Jerry DiPaola stories, Page 37

When Pat Bostick first arrived at Pitt, his job was scoring touchdowns — either by throwing them as a highly recruited, four-star quarterback or by leading the Panthers offense. Today, Bostick’s job is scoring points with donors: building lasting relationships with deep-pocketed alumni and supporters who part with their assets...

Pitt football began in 1890 with a team that played three games, never bothered to name a coach and managed one victory, 10-4, at Geneva. Today, there are 55 Pitt coaches and staff members — from coordinators to nutritionists — who make significant contributions to a program that is among...

Braylan Lovelace was faced with a dilemma when he enrolled at Pitt in January while his Leechburg High School classmates were five months from graduation. Pitt coaches and support staff presented him with this challenge: gain weight, but don’t get fat. Upon early graduation from Leechburg, which plays in the...

Not one prone to make exaggerated claims, Charlie Partridge rattled off names of 13 players he believes will contribute on Pitt’s four-man defensive line before the end of the season. Roster numbers are important, especially early in the season when heat can be an issue. It’s also good to keep...

During wide receiver drills at Pitt practice, assistant coach Tiquan Underwood keeps up a dialogue. Good catch, bad catch, slick route or sloppy, Underwood will have something to say about it. He is among a cluster of Pitt coaches who constantly chatter during practice — whether it’s offering praise or...

A week from Friday will be Pitt football’s annual kickoff luncheon, signaling the end of fall camp, the start of classes and the anticipation of football that actually matters. Before that, coach Pat Narduzzi will run his team through its second scrimmage this month Saturday on the Beano Cook Fields...

Mark Richt stopped coaching five years ago after 171 victories in 18 seasons, 15 at Georgia, three at Miami. Yet the sights and sounds — even smells — of the game he loves linger. Now an analyst for the ACC Network, Richt visited Pitt practice this week. The stage set...

There’s plenty of vocalized optimism surrounding Pitt’s offensive line that returns four players with significant experience. Yet there has been no definitive word on the makeup of certain positions along the line. All-ACC preseason tackle Matt Goncalves can play on the left or right side. If he is left —...

During a typical practice, Pitt coaches conduct a wide variety of drills on as many as three fields. Coach Pat Narduzzi walks from one station to another, sometimes just observing, but often offering advice and loud admonishments if something displeases him. Unlike legendary Alabama coach Bear Bryant, who used to...

After two weeks of hanging around Pitt’s summer training camp, you get the impression that everything is great and there are, perhaps, a dozen big plays every day. That may be true, but coach Pat Narduzzi is looking for more than splashes of production. He wants consistency, and the coach...

Let’s run down the specific reasons why offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr. believes Pitt will have a different look this season, with speed among the wide receivers and a newfound willingness to throw downfield. • Start with wide receiver Bub Means, whose goal is to be the “fastest, strongest person...

Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi is in the midst of preparations for the season opener Sept. 2, but the future beyond 2023 got a little brighter Tuesday when four-star defensive end Sincere Edwards announced his verbal commitment to the Panthers. Edwards (6-foot-3, 240 pounds) is Pitt’s fourth four-star prospect from the...

Someone told Pat Narduzzi that Pitt came in 32nd in the Associated Press Top 25 preseason poll, seventh among the ORVs (others receiving votes). If Narduzzi played the disrespect card to his players in their private meetings, he didn’t say so Tuesday morning when he met with reporters. “I heard...

Monday was a big day for those who follow college football. The Associated Press released its preseason Top 25 poll. With 60 of 63 possible votes, defending champion Georgia is the overwhelming choice for the No. 1 team in the land, followed by Michigan, Ohio State and Alabama. Penn State...

Derrick Davis Jr. is not dreaming when he steps onto Pitt’s practice fields. Coaches demand focus, not dreams. These days, however, Davis is getting that old Gateway High School feeling, thinking about the success he enjoyed as a football player for the Gators and a student in the classroom, too....

Optimism and sincere confidence have been flowing freely from Pitt’s football players over the first nearly two weeks of training camp. Pivotal year for the Panthers? Not really. Thanks in large part to Kenny Pickett’s presence and Pat Narduzzi’s ability to keep the roster largely intact and coaching staff consistent,...

Pitt basketball concluded its 10-day, two-game overseas trip Saturday, overcoming transportation problems while recording an 83-66 victory against the Sant Julia All-Stars in Sant Julia De Vilaporta, Spain. Defense carried Pitt to the victory, allowing the home team only 10 points in the third quarter. Blake Hinson led the Panthers...

He doesn’t know when it will occur, but Javon McIntyre believes Phil Jurkovec’s day of reckoning is coming. McIntyre, a redshirt sophomore safety, can see it in his mind’s eye. One day at practice, Jurkovec will drop back and throw a pass into the Pitt secondary, and McIntyre will snatch...

Pat Narduzzi and Chris Bickell huddled regularly before Alliance 412 announced it will be put annual payments of more than $10,000 in the pockets of every Pitt scholarship player. It’s a concept that would be foreign to coaches in the 57-year-old coach’s past. But he understands how the game is...

The cheers, hoots, hollers and applause from the young men filling the seats in the Pitt football meeting room told the story, one of a new era of college athletics that their fathers never imagined. Alliance 412, the collective formed to provide financial support and guidance to Pitt athletes during...

Pat Narduzzi pulled on gray sneakers and left his nice, white ones inside Thursday morning when Pitt practiced in a light, intermittent drizzle. “Which is perfect,” Narduzzi said. Games are played in the rain, of course, and Pitt claimed one of its most significant, all-time ACC victories in a downpour....

After three days of travel and sightseeing, Pitt’s basketball team overcame a slow start, a clock malfunction and sweltering heat in the gym to record an 86-80 victory Wednesday against the Tenerife All-Stars in the first game of its 10-day trip to the Canary Islands and Barcelona, Spain. Blake Hinson...

Che Nwabuko kept everyone waiting, but no one questioned his reason for being a bit tardy to his first interview session. Pitt’s redshirt freshman wide receiver was staying after practice to put in some extra work. Football comes first. Who could argue? Then, after arriving at the appointed spot, he...

In the locker room and weight room (perhaps even to his face), some of Charlie Partridge’s players refer to him as Hulk. “Coach P is hard on you,” sophomore defensive end Nahki Johnson said. “He’s cool. He’s chill. Then, when you get up here, he just transforms … I wouldn’t...

If you need proof that name, image and likeness dollars already have been distributed to some Pitt athletes, Jeff Goldberg suggests looking back a few months. “You see it on the rosters already,” said Goldberg, chief operating officer of Alliance 412, the collective created to help Pitt compete in the...