Pitt receiver Tre Tipton out for season with knee injury

Sophomore wide receiver Tre Tipton, who was poised to assume a key role in the Pitt offense, will miss the entire season with a knee injury.

The injury was not football-related, coach Pat Narduzzi said in a release.

This will be the third consecutive year Tipton, an Apollo-Ridge graduate, will be forced to miss significant playing time. He was out for all but four games with a knee injury in 2015, his freshman year, and was given a medical redshirt.

Last year, he played in the first nine games, including a start against North Carolina, before missing the remainder of the season. Tipton said he suffered a collapsed lung in the Miami game Nov. 5.

Before that, Tipton caught 12 passes for 142 yards and a touchdown and added another 61 yards on 11 carries. He also completed an 11-yard pass to quarterback Nathan Peterman in the Virginia Tech game.

Tipton (6-foot, 190 pounds) would have been a key option in Pitt's passing game behind starters Jester Weah and Quadree Henderson.

His absence is a blow to Pitt's depth at wide receiver, but it could open further opportunities for Rafael Araujo-Lopes, Maurice Ffrench, Aaron Mathews and Ruben Flowers.

“I know I speak for the entire team in saying we are all disappointed for Tre,” Narduzzi said in a statement.

“He is an absolutely outstanding young man and teammate. Even though he is unable to play this fall, we know Tre is going to be an invaluable figure in our wide receivers room while he rehabs. That's the type of person and competitor he is, and he'll have our fullest support as he works for a full recovery.”

Jerry DiPaola is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at jdipaola@tribweb.com or via Twitter @JDiPaola_Trib.