Pittsburgh Panthers fans know the name. On a Saturday night in October 2022, Israel Abanikanda ran through Virginia Tech for 320 yards and six touchdowns, erasing Tony Dorsett’s 47-year-old single-game rushing mark of 303 yards.
That performance still sits in the Panthers record book.
The NFL chapter has been far less kind.
The Dallas Cowboys waived the former Pitt running back on Tuesday, three days after promoting him from the practice squad, via the NFL transaction wire. Dallas signed Tyler Goodson off Atlanta’s practice squad in the corresponding move.
Abanikanda never took a regular-season snap for the Cowboys. He was a healthy scratch in Week 1 at the Giants after being added to the 53-man roster when Malik Davis went on injured reserve with a season-ending hip injury.
For Pittsburgh, the transaction is another reminder of how quickly college stardom can flatten into roster math.
Abanikanda, a Brooklyn product who became a first-team All-American and All-ACC back in 2022, rushed for 1,431 yards and 20 touchdowns that season.
The Virginia Tech game remains the signature: 36 carries, 8.9 yards per rush, six scores, and the Dorsett record gone. He tied the school and ACC single-game touchdown marks in the same afternoon.
The Jets drafted him in the fifth round in 2023. He played six games as a rookie, totaling 22 carries for 70 yards. Since then he has bounced from New York to San Francisco to Green Bay and Dallas—practice squads, claims, cuts, futures deals.
Dallas liked him enough in camp to keep him after final cuts in August, then called him up when Davis went down. Special-teams value and extra NFL mileage appear to have favored Goodson.
At 23, Abanikanda still has the burst that once made Heinz Field roar. He has just six career NFL games and no carries since 2023.
Clearing waivers could put him back on a practice squad, including possibly Dallas, which has an opening. Other clubs needing a change-of-pace back with home-run speed may take a look.
Pitt supporters will keep watching. The 320-yard night against the Hokies is not going anywhere. Dorsett’s name is still on the wall; Abanikanda’s is next to it.
The professional grind has not matched that afternoon, but the record is his, and the next roster is still unwritten.
