Pat Narduzzi is not directly in the business of selling tickets, but he sounded a bit like a carnival barker Thursday when he met with reporters two days before Pitt opens its season against Wofford.

If you want to get the first glimpse of what Pitt may be like this season, step right up to one of the Acrisure Stadium ticket windows. The answer, at least partially, is inside.

“‘I’m excited about game day to find out what we have,” he said, “because you really never know with intrasquad scrimmages. Playing against someone who is actually game-planning against you and going after a weakness, that’s when you find out where you are and what you have.”

He repeated various versions of that theme throughout his 17-minute question-and-answer session. His bottom line: He’s also not in the prediction business at this point in the summer.

Let’s let the Wofford game — and the rest of the season — answer those questions.

Wake-up call

Narduzzi said Tuesday was just an “average” practice, but Wednesday and Thursday were “really good.”

“I had to wake them up after Tuesday. Kids responded,” he said.

Unfamiliar foe

Preparing for Wofford of the FCS Southern Conference was a bit different than preparations will be against familiar ACC opponents later in the season.

Wofford canceled its 2020 season due to the covid-19 pandemic, played five games in the spring of 2021, called off three more and lost 15 in a row until coach Shawn Watson took over midway through 2022.

“You never know what you’re dealing with until you get there. It’s not a team you have a lot of information on,” he said.

Narduzzi said coaches found themselves watching high school football video of some Wofford players to help fill in the blanks.

Watson’s two seasons as Pitt’s offensive coordinator in 2017 and 2018 offer little help, Narduzzi said.

“I know who Shawn is. I know where his heart is. I know what kind of person he is. Offense is offense. They’re going to do different things. I don’t think that helps you a bit.”

RB committee

Narduzzi said running back appears at this point to be “a committee of guys.”

Rodney Hammond may get the first touches, but Narduzzi is eager to see Daniel Carter, C’Bo Flemister and Derrick Davis run the ball.

“We’re waiting for someone to take it over,” he said. “We’ll find out who’s durable, who’s hitting it, who’s hot. We’ll figure that out as we go through the season.”

WR Johnson will play

He was fairly definitive on one topic: Freshman wide receiver Kenny Johnson will play significant minutes.

“I’ve seen him continue to rise,” he said. “The rest of them we’re going to find out. I can see seeing Kenny early. Mentally, he’s strong. He doesn’t make mistakes.

“He’s really mature. What he did off the field and what he did on the field is consistent. It comes to trust. Right now, there’s a lot of trust in Kenny to go out there and do it on the field just like he’s done in practice. He’s been consistent.”

Trust is earned

Narduzzi sees his players putting more trust in the quarterback position than they might have done last year.

“I think so, but probably if you had asked me this question last year before the season started, I would have said, `Hey they trust,’” he said.

“I think you gain trust through playing games. (Practice) is just playing in the backyard out here, right? The real bullets fly Saturday.”

Staying at home

WPIAL and City League stars M.J. Devonshire, Jurkovec, Blake Zubovic, Jake Kradel, Stephon Hall, Donovan McMillon, Sean FitzSimmons, David Green, Dayon Hayes, Nahki Johnson and Derrick Davis will either start or have a good chance to get on the field Saturday.

“When you talk about recruiting,” Narduzzi said, “you are always going to start in your backyard.”

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)