kennesaw State2-10HC: Brian Bohannon and Chandler Burks · Run-leaning, slow tempo

2025Oklahoma10-3HC: Brent Venables · Balanced

2026Pittsburgh6-3HC: Pat Narduzzi · Balanced

Our ratings

CFB Zeitgeist Score 64 (#23 of 132). Show the ratings

Where this profile ranks vs the TE cohort

Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles

64Quality starter #23 of 132?

13 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: receptions (87th percentile). Strength: rec yards (83rd percentile). Concern: explosive rate (2nd percentile).

Real play-by-play efficiency

Catch rate#273 / 569 · 52nd pct

65.5%

EPA / target#423 / 569 · 26th pct

0.24

TD rate#449 / 569 · 11th pct

0.0%

Yards / catch#510 / 569 · 10th pct

8.6

Explosive rate#544 / 569 · 2nd pct

0.0%

Box-score rates (8)

Receptions#13 / 107 · 87th pct

Rec yards#19 / 107 · 83rd pct

317

Long catch#33 / 107 · 68th pct

Yards / catch#56 / 107 · 47th pct

10.6

Rush TDs#8 / 24 · 35th pct

Rec TDs#60 / 107 · 35th pct

Rush yards#16 / 24 · 33rd pct

Fumbles lost#7 / 15 · 33rd pct

Season trend

EPA / target— first qualifying season

Explosive rate— first qualifying season

Catch rate— first qualifying season

TD rate— first qualifying season

Yards / catch— first qualifying season

Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season. Most bars are box-score rates; EPA / success-rate bars are computed from real play-by-play (offense only — no defensive EPA model exists yet).

Splits

Home and road splits, scheme and staff

Splits · Per-game

2026 season · 9 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Home6g	3.7	42.7	13.2	0.2
Road3g	2.7	20.3	6.9	0.0

First half vs Second half

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Weeks 1-77g	3.0	34.0	11.7	0.1
Weeks 8+2g	4.5	39.5	8.9	0.0

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2026 season

Head Coach

Pat Narduzzi

Pass share

49.1%

315 pass / 326 run

Plays / game

71.2

9 games

Team sack rate

2.6%

345 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Balanced.

Awards

Player standing · 2026

Impact starter

30 catches and 1 carry in 9 games, more catches a game than most FBS tight ends who play every week.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score

64 · #23 of 132 TEs

Carson Kent

This week

Worth knowing

Every catch and target this season

Style of play

Similar players

Fans

Pittsburgh in the news

Where to follow

Career stats

Game log

The latest game

The season, game by game

Signature game

Signature plays

Where he ranks

Receiving profile

Teams and coaches

Our ratings

Splits

Awards

Impact starter

Four seasons, three schools

Moves

2024 9 games

2025 3 games

2026 9 games