Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi said giving athletes a free year of eligibility makes sense
Pitt football coach Pat Narduzzi said Friday giving fall athletes a free year of eligibility is “a no-brainer,” considering the questions hanging over college athletics. The NCAA Division I board of directors voted Friday to approve a proposal to ensure that all athletes, whether they play in the fall or...
Change doesn’t alter Pitt defense’s quest to be the best
The talk around the Pitt football team is the defense Pat Narduzzi has built could be his best in six seasons as coach of the Panthers. That’s a heavy load of expectations to carry around and probably too optimistic of a statement now that All-ACC defensive tackle Jaylen Twyman has...
Pitt freshman basketball player Femi Odukale breaks arm in scooter accident
Pitt incoming freshman guard Femi Odukale broke his arm and suffered other injuries recently when his scooter collided with a car, a Pitt Athletics spokesman said. The injuries are not life-threatening, and Odukale’s arm was repaired surgically. Odukale will miss practice time, but he may be available before the end...
Alex Kramer, who served 5 Pitt football coaches, dies at age 91
Alex Kramer, whose love of Pitt football stretched from the coaching regimes of Jock Sutherland to Pat Narduzzi, died Tuesday. He was 91. Alex Kramer, a highly trusted and beloved Pitt Football administrator who served five different Panthers head coaches, has passed away at the age of 91. pic.twitter.com/SRmbepbZ9C— Pitt...
Analysis: Finally some football questions for Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi
Pat Narduzzi grew up the son of a coach, waiting eagerly at the kitchen table in his Youngstown, Ohio, home to hear about his dad’s day. “I was the guy … in his back pocket all day,” Narduzzi once said. Talking football is one of Narduzzi’s great skills, and he...
First Call: Like the new ‘Monday Night Football’ crew? It has Pitt representation. Vote with your opinion.
For Tuesday’s “First Call,” we take a look at the new NFL “Monday Night Football” broadcast booth. And there’s some Pittsburgh representation. Former Pitt Panther Louis Riddick is going to be part of the crew. He’ll be one of the color-commentary analysts, along with former NFL quarterback Brian Griese. Steve...
‘Burgh’s Best to Wear It, No. 13: From midgets to the NFL, Dan Marino wore lucky number
The Tribune-Review sports staff is conducting a daily countdown of the best players in Pittsburgh pro and college sports history to wear each jersey number. No. 13: Dan Marino He was the coach’s son, so it was only right that a very young Dan Marino had to accept he was...
Joey Yellen’s eligibility triggers 3-way competition for Pitt’s backup quarterback
With covid concerns in the air, Pat Narduzzi likes the fact he has a third candidate to be Pitt’s backup quarterback this season. The NCAA last week granted Arizona State transfer Joey Yellen immediate eligibility. He is competing with Nick Patti and Davis Beville for the No. 1 backup job...
Uncertain about the future, Pitt finds haven in ‘our little paradise’Video
Training camp moments often test a team’s will and define its personality. Perhaps a long completion that shows the passing game is finally in sync. A perfectly executed inside run that springs the back for a significant gain. One August afternoon seven years ago at Pitt’s practice facility, it was...
Seton LaSalle product Nico Popa looking forward to extra season with Pitt baseball
Nico Popa aspires to play professional baseball. The Seton LaSalle graduate and standout right fielder for Pitt hopes an extra year with the Panthers will have multiple benefits, including bolstering his draft stock. Popa, who graduated in May with a degree in marketing, is one of three Panthers — Chris...
Former Pitt assistant Aubrey Hill dies at 48 after cancer battleVideo
MIAMI — FIU said Sunday night that wide receivers coach Aubrey Hill, a standout player at Florida before becoming a longtime coach at Miami, Pitt and other stops, died after a lengthy bout with cancer. He was 48. “Aubrey was loved and adored by so many who saw him not...
Pitt transfer quarterback Joey Yellen granted immediate eligibility
The NCAA granted Pitt redshirt freshman quarterback Joey Yellen immediate eligibility Friday, giving him the opportunity to challenge sophomore Nick Patti and redshirt freshman Davis Beville for the No. 2 job behind senior starter Kenny Pickett. Yellen enrolled in January after one season at Arizona State (2019) and an appearance...
