Predictably, Pat Narduzzi pleased as Pitt approaches the end of training camp
Pat Narduzzi asked the important question Thursday morning. “Eighteen days in, where are we?” he said before practice. Predictably, he answered his own question by saying he is pleased, especially with the chemistry that has developed among players and their attitude through camp’s “ups and downs.” “Our team has grown...
Ex-Central Catholic star transfers from Penn State to Pitt
John Petrishen may not play immediately at Pitt, but there remains an avenue for the former all-state safety from Central Catholic to make an impact over the next two seasons. After transferring from Penn State, he ventured into the Pitt’s deep safety position Wednesday on the penultimate day of training...
Ex-Central Catholic star John Petrishen transfers from Penn State to Pitt
John Petrishen may not play immediately at Pitt, but there remains an avenue for the former all-state safety from Central Catholic to make an impact over the next two seasons. After transferring from Penn State, he ventured into the Pitt’s deep safety position Wednesday on the penultimate day of training...
Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi has depth at LB, but he’s not ready to name starters
When Pitt opened training camp, linebackers coach Rob Harley said he wasn’t sure who would play where and how much time on the field each player would earn. And at that point, he didn’t care. That’s why schools spend so much time, energy and money to hold training camp —...
Pitt freshman RB Vincent Davis impressive, but will he play right away?
In one breath, Pat Narduzzi praised freshman running back Vincent Davis. “He knows what he’s doing,” Pitt’s coach said Tuesday morning before practice. “He’s just done a nice job of hitting the holes and twisting and spinning. He’s just been good. He showed that he’s going to be able to...
3 Pitt opponents ranked in AP preseason Top 25 poll
Using the Associated Press’ 2019 preseason poll and the final poll from 2018 as guides, Pitt’s football schedule appears slightly less daunting than it did a year ago. But it is not an easy schedule, either. The Associated Press released its preseason poll Monday, six days before college football gets...
Pitt volleyball not changing goals despite loss of starting setter Kylee Levers
As players switched benches during the Pitt volleyball team’s annual blue-gold scrimmage Saturday, junior Kylee Levers lagged behind her blue teammates. She carried crutches and dragged her left leg, which was wrapped heavily and covered in a brace that stretched from her ankle to mid-thigh. Two days earlier, Levers, a...
Pitt professor wants to put student-athletes to sleep
Pitt professor Chris Kline wants college students and athletes to wake up to the fact many of them are “notoriously sleep-deprived.” Kline, an assistant professor in Pitt’s Department of Health and Physical Activity, served on an NCAA Task Force on sleep and wellness in 2017, co-authoring a paper that recommends...
Pitt basketball team builds camaraderie during trip to Italy
The Pitt men’s basketball team kicked off its 2019-2020 season in a special way. During a 10-day trip, the Panthers toured Italy with stops in Rome, Florence, Bologna, Vicenza and Venice. Coach Jeff Capel said he and his team built a bond that will be crucial this season. “The trip...
Pitt football notebook: Panthers getting ready for important scrimmage
Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi said practice was lighter Friday to prepare players for, perhaps, the most important day of training camp. That will be Saturday, when he will conduct the second and final live scrimmage of the summer. Those players looking to impress coaches get their last, best chance to...
Natural athlete Carter Warren tasked with protecting Pitt QB’s blind side
Trying to identify Pitt’s most naturally gifted athlete is a process without a right answer. The cornerbacks, running backs and wide receivers run faster than anyone else, but the linemen on both sides of the ball pack the most punch. Dave Borbely’s money is on left tackle Carter Warren. “He...
Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi says he tries not to meddle with offense
It’s not often you hear a head coach admit he’s not capable. But Pat Narduzzi said Thursday morning he stays away from the offense for that reason. Plus, as the Pitt coach pointed out, “Offensively, Whip’s going to run it. It’s his show.” Narduzzi played linebacker at Youngstown State and...
Pitt’s Jaylen Twyman learned by playing free-for-all football on streets
The game is called Throwback Tackle, and Jaylen Twyman isn’t going to lie. He wasn’t the best at it. Played on a concrete parking lot or any open space, the game begins when someone throws a football high in the air, behind his back and toward a crowd of 10...
