Former Pitt defensive back Louis Riddick warns Panthers of ‘very, very motivated’ Seminoles
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Louis Riddick played for and worked side by side with many coaches during a football career that spanned four decades. He has seen the game through the lens of a player, scout, front office boss and now an ESPN analyst.
• First, there was Mike Gottfried in the late 1980s at Pitt, where Riddick was a defensive back, captain and two-time Academic All-American.
• He went on to play seven seasons in the NFL, including time with the Cleveland Browns when Bill Belichick was their coach.
• Later, he was a scout and director of player personnel with the Washington Redskins (now Commanders) and Philadelphia Eagles, helping Marty Schottenheimer, Steve Spurrier, Joe Gibbs and Andy Reid build their rosters.
It’s that all-encompassing background Riddick brings to Acrisure Stadium on Saturday, when he’ll be the game analyst for ESPN’s telecast of Pitt’s game against Florida State.
In that role, he has a warning for the Panthers.
Riddick told TribLive on Thursday to beware of the “very, very talented” and “very, very motivated” Seminoles.
Talented? Anyone can see that.
Motivated? Also obvious because just winning the game may not be enough for No. 4 Florida State (8-0, 6-0 ACC), a team trying to reach the four-team College Football Playoff field.
“Not only are they playing for their ranking and to stay in the top four and be a member of the College Football Playoff,” Riddick said, “but they don’t want to get bumped out of there because people feel they are playing a quote, unquote lesser schedule.
“They’re going for style points, too. Not just the win. It’s how they win. If I’m Florida State, that means I’m beating the (heck) out of whomever we’re playing, and I’m not letting my foot off the gas while Pitt better be prepared for that. Because they’re going to need to match it from an intensity standpoint.”
Riddick follows the Panthers (2-6, 1-3) closely, making a point to mention former Pitt players when he’s on the set for ESPN’s coverage of the draft and several other NFL-based shows.
“Pitt’s been giant killers in the past,” he said, recalling how Pat Narduzzi’s teams have defeated No. 2 Clemson (2016), No. 2 Miami (2017) and No. 14 Louisville (last month). “They just need to have their head in the right space.”
Just like many Pitt players, Riddick knew success and failure as a college player. He was a junior on the 1989 team that went 8-3-1 when current Pitt offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr. was a graduate assistant. The next season, Pitt won three games under Paul Hackett.
“The No. 1 thing to get yourself on track in a game like this is to really start looking inward and looking back at your whole process from a preparation standpoint and say, ‘What is it that I can do better to make sure I’m executing what I need to execute?’
“As long as you’re doing your job,” he said, reciting an old Belichick mantra. “It’s important for every single player individually to lock in individually to what it is that they need to do from an execution standpoint.
“And, probably more important, to take it a step further, for them to compete like heck and not waver when it comes to their level of effort and toughness that you play with.
“When you’re not having success, it’s easy for you mentally to break and give in. That’s why football isn’t for everyone.”
He appreciates the difficult task that awaits Pitt quarterback Christian Veilleux, who will make his fourth start for his new team.
“A guy who transferred, learning a new system, not getting a whole lot of reps … then, all of a sudden you’re thrown into it and you’re being asked to get on the same page with them in a new system behind an offensive line that has been shaky at best as far as consistency of players who are available and the consistency of their performance.
“That’s a heckuva task right there for any quarterback, let alone a guy who’s making his fourth start. But he’s very talented, so you keep working with him.”
Riddick said a coach can help by keeping his message consistent. “That’s something Mike (Gottfried) always was. That’s why I love him to death.
“If you see coaches all of sudden take hard left turns and the next thing you know they’re throwing stuff up against the wall, then you’re going to lose confidence that they know how to get you in positions to help pull the team out of it.”
Riddick believes Narduzzi eventually can turn around Pitt’s fortunes. “No reason to think otherwise,” he said.
“Ultimately, it’s going to come down to over the long haul, you have to be realistic what the deficiencies are of the football team and be able to address them going forward.
“Are they as good as Florida State, one through 50 (on the roster)? Obviously, at this point, no. At the same time, understanding they’ve played some real good football this year. Anything can happen when you kick it off.”
Riddick is aware of Narduzzi’s remarks after the Notre Dame game when he questioned the makeup of the roster while also putting blame on himself.
”He was trying to send a certain message: We need to play better,” Riddick said. “I think he could have made it so the message came out clear and concise and wasn’t throwing players under the bus, which is how many people construed it and maybe some of the players construed it that way. He needed to clear that up. It sounds like he did.
“I think his heart is in the right place. He’s a player’s coach. He cares about the players he has while he has them and after he has them as well. I’ve seen him interact with his guys. I know how he feels about them.
“But, look, sometimes conveying what you feel isn’t always an exact science and not everybody’s perfect at it. I think this is maybe one of those cases.”