Pitt Take 5: Close call in opener against Wofford won’t be tolerated
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Wide receiver Jerrod “Bub” Means put Pitt’s opener Saturday against tiny Wofford in its proper light.
“We take every team the same way,” he said. “We respect all of our opponents. We don’t care who the opponent is. We don’t let up. We prepare the same way. We go out and expect to execute the same way, no matter what name’s on the jersey.
“We go and play for Pitt. We put on for Pitt.”
Well said. If Pitt is the smart, mature team it appears to be, the Panthers won’t take Wofford lightly. It’s still big-boy football, just on another level than what you should expect in the next 11 games.
Pitt is 7-1 in openers under Narduzzi, but six of those victories were against FCS schools, with an average score of 40-13.1. That sounds like how Saturday’s game will end.
Let’s call it, 42-7, Pitt.
It hasn’t always been easy against the FCS, but these days Pitt fancies itself among the cream of the ACC. Close calls won’t be tolerated, especially by Narduzzi.
“That’s my job to get their tails ready to go, which I will,” he said.
Openers such as last year’s game against West Virginia are more interesting, but there is something to be said for easing into the season.
“It’s nice to have a game that you can make a couple mistakes and hope you still have a chance to win the football game,” Narduzzi said. “If you make too many, you get beat either way.”
Perhaps while sampling the Ribfest outside Acrisure Stadium, here are five thoughts to ponder before the 3:30 p.m. kickoff.
1. He’s no zero
No player has received more attention this summer than senior defensive tackle Deandre Jules, who lost 20 or so pounds by changing his diet. The word is that he’s quicker off the ball and could become an interior penetrator in the mold of former Pitt tackles Jalen Twyman and Calijah Kancey.
Jules said he changed “a bad snacking habit” by eliminating cupcakes and Pop-Tarts. (There goes the invitation to the Pop-Tarts Bowl in Orlando, Fla.)
He said he’s been eating more greens, fruits and vegetables and consulting with Pitt’s strength coaches and dietician.
Jules (6-foot-3, 310 pounds) played in 25 games over the past three seasons without a start, but he played well last year against UCLA in the Sun Bowl and in the regular-season finale at Miami.
He earned the right to go to Narduzzi and request a number change from 90 to 0.
“I wanted a change. I’ve been 90 for four years now,” he said. “I wanted a new start; 0 means zero excuses for me.”
Jules said he might have considered transferring if Kancey returned this season. “But I talked to players, family, coaches. I stuck it out. Coaches are like my family.”
Said Narduzzi: “If he has a great year, I can see that guy playing in the NFL.”
2. Pay attention to these guys
With a lot less fanfare than a year ago, Pitt returns some talented offensive linemen. Before 2021, five returnees said they were eager to stay together for a final season. Injuries scuttled those plans, and they never played a snap as a five-man unit.
There is still plenty of age and experience from center Jake Kradel, 24, right guard Blake Zubovic, 23, and tackles Matt Goncalves, 22, and Branson Taylor, 21. But with a bit less attention paid to them.
Goncalves, a preseason All-ACC choice, is becoming a team leader.
“He’s a guy who, on the field and off the field, is the same guy,” Narduzzi said. “He’s going to lead with his actions, but the words that do come out of his mouth are meaningful. If something’s wrong, he’s going to step up and say something in the huddle.”
Bad things do occur in the trenches, and Pitt already has lost left guard Ryan Jacoby to a season-ending injury. He will be replaced by former tight end Jason Collier, now a 330-pound senior, whose next start will be his first.
3. Will safeties measure up?
Much of the scrutiny aimed at the defense will center on safeties Javon McIntyre and P.J. O’Brien. They are replacing Erick Hallett and Brandon Hill, who were mainstays in the deep secondary for the previous two-plus seasons.
Narduzzi said he challenged O’Brien in the spring to become a better communicator. It worked, and O’Brien will start Saturday.
It will be interesting to see how much backup safeties Donovan McMillon and Stephon Hall play because word during camp was the four are almost interchangeable.
“We have guys behind them,” Narduzzi said. “We’re going to find out who gets it done when the fire’s burning.”
4. Narduzzi and Watson
Wofford coach Shawn Watson and Narduzzi worked together at Pitt in 2017 and 2018. But Watson was not asked to return for the ’19 season.
Still, they have known each other since 1990 when Narduzzi was a graduate assistant at Miami (Ohio).
“The third year (1992) came around, and I was getting ready to leave and go to Vanderbilt with (coach) Gerry DiNardo,” Narduzzi said, “and (Miami) hired me as receivers coach.
“(Watson) certainly helped me. He not only helped me get (the job), but he did more than that. He was coaching me up because I wasn’t a receivers coach. After the work day, he coached me up on receivers and routes and things I needed to know as a coach. I’ll never forget that.”
5. Pickett and Watson
Watson has one more connection to Pitt: He was Kenny Pickett’s first offensive coordinator after high school.
Watson described Pickett as “humble, hard-working.”
“He wanted to be a great player. He was going to will himself to where he got. Everybody followed him, even as a freshman. He exemplified what it meant to be a pro, even at that young age.
“I loved every second with Kenny. I’m happy for him, how all of this has turned out for him. It couldn’t have happened to a better person.”