Pittsburgh defensive end Ejuan Price will miss the 2014 season with a chest injury, further depleting a thin position group for the Panthers.
Price tore a pectoral muscle during workouts this week, the school announced Wednesday. The junior will undergo surgery to repair the injury.
"We are incredibly disappointed for Ejuan," coach Paul Chryst said in a statement. "We will do everything we can to help him stay encouraged and focused through this challenge."
Price was penciled in as a starter on Pitt's new-look defensive line. He had a strong start to the 2013 season, recording 23 tackles -- including four for a loss -- in six games before a back injury Oct. 19 against Old Dominion ended his season.
Pitt's defensive line was led last year by Aaron Donald, who was selected 13th overall by the St. Louis Rams in the year's NFL draft. Donald had 28.5 tackles for loss, one-third of the team's total. Darryl Render is the only returning member of the defensive line to record more tackles (25) than Price last season. Render and Shakir Soto were the only other linemen other than Donald to record at least one tackle for loss.
Even with Donald's presence on the line in 2013, Pitt finished with just 49 tackles for loss against teams from power conferences, the second-fewest total in the ACC. Beyond Price at end, Pitt has Soto, junior Devin Cook and senior David Durham along with a handful of freshmen available for the start of camp Aug. 4.
