Everybody wins when brother competes against brother in Pitt’s spring game
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Maybe Pat Narduzzi was kidding when he said the spring game winners eat steak and lobster whereas the losers will be served tofu for dinner.
Actually, there were only winners Saturday during Pitt’s Blue-Gold game at Acrisure Stadium where the defense defeated the offense, 33-32, according to Narduzzi’s three-layered scoring system.
OC Frank Cignetti Jr., on Phil Jurkovec’s “15 consistent practices.” pic.twitter.com/XeYrDaxl6U
— Jerry DiPaola (@JDiPaola_Trib) April 15, 2023
Points were awarded for offensive and defensive plays and deducted for penalties. Examples: five points for a turnover; minus-3 for what Narduzzi considers a “selfish penalty.”
Truth be told, everybody won because, Narduzzi said, no one suffered a major injury.
“I was out there praying, ‘Just stay healthy,’ ” he said. “I’m glad it’s over.”
What the two-hour event — with free admission — amounted to was, simply, the 15th and final practice session of the spring. Much of what the team does best will be saved for September when Pitt must play four Power 5 opponents in 22 days.
“We have a pretty good volume in our offense,” offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr. said. “We only ran a few things.”
Added defensive coordinator Randy Bates: “We blitz a few more times (when outcomes matter). There are no tricks in this game.”
Bates sounded like a coach who can’t wait to unleash his athletes on players from another school. There is more optimism surrounding Pitt’s defense than might be expected from a unit that lost seven players who might show up in NFL training camps this summer.
Sophomore defensive end Nahki Johnson, a West Mifflin graduate, said he likes to think of his unit as the “new-era D line.”
“Nobody (outside the team) knows what we’re capable of, but we all know what we’re capable of,” he said.
Bates was less worried about play-calling and more about fundamentals, technique and playing physical, or as physical as a game can get when it’s brother against brother.
“We like to believe we win with great technique and being physical and making good tackles,” he said. “That’s how you win football games at the end of the day. It’s not changed in my 62 years.”
There’s so much work to be done between now and the opener Sept. 2 against Wofford that junior free safety P.J. O’Brien, who returned an interception 50 yards for a touchdown, has only one immediate goal on his mind.
“I have to get better,” he said. “I’m not looking at September. I’m looking at what I’m doing (Sunday). I might go watch the film. Weight room Monday.”
The game featured four other touchdowns:
• A 12-yard flip from backup quarterback Christian Veilleux to running back Derrick Davis (Gateway).
• A 4-yard run by Daniel Carter.
• A 91-yard kickoff return by Rodney Hammond Jr. (Narduzzi allowed it, even though it appeared the coverage unit let up.)
• Walk-on quarterback Jake Frantl’s 14-yard bootleg.
The most scrutinized position will be quarterback, and starter Phil Jurkovec, Veilleux and Nate Yarnell combined to complete 18 of 26 passes for 158 yards. All but two were thrown in the first half.
Jurkovec (Pine-Richland) will carry the heaviest load. Pitt won nine games last season, but Narduzzi is looking for more consistent play under center than what the departed Kedon Slovis offered last season.
Cignetti, who was Jurkovec’s coordinator for two seasons at Boston College, viewed his quarterback’s spring efforts through a big-picture window, not just based on what he saw Saturday.
“I saw 15 days of (Jurkovec) making good, decisive decisions, not only in the passing game, but he made good run checks, good protection adjustments,” Cignetti said. “I thought he had a great spring. I can’t wait to see where he takes it.
“I can remember coach (Eric) Kasperowicz (Jurkovec’s coach at Pine-Richland) said to me a couple years ago at Boston College, ‘Wait until you see him on game day.’
“The first time I saw him on game day, he was a different dude, man. He turns it up. He’s a competitor. He’s a leader. I don’t think our guys have quite seen the game-day Phil, what he really becomes when the lights are on.”
Still competing with Yarnell for the backup job, Veilleux was sharp on his first drive that led to the touchdown pass to Davis. He also hit tight end Jake Renda for a 16-yard completion.
“What a great drive. Was that not pretty?” Cignetti said. “Second offense vs. first defense. We wanted to get the ball out of our hands fast.
“Christian did a good job of making quick, decisive decisions. He threw the ball with accuracy. It’s not where he is. It’s where he’s going to be.”