Pitt Take 5: Pat Narduzzi will keep eyes open, whistle at the ready during Blue-Gold Game
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Pitt shuts down spring drills Saturday with the Blue-Gold Game, and the one sight coach Pat Narduzzi wants to see over all others is everyone walking out of Acrisure Stadium without the aid of crutches, walking boots or slings used to stabilize injured arms or shoulders.
Spring ball is necessary for installing an offensive system and various defensive alignments. But because of immediate eligibility for transfers, depth is compromised, which makes it difficult to replace injured players.
Nonetheless, Narduzzi’s eyes will be popping from one position to another in an attempt to determine which positions need help from the transfer portal. Another window opens Saturday, by the way.
He also will have his whistle ready, even if it costs the defense a sack of two.
“I’ll blow the whistle early to make sure the quarterbacks don’t get hit,” he said.
Here are five thoughts to ponder before and during Saturday’s action:
1. ‘A Pittsburgh guy’
The battle for No. 2 quarterback behind Phil Jurkovec is between Christian Veilleux and Nate Yarnell. Narduzzi has not announced that Jurkovec is atop the depth chart, but it’s clear that he’s No. 1.
Which puts the offense way ahead of last year, when Narduzzi waited until August to choose Kedon Slovis over Nick Patti, a smart, tough quarterback who now is embarking on a career in commercial real estate.
By the way, the choice of Slovis was an incorrect one, and that’s not just one man’s opinion. It was proven by Slovis’ immediate transfer at the end of the regular season and Patti’s performance in the Sun Bowl.
Senior center Jake Kradel (Butler) likes what he has seen from Jurkovec, a former high school rival from Pine-Richland.
“It’s good to have a guy back there who’s a Pittsburgh guy,” Kradel said. “He brings some leadership. He’s a guy who’s going to lead us out there and win us games. That’s what I think we were missing last year. It’s good to have him back home.
“Every year I played against him, he beat me, from seventh grade to even college (Boston College) he beat us. Good to have him on this side.”
Cornerback M.J. Devonshire told a story of how he tried to rattle Jurkovec one day at practice.
“I talk a lot. I’d be messing with him, trying to get him to respond,” Devonshire said. “He stayed composed. He didn’t say nothing. He just dropped back and he threw it, and Bub (Means) caught it and I had nothing to say. He let me know he’s not going to be rattled.”
2. Darn that NCAA
If Kradel was king of the NCAA, spring drills would stretch beyond the 15th day Saturday.
“I wish we played 10 more practices. I love football. I do,” he said. “There are a lot of things I have to work on. I wasn’t as good as I wanted to be this spring.
“I enjoy this game. I enjoy my brothers here. It would be a great opportunity, but the NCAA only gives us 15.”
That said, Kradel likes the offense vs. defense format Narduzzi will employ in the spring game, compared to previous years when the player draft put offensive line starters on opposite teams.
“I like staying together (with) the five (starters) I worked with all spring. It will help us (take) that next step. We’re still not there,” he said.
At this point, the five offensive line starters appear to be (from left) tackle Branson Taylor, guard Ryan Jacoby, Kradel, guard Blake Zubovic and tackle Matt Goncalves. Kradel also had good words for redshirt freshman tackle Ryan Baer, a 6-foot-7, 335-pound mountain of a man.
“He’s been great,” Kradel said. “He knows the offense. He’s really picking it up, tackle, guard wherever we need him. He’s really playing fast. He’s still learning. It took me 2 1/2 years to feel comfortable.”
3. Running back depth
Pitt’s run game last season ranked fourth in the ACC, 42nd in the nation, averaging 183 yards per game. Now that ACC rushing champion Izzy Abanikanda is off to the NFL, Pitt hopes to continue to threaten defenses on the ground.
“Of course, we’d love to have Izzy here still, but now that he’s gone, I don’t think there is any dropoff,” senior running back C’Bo Flemister said. “As a whole group, we took a step this spring.”
Rodney Hammond Jr., who has rushed for 964 yards and 10 touchdowns in two seasons, sits atop the depth chart, followed by Flemister, Daniel Carter and freshman T.J. Harvison. Flemister averaged 5.5 yards on 40 carries (total of 221) last season after transferring from Notre Dame.
Harvison has been attracting attention.
“He’s very natural,” Flemister said. “He’s raw, though. He reminds me a lot of myself coming in raw, but he sees the cuts. He’s physical. He’s not scared of the contact.”
Harvison is learning the demands of the college game.
“Coming out of high school, you could just run through those guys,” he said. “In college, you have to get your pads down.”
4. Couple thoughts on WRs
The starters appear to be returnees Konata Mumpfield and Bub Means and Florida transfer Daejon Reynolds. But there’s been plenty of good vibes about freshmen Izzy Polk and Lamar Seymore, who enrolled in January, and walk-on junior Jake McConnachie.
Narduzzi said of Polk, “You can almost say he’s ahead of some of the guys who have been here for a year.”
Kradel has been impressed with McConnachie.
“He’s been playing relentless all spring,” he said. “That’s a dude, he’s hungry for a scholarship. He’s doing everything right. He’s running a deep route and catching it. Blocking, too. He’s cracking safeties. He’s coming up full speed ahead, just great effort. Really excited to see what he does this year.”
Always a good judge of toughness, Devonshire, an Aliquippa graduate, was asked to name a teammate who didn’t play for the Quips but plays like a Quip. He mentioned Means, who often exchanges trash talk on the practice field.
“He’d make it through a season at Aliquippa,” Devonshire said.
One other: “Kenny Pickett can make it at Aliquippa any day.”
5. Welcome to Acrisure
Strong safety Donovan McMillon is looking forward to getting all dressed up and playing a football game — Narduzzi insists that’s what it will be — at the home of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“I already look good in yellow. I ain’t going to lie to you,” he said, excited as anyone can be for a spring game.
McMillon appeared in two WPIAL Class 5A championship games with Peters Township, but those games were played at high school fields at Norwin and North Allegheny. This will be McMillon’s first time playing a game at Acrisure.
At the moment, McMillon is competing for playing time with Javon McIntyre, who is having an outstanding camp. But Narduzzi wants options, and he might have them with McMillon and free safety contenders P.J. O’Brien and Stephon Hall, a Central Valley grad.
A transfer from Florida, McMillon said he’s getting comfortable with the various calls, reads and alignments associated with Pitt’s defense, but he knows it takes time to fully comprehend its demands.
“I feel like I haven’t got to the point where I’m 100% in being able to just do whatever I want,” he said.
Spring is a time to throw several concepts at players to determine who has the most absorbent sponge.
“Just the installs,” McMillon said. “You’re three practices in, ‘OK, I got it. This is fun. I’m getting my legs.’ And now we’re installing a new defense, new concepts. We’re installing so much.”
He said it will get easier during the season when the defensive game plan is whittled down to match the specifics of the opponent’s offensive scheme.
“The biggest thing is we communicate and we tackle the running backs and make the quarterbacks stressed under pressure,” McMillon said. “If we continue to do that, it will be a fun spring game.”