Pitt practice canceled, covid tests come back negative after players display possible symptoms
Pitt canceled football practice Thursday after several players displayed symptoms that are associated with covid-19. “Our medical team decided it was in everyone’s best interest to temporarily pause our Thursday training camp activities so that we could test symptomatic players per our protocol,” athletic director Heather Lyke said. “Based on...
Former OLSH, Pitt standout Cam Johnson playing big role for red-hot Phoenix Suns
When the Phoenix Suns entered the NBA bubble in July, former OLSH standout Cam Johnson was inserted into the starting lineup. There was no big message from first-year coach Monty Williams, and there was no “here’s what you have to go do.” For Johnson, it was all doing whatever he...
How Penn State’s Micah Parsons, Pitt’s Jaylen Twyman will do in the NFL Draft. And how they may help change it.
The chances of playing any semblance of a college football season in the fall are looking bleak. It’s unclear if the sport will try to function in the spring. And who knows if either option will be safe enough for the players. For those reasons, many top-tier NFL prospects have...
ACC’s medical adviser says football season can be conducted safely
The ACC is proceeding with the intent of starting the football season on time, and the conference’s top doctor said Tuesday it can be done safely. Dr. Cameron Wolfe, an infectious disease specialist at Duke and chair of the ACC’s medical advisory team, told Sports Business Daily he recognizes the...
Pitt gets commitment from IMG tight end Jake Renda
Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi continued to build his class of 2021 on Monday night when tight end Jake Renda flipped from his commitment to Michigan State and announced on Twitter his plan to enroll at Pitt. The Panthers have 19 players in next year’s recruiting class, which is ranked 26th...
Pitt has work to do on 2 fronts: Safety, moving the footballVideo
Jimmy Morrissey lives on the South Side. Temptations that most 22-year-old Pitt seniors can’t resist are on every corner. Morrissey barely notices, however, as he moves between his apartment and Pitt’s Duratz training facility only a mile or two away. Every day it’s a straight line back and forth, with...
Pitt players join national plea to play football this fall
Monday was a regularly scheduled day off for Pitt football, but while the practice fields on the South Side were silent, players’ voices were not. Several of them went on Twitter — using the hashtag #WeWantToPlay — to join players from around the nation in pleading with Power 5 officials...
Report: Canceling or postponing fall college football appears inevitable
Pitt’s Jaylen Twyman and Penn State’s Micah Parsons, who decided to opt out this season, soon might be joined by the entirety of their college football brethren. ESPN reported Sunday night that sources told the network postponing or canceling the football season appears inevitable. Power 5 commissioners held an emergency...
Pitt defensive coordinator Randy Bates ready to pump up players
Randy Bates is a cancer survivor who spent quarantine “sitting in my living room thinking about weird things I’m going to do” when Pitt opens training camp. So why wouldn’t you expect the Panthers’ 60-year-old defensive coordinator to use a water pump that looked like it came from the Civil...
Pitt’s Jaylen Twyman opts out, returns home to ‘be with my family’
A day after Pitt defensive coordinator Randy Bates said he would be shocked if one of his players decided not to play this season out of respect to covid-19, All-ACC defensive tackle Jaylen Twyman revealed Saturday his plans to return home and skip the 2020 season. “This past year has...
Mid-American Conference cancels fall football due to virus
The Mid-American Conference on Saturday became the first league competing at college football’s highest level to cancel its fall season because of covid-19 concerns. “I’m heartbroken we are in this place,” MAC Commissioner Jon Steinbrecher said. With the MAC’s 12 schools facing a significant financial burden by trying to maintain...
Pitt opens training camp with no opt-outs
The question made Damar Hamlin chuckle. He considered it for a moment and gave an answer that said a lot about what will push Pitt through a season overflowing with expectations. Athletes and their coaches don’t usually like to play the what-if game with reporters. They prefer to deal with...
First Call: Pitt, Notre Dame ACC odds, Big Ten coaches exchange barbs, Gerrit Cole vs. Tyler Glasnow
Friday’s “First Call” gives us gambling odds for Pitt football in the ACC. And for Notre Dame, too. We also try to scout the Pittsburgh Pirates’ next opponent. A pair of former Pirates pitchers square off this weekend. And an epic Big Ten rivalry just got more salty. Irish odds...
