Cam Bright transfers from Pitt to Washington

Former Pitt linebacker and team captain Cam Bright entered the transfer portal on Jan. 3, and on Monday, he announced that he would transfer to Washington. The move makes Bright the second former Pitt player to transfer to another Power Five program since the end of the regular season, as Wendell Davis transferred to Northwestern on Dec. 14.

“Following up a great visit I had this past weekend [at Washington], I would like to announce my commitment,” Bright wrote in a message on Twitter. “Excited to represent [Washington] and lead the pack with [Washington head coach Kalen DeBoer].”

Bright was a key contributor at Pitt, and that was reflected in his status as team captain. He was active for four seasons with the Panthers and worked his way up the depth chart over time. That climb began in 2017, when he arrived in Pittsburgh and redshirted as a true freshman. Over the next two years, he served as a reserve linebacker and a special-teamer. By 2020, he had become a regular starter. And in 2021, Bright was named a team captain. He finished his Pitt career with 182 tackles, 20.5 tackles for losses, 6.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, four pass breakups and one pick in 51 games.

The linebacker arrived on campus in 2017, after a standout senior year at Park Crossing High School in Montgomery, Alabama. During that year, Bright amassed 131 tackles, 23 tackles for losses and 16.5 sacks, with his sack total tied for the highest in the Yellowhammer State in 2016. But despite that showing, Bright went unnoticed by elite programs during his recruitment, and he chose Pitt over Bowling Green, Georgia State and Miami (Ohio).

At Washington, Bright will join a once prominent Pac-12 program in the midst of a transition. After a three-year stretch in which the Huskies went 32-9 under Chris Petersen, the team went 8-5 in 2019, prompting Petersen to step down from his role as coach. Since then, Washington has gone 7-9 over the last two seasons under Jimmy Lake and Bob Gregory and hired Kalen DeBoer away from Fresno State three days after the conclusion of a disappointing 2021 season.