College football has never gotten old for Pittsburgh’s Brandon George
2024 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
His teammates at the University of Pittsburgh call him “Gramps,” “Unc” or “Old Man.”
Brandon George accepts the digs with a smile, and with a deep sense of pride. He relishes every minute of his six football seasons with the Panthers – the ups, the downs, the uncertainty – and wears his experience like a badge of courage.
“With age comes experience,” the 24-year-old tells the young guns who enjoy poking their captain each day at practice.
George has experienced it all during his college career.
Five winning seasons . . . four bowl games . . . the program’s first Atlantic Coast Conference championship, in 2021 . . . an injury-riddled 2022 season that limited him to four games . . . a crash-and-burn in 2023 that saw the Panthers win just three time and led George to the brink of leaving the program . . . an unexpected turnaround this season that saw them open 7-0 and return to the national spotlight . . . and then a rash of injuries that greased the skids for a season-ending five-game losing streak.
When he runs onto the field in Detroit the day after Christmas to face Toledo in the GameAbove Sport Bowl he’ll set a program record by playing in his 65th game.
“I’m happy that I got to do all 65 here at the University of Pittsburgh,” he said. “I’m happy I stayed; this will forever be a second home to me.”
For a few weeks last December it appeared George’s days with the Panthers had ended. He entered his name in the NCAA transfer portal and was set on finding a new home.
He had a change of heart, returned for his final season, and got what he had always wanted: A starting spot at linebacker and designation as a team captain.
After years of competing for but never nailing down a starting spot he stepped up this season and grabbed one. His years of experience were vital for a rebuilding defense that had lost three starting linebackers, one to graduation, two to the transfer portal.
George has enjoyed his best season by far, with 69 tackles – fourth-most on the team – seven quarterback hurries, five tackles for loss, two sacks, two forced fumbles an interception against Syracuse that drew national attention: He was on the ground, facedown, when a teammate deflected a pass in his direction and he reached out to corral it.
His personal highlight, hands-down, came in a Week 3 win against “Backyard Brawl” rival West Virginia when he scooped up a blocked punt and returned it 24 yards for a touchdown in the 38-34 win.
“Everyone wants to score a touchdown, but that’s not necessarily how you think it’s gonna happen,” George said of his first score since his high school days at Berks Catholic, when he visited the end zone often. “A blocked punt return for a touchdown, that’s a dream come true, (especially) doing that against West Virginia. It was a surreal moment for me.”
George has loved his years in Pittsburgh and those around the athletic program have loved him back. They respect him not only for his determination and perseverance on the field but because of his well-roundedness off it. He is a true student athlete who already has a degree in business information systems and is working toward an MBA.
Before the season he was nominated for the prestigious Allstate Wuerffel Trophy, presented to the college football player “who best combines exemplary community service with athletic and academic achievement.”
He was nominated for the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year award, which goes to the Division I college football player who has “demonstrated a record of leadership by exhibiting exceptional courage, integrity and sportsmanship both on and off the field.”
When Pitt’s athletic administration was looking for a strong candidate to start a community initiative they came to George, who in turn launched “B-Cause,” a fundraising effort to assist the families of children undergoing cancer treatment at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
George, a stalwart on special teams since his freshman season in 2019, began to emerge as a team leader before the 2022. His hopes of creating a foothold at linebacker were dashed when he suffered torn ligaments in his ankle on the first day of contact drills. That required surgery and a month of rehab.
He returned at midseason only to reaggravate the injury his third game back and was sidelined for the remainder of the regular season. (He received a medical redshirt. That, plus the Covid year granted to all NCAA student-athletes, has allowed him to compete for six seasons.)
George was all-everything at Berks Catholic, where he was Berks Player of the Year as a senior, a two-time All-State pick, and scored 41 touchdowns.
He helped the Saints become the first Berks team to win three straight District 3 football championships and helped them Berks records for scoring (45.3 points) and margin of victory (41.3 in the regular season, 34.3 over the full season).
Finally, after years of hard work, he began enjoying that kind of success again this season, individually and with the team. When the Panthers beat Syracuse Oct. 24 they reached 7-0 for the first time since 1982; few outside the program saw that coming.
“It was definitely something I felt we worked toward,” George said. “We were very happy with where we were. We knew that as long as we were healthy we were good.”
The Panthers couldn’t stay on top. Their perfect run was snapped at SMU on Nov. 2. They lost conference games the next two weeks by five and four points, respectively, to Virginia and nationally ranked Clemson. Things got worse when quarterback Eli Holstein, a redshirt freshman transfer from Alabama, suffered a leg injury to Louisville Nov. 23, sending the Panthers to a fourth straight loss.
Even with Holstein and several other offensive starters injured, the Panthers are favored against Toledo. George is upbeat despite the fact his team hasn’t won a game in nearly two months.
“We know what (kind of) football team we are,” he said. “We hit a few bad patches but we’re still confident in our ability as a team. Obviously it didn’t go the way we wanted it to at the end, but we still know what we’re about and how good we have the possibility to be. We’re playing to win; we’re playing (this game) like a championship game.”
George realizes that when he leaves Ford Field later this week his long college career will be over. He will walk away with no regrets.
“This is something (most) people can only pray for,” he said of his wide-ranging college experience. “When you know you’ve given everything you have, it’s more of a prideful moment than a sad moment. Every chapter in your life has to come to an end at some point. Just knowing that I gave my all to this university is rewarding in itself.”
