After adding new faces this offseason, Pitt looks for improvement in its passing game
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Perhaps the biggest difference between the Pitt team that won the ACC championship in 2021 and the 2022 version that failed to repeat was the regression in the passing game.
Kenny Pickett threw for 4,319 yards and 42 touchdowns in ’21, but those numbers fell precipitously to 2,898 and 13 last season. Quarterbacks Kedon Slovis, Nick Patti and three wide receivers are gone from that team, including 1,000-yard pass catcher Jared Wayne.
Something needed to be done, and coach Pat Narduzzi didn’t just stand back and wave goodbye.
Acting swiftly, Narduzzi added quarterbacks Phil Jurkovec and Christian Veilleux and wide receiver Daejon Reynolds from the transfer portal. Plus, he signed five wide receivers in Pitt’s 19-man recruiting class.
Spring drills start in about a month, and coaches will keep a careful eye on the passing game.
Bring it on, Reynolds said Wednesday when he joined Veilleux and freshman wide receiver Lamar Seymore in a meeting with reporters.
“I wish I could time-travel into the season right now,” said Reynolds, who played sparingly at Florida the past two seasons. “The offseason is something else. I’m ready to play and get back in action.”
Likewise, Veilleux, who has three seasons of eligibility remaining, is eager to begin learning offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr.’s system and competing with Jurkovec for the starting job. Yes, Jurkovec has the edge in experience (five seasons to two), but Veilleux is brimming with confidence.
“That’s one of the big reasons why I came here,” he said, “to have that equal chance to compete and start and be the guy. I think I have the ability to be that guy. It’s going to be a great competitive environment in the spring, summer and camp. I can’t wait. It’s what I love to be a part of.”
Veilleux (pronounced Va-Er) thought that opportunity would arise at Penn State, but he was passed on the depth chart by freshman Drew Allar, who played in 10 games with 60 pass attempts as a backup to Sean Clifford last season. Veilleux appeared in only three games. His only extended work with the Nittany Lions was a 2021 start against Rutgers when he completed 15 of 24 passes for 235 yards and three touchdowns.
He decided to transfer to Pitt, largely because he knew Narduzzi and Cignetti, both of whom tried to recruit him from the Bullis School in Potomac, Md. He wasn’t detered by Jurkovec’s presence.
“Having Phil here is a benefit to me and my learning experience,” said Veilleux, a native of Ottawa, Ontario. “He’s definitely done it longer than me, so I can learn a lot of stuff from him.
“It’s a very good competitive environment it’s going to bring to the program. I think we’re going to elevate each other and make each other better. I’m looking forward to competing with him and developing that relationship of being friends and quarterbacks on the same team and just helping each other out.
“I absolutely believe that I’ll get a chance to compete, and I want to win the starting job, of course. I have an open mind to this whole process, but I have goals and I have aspirations that I’m going to work hard to reach. I don’t have any expectations, any demands. I just want to have an equal competition, equal opportunity to start.”
Veilleux has been studying Cignetti’s system for the past four weeks and likes what he has seen.
“You go to a lot of places, and coaches will just throw information at you, and it won’t really jell until you’re in training camp,” he said. “I think my knowledge of the game has doubled, honestly. The detail, the precision, how he stacks things on top of each other to make sense. Everything has a reason. Words have a meaning.”
Veilleux (6-foot-4, 200 pounds) said decision-making and what he called his “definitely underrated” athleticism are a big part of what he offers.
“I love being back there and just dicing up defenses, making throws, going through progressions and making the right reads. I think that’s what quarterback is all about, just being systematic.”
After losing running back Izzy Abanikanda to the NFL Draft, Pitt might emphasize the passing game more than it did last season.
“Just because last year, they ran a lot of run plays, doesn’t mean that this year’s going to be the same, right?” Veilleux said. “It’s all about the personnel and who you have.”
Said Seymore: “Now, they want to spread the ball. That’s better for me as a receiver. It’s a new system that they just put in. They had a good running back last year. It was only right to run the ball.”
Seymore (6-foot, 186) was one of seven freshmen, including wide receiver Israel Polk, who enrolled in January and will participate in spring drills. He arrives with something to prove after settling for a three-star ranking at Miami Central High School.
“I wouldn’t complain about it, but I know I’m way better than a three-star. I know what I can do,” he said. “I get open.”
Reynolds (6-2, 204) had one big game at Florida: eight receptions for 165 yards and two touchdowns against Vanderbilt last season.
“It was the only chance that I really got to put my talents on display, and look what I did,” he said. “People say it’s just against Vanderbilt, but they’re an SEC team, too.”