Pitt Take 5: Expectations soaring on cusp of training camp
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Football returns to the Beano Cook Fields on Monday when Pitt opens its summer training camp, triggering the long process of defending the ACC championship.
With 13 players back who were named All-ACC last year (on one level or another), expectations — not just hopes — are high.
Yet, departed first-team All-Americans Kenny Pickett and Jordan Addison were such huge contributors last season, isn’t some regression from 11-3 inevitable? How much is the question.
On the other hand, football games are won in the trenches, and Pitt has a total of 13 seniors on both lines, plus third-team All-American defensive tackle Calijah Kancey. Is 11-3 setting the bar too low?
Many questions and circumstances surround Pat Narduzzi while he approaches his eighth season. By the way, he is tied with Walt Harris for the longest tenure among Pitt coaches in the past 57 years. That stability may be the chief reason Pitt should have another good, if not great, season.
Here are five thoughts on the eve of camp:
1. Can Pitt do it again?
After achieving their best season in 40 years, can the Panthers replicate that rare feat?
The optimist will tell you: Sure, no problem, given the number of important contributors who are returning: A total of 25 (11 on offense, 14 on defense), if you don’t limit your count to starters.
The pessimist will warn you, however: If you’re expecting another special season while Pickett and Addison are off chasing their dreams elsewhere, temper your enthusiasm.
ESPN college football analyst Tom Luginbill said Pitt fans should be encouraged by the foundation Narduzzi has put in place.
“Pitt’s still got good players,” Luginbill told The Tribune-Review. “I know what they’ve lost. You’re still the defending ACC champion. You don’t just all of a sudden fall off a cliff.”
2. What about quarterback?
Pitt’s moments of greatness last season were defined by Pickett’s arm and legs and Addison’s ability to get open.
Pickett was responsible for 47 touchdowns, including a 58-yard run in the ACC championship game that altered the NCAA rulebook. Addison more than doubled every other Pitt pass catcher with 100 receptions for 1,593 yards and 17 scores.
Offensive regression wouldn’t be a shock.
Narduzzi repeatedly speaks of the competition at quarterback between Kedon Slovis and Nick Patti. Slovis should be considered the front-runner, but Patti is held in high regard by teammates and coaches. At worst, Patti is a capable backup. At best, he is a reliable and tough quarterback who is willing to make plays by any means necessary. Narduzzi believes losing Patti early in the 31-21 loss to Michigan State in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl made “a 14-point difference” in the outcome.
Slovis threw for 3,502 yards and 30 touchdowns as a USC freshman in 2019, and his name appeared on Heisman and Davey O’Brien Watch Lists the following preseason. But injuries were part of his undoing in 2021 when those numbers dropped to 2,153 and 11 in two fewer starts.
Luginbill has worked USC games when Slovis was the quarterback, and he believes in the quarterback’s talent.
“I know there is a lot of discussion right now about Kedon Slovis,” Luginbill said. “I also think there are a lot of question marks about him. He’s erratic, and he’s had health issues, been injured an awful lot.
“He’s going into an entirely different scheme. This isn’t the air raid like he’s been in the past couple years, more of a running game. They have to be able to run the ball and take some pressure off the quarterback.”
3. The linebacker position
John Petrishen, Cam Bright and Phil Campbell III totaled 200 tackles, 21½ TFLs and 12½ sacks last season. All are gone, with Bright transferring to Washington. This will be a position to watch closely in camp and an area of concern for Narduzzi and his staff.
Smartly, Narduzzi sensed a problem and found Shayne Simon (Notre Dame) and Tylar Wiltz (Missouri State) in the NCAA transfer portal. Also, Bangally Kamara and Solomon Deshields, third-year players acquired the old-school way by recruiting them, will be important players in the rotation.
Senior SirVocea Dennis, perhaps the best linebacker in the ACC even though he was left off the preseason all-conference team, returns in the middle or outside. He can and will play both.
4. Incoming transfers
Pitt lost 17 players to the portal since the start of last season, and that included Addison, Bright and linebacker Wendell Davis Jr. (Northwestern).
Narduzzi added seven scholarship players from the portal, including wide receivers Konata Mumpfield (Akron) and Bub Means (Louisiana Tech and Tennessee). Mumpfield and senior Jared Wayne (career stats, 85 receptions, 1,241 yards) have the goods to be Slovis’ — or Patti’s — go-to receivers.
5. Narduzzi speaks
When Pitt’s coach went on car dealer Richard Bazzy’s podcast and ripped former offensive coordinator Mark Whipple, that made him two for three in throwing darts at his recent play-callers. All Whipple did was lead Pickett into a world of NFL riches and Pitt to the ACC championship while directing an offense that averaged 486.6 yards per game (fifth among Power 5 schools).
Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi does a number here on Matt Canada.
Canada left Pitt for LSU but as we all know, that didn’t last very longpic.twitter.com/uBn7UW6QSt
— that SEC podcast (@thatSECpodcast) August 31, 2020
Narduzzi also questioned Matt Canada’s expertise after the 2016 season when Pitt scored 532 points (76 vs. Syracuse) and defeated Penn State and Clemson by scoring 42 and 43, respectively.
In both cases, Narduzzi’s unnecessary, unjustified remarks served no purpose and were insults directed at two good men. Pitt’s coach occasionally likes to speak his mind, but he should realize that this is 2022. Saying the wrong thing — even if only a few are listening — can make a respected coach look bad.
One way for Narduzzi to make people forget this transgression is to win double-digit games for the second year in a row. The games are what matters — if you win them.
When Narduzzi disrespected the Big Ten by saying, “Let’s go to the Big Ten and win it every year,” he was standing up for Pitt and the ACC. That’s admirable.
But he was not thinking about his record against nonconference Power 5 schools: 2-10 (1-6 vs. the Big Ten).
Now, he faces two more — West Virginia and Tennessee — to start the season.
If Pitt loses to even one of those schools (WVU was picked eighth in the Big 12 preseason poll and Tennessee third in the SEC East), the national media will recycle Narduzzi’s previous remarks.
Pressure to win? Narduzzi won’t admit it, but it’s there now that he has dug up a fertile ground for it to flourish.