Pitt notebook: Pat Narduzzi knows how to handle players who lose focusVideo
When his team loses focus — such as what happened at practice Tuesday — Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi knows of an old-school technique that has worked for coaches for years. “Size 12 and a half,” he said. He was joking, of course. There’s no proof he even wears a 12½....
Pitt’s Kirk Christodoulou ready to shoulder dual role of punter, holder
When Pitt conducted its first scrimmage of the summer, Kirk Christodoulou didn’t meet the standard he set last season. Coach Pat Narduzzi noticed during Saturday’s session, of course, and wasn’t afraid to talk publicly about it Tuesday. “I expect more out of him,” Narduzzi said. “He’s not a rookie anymore....
Pitt women’s volleyball team 12th in preseason poll
The Pitt women’s volleyball team, the two-time defending ACC champion, begins its season Aug. 30 with the Panther Challenge at Fitzgerald Field House, and the Panthers will head into that event with a No. 12 national ranking. The American Volleyball Coaches Association released its Division I preseason poll Tuesday afternoon,...
Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi praises Deslin Alexandre, ‘the next man up’ at defensive endVideo
Perhaps Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi was focused more than usual on the vacated defensive end position. But he did have praise Tuesday for Deslin Alexandre, who gets first shot at replacing injured Rashad Weaver. “That guy played his tail off,” the coach said, referring to the first scrimmage of the...
Pitt kicker Alex Kessman sets lofty goals while sweating details
Alex Kessman was a boxer in high school. David Kessman, his father, is a Marine. And, admirably, he wants to hit at least 90 percent of his field-goal tries this season. Anyone questioning Kessman’s attention to detail, toughness and ambition need not worry. “Kess is a perfectionist, as we all...
Pitt finishes tour of Italy with a 3-0 record after 104-41 victory
Pitt assistant coach Jason Capel’s return to Italy was a triumphant one. The Panthers concluded their three-game tour of Italy on Monday with a dominant 104-41 victory against the Vicenza All-Stars. Pitt was 3-0 in Italy, with victories against Vicenza, Florence, 103-53, and The Netherlands B team, 60-55. “This trip...
Pitt O-linemen inexperienced in football but not young in life
Those on the outside of the Pitt training facility look at the Panthers offensive line and see inexperience. Junior Jimmy Morrissey, who is inside those walls every day, looks at it another way. “These young guys, they’ve been waiting,” said Morrissey, Pitt’s starting center since 2017. “They’re really not that...
Pitt continues tour of Italy with 103-53 victory against the Florence All-Stars
Freshman Justin Champagnie filled up his stat line Saturday while leading Pitt to a 103-53 victory against the Florence All-Stars in Livorno, Italy. Champagnie scored 16 points, which would have been good enough for a player fresh from high school. But he also added eight rebounds and two assists and...
5 storylines from 1st week of Pitt training camp
The first week of any training camp typically is packed with plenty of happy talk and unfettered hope. That’s how it was at Pitt, even after the discouraging news Friday of defensive end Rashad Weaver’s season-ending knee injury. Coaches don’t want it any other way. Sour faces and attitudes won’t...
Without Weaver, here’s what’s next for Pitt’s defense
Two days ago, Pitt defensive line coach Charlie Partridge was praising Deslin Alexandre, a previously obscure sophomore defensive end from Pompano Beach, Fla. Partridge liked what he had seen from Alexandre through the first days of training camp and was encouraged that Pitt’s depth at the position was improving. Partridge...
Pitt sack leader Rashad Weaver lost for the season with knee injury
Like most football coaches, Pat Narduzzi prefers to conceal his emotions. The window into what he’s thinking often is closed to those outside his team. Sometimes, though, it’s just not possible to hide your deepest feelings. Friday morning was one of those times. Quietly, thoughtfully, Pitt’s coach stepped in front...
After two days of sightseeing, Pitt defeats The Netherlands, 60-55, in Rome
For a team that spent the previous two days sightseeing, the Pitt squad responded better than anyone could have expected Thursday to win its first game in Italy, 60-55, against The Netherlands “B” team. The game was played at Fonte RomaEur in Rome after the team had visited the Colosseum,...
