Pat Narduzzi shepherds 110 Pitt players onto practice fields for 1st day of camp
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The first morning of Pitt training camp dawned Monday with a predictable sight:
Pat Narduzzi in a straw hat.
There was no sun in a cloudy sky over the Beano Cook fields and a bit of a chill in the South Side air (relatively speaking), but Narduzzi wore the hat anyway.
Coaches hate cool weather during camp, but temperatures are predicted to rise into the low 90s by mid-week. It’s a good bet that most players showed up in good, physical condition anyway, football being a 12-month sport these days
During the 30-minute media viewing window, Narduzzi walked from drill to drill, prodding, encouraging and, occasionally, stopping just to watch from a distance.
Entering his eighth season as Pitt’s coach — he’s made such an indelible mark on the program that Paul Chryst’s three-year tenure is barely a memory — Narduzzi led 110 players onto the field for the first of 21 scheduled practices. Call this the first official start of Pitt’s defense of its ACC championship, its attempt to remain among the conference’s elite.
Everyone seemed eager to get started — it’s always that way on the first day of school — especially senior defensive end John Morgan, who stopped by a covey of reporters to greet everyone with a handshake and a wide smile. There’s big reason for optimism among Morgan’s teammates on defense — a total of 17 players who contributed either a sack or interception (or both) last season are back.
When the horn blew and the calisthenics were finished, most eyes were on quarterback drills where the most interesting position battle of the summer is underway.
(Coach’s protocol demands that reporters are permitted to watch, but not tweet or otherwise transmit what they see in those drills. In other words, what happens on the South Side stays on the South Side.)
There are six rostered quarterbacks on the team, all decked out in bright, red jerseys so defenders know to keep their hands to themselves.
Four of the six are on scholarship, but the competition for the starting job is between Kedon Slovis and Nick Patti.
Slovis is the presumed front-runner, at least in media circles. He moved clear across the country from USC to join the Panthers, and he was a starter for the Trojans, throwing for 7,576 yards and 58 touchdowns in three seasons.
But Patti, a senior, has the respect of teammates and coaches after breaking his collarbone diving for a touchdown in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. He’s also played in previous Pitt seasons, albeit for two offensive coordinators who are no longer on the staff. Which is, actually, good for fair competition because new coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr. goes in fresh with both guys.
There are two other quarterbacks on scholarship — redshirt freshman Nate Yarnell and Dartmouth transfer and senior Derek Kyler. The walk-ons — Aliquippa grad Eli Kosanovich and Wisconsin native Jake Frantl — were with the team last year when there were seven quarterbacks in camp.
Two of the departed — Davis Beville and Joey Yellen — may have criss-crossed with Slovis while transferring east to west. Beville is now an Oklahoma Sooner. Yellen, who was Kenny Pickett’s top backup in 2020, moved on to Hawaii.
Narduzzi will speak with reporters at 1 p.m.