Pitt seniors take possible last walk across Acrisure Stadium grounds
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Several days before Pitt’s last home game of the season Thursday night at Acrisure Stadium, Pat Narduzzi met with his team.
It’s a regular weekly meeting, but this one meant a bit more than the others to Narduzzi. He is in the midst of his final days with the team’s senior class, and he had a special message to deliver.
Narduzzi told reporters later that the focus of the meeting was gratitude.
“Just talked about how grateful we are, not only to the seniors and the guys playing their last game at Acrisure Stadium, but also to really everybody in this room,” he said.
Pitt (2-8, 1-5 ACC) is winding down the worst of Narduzzi’s nine seasons, but good memories from only two years ago remain for the coach and several players.
“The seniors mean a lot, and there’s a lot of guys that won an ACC championship in here,” he said. “Regardless of what happens in ‘22 or ‘23, the one thing about most of these guys up front is they’ve helped us win an ACC championship, and no one can ever take that away from them. That’s something impressive.
“You have your up years and your down years and just doesn’t matter. I love these guys in this room. These seniors, most of them have been here for a long time, and this is our family in here.
“It’s always sad to see those guys play their last game.”
Before the game against Boston College, 16 seniors and their parents were honored with an introduction to the Acrisure crowd.
Some seniors who were honored have a season of eligibility remaining because of a redshirt and the bonus year delivered by the NCAA because of covid-19 interruptions in 2020.
“Senior day, some guys walk and come back. I think Kenny Pickett walked on senior day (in 2020), and he came back,” Narduzzi said. “So just use that as one good example. Everybody has got decisions to make in the future, what’s best for them, and we understand that, and we’ll help guide them in the best way we possibly can.”
The list of seniors whose eligibility will expire at the end of the season are: defensive tackles David Green, Tyler Bentley and Devin Danielson, tight end Malcolm Epps, cornerbacks A.J. Woods and Marquis Williams, running back C’Bo Flemister, linebacker Shayne Simon, quarterback Phil Jurkovec and offensive linemen Jake Kradel and Blake Zubovic.
Five seniors could choose to return next season but were introduced Thursday. They have not made their future plans public. They are wide receivers Bub Means and Josh Junko, cornerback M.J. Devonshire, linebacker Brandon George and offensive tackle Matt Goncalves.