Pitt WRs coach Tiquan Underwood, pass catchers work to iron out imperfections
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Tiquan Underwood doesn’t hide behind false hope.
Pitt’s passing game coordinator/wide receivers coach knows there’s plenty of work that’s necessary to improve the Panthers’ aerial game — both over the final three games and likely starting this winter when Pat Narduzzi and his coaching staff undertake some serious self-scouting.
“I was raised by my aunt and uncle to always take ownership,” Underwood said. “If I screw up, raise my hand. That’s on me. Just try not to let it happen again.
“It hasn’t been perfect. It hasn’t been bad,” he said of Christian Veilleux’s performance since becoming the starting quarterback four games ago. “He’s continuing to learn. I feel like he’ll be better for it.
“We need to pitch and catch better. That’s one thing I will say. It starts with us (wide receivers), just creating separation, getting open so the quarterback can deliver us the ball. I’ll continue to be on my receivers and say we have to get open and do our job.”
Pitt’s passing game is ranked No. 8 in the ACC — middle of the pack, not horrible, but certainly unremarkable — with an average of 212.3 yards per game. That’s an 10 fewer yards per game than last year when former quarterback Kedon Slovis didn’t perform to expectations.
In broader, harsher terms, there are 82 schools in the nation having better success than Pitt through the air.
How do you win championships in college football? When the Panthers won the ACC in 2021, they averaged 337.4.
It’s Underwood’s job to help his players make up the difference, but he hasn’t been unhappy with starting receivers Konata Mumpfield and Bub Means. Mumpfield has 36 receptions for 498 yards and Means has 30 catches for 487 yards. Each player has four touchdown catches, but their yardage totals are 112th and 118th in the nation, respectively.
Mistakes and inconsistency are holding back the passing game, with the most egregious error occurring Saturday against No. 4 Florida State when Mumpfield fumbled on the 1 after an 82-yard catch-and-run.
The fumble was a lesson for Mumpfield, but at the steep cost of a touchdown.
“That was a tough one,” Underwood said. “He ran a great route. Christian threw a beautiful ball. O-line gave him time. DB made a fabulous play on the ball. When he came to the sideline, I said, ‘Bro, do you have bounce-back ability?’
“He said, ‘Coach, I’m good. I tried to score. I should have taken the profit and just covered the ball up.’
“We learn from it. He pushed forward in that game, and I love where he was mentally throughout. Some guys can go in the tank and never recover from a play like that.”
Mumpfield made two more catches for 17 yards the rest of the day.
Means has the speed to challenge a secondary deep, but he hasn’t put it to its greatest use often enough.
“There have been flashes. Now, it’s just about consistency,” Underwood said. “The guys in the NFL are the most consistent. It’s not the most talented. I try to preach that to the guys. He’s working on that.”
Additional problems surfaced against Florida State, including a lost fumble by Means and more penalties for the ACC’s most penalized team. Pitt averages 8.7 per game. Nationwide, only New Mexico and Colorado are worse.
“I try to be real with my guys,” Underwood said. “Penalties and turnovers. That’s how you lose games. For us to have two turnovers in the receiver room, that can’t happen. It’s hard to win when you turn the ball over, especially when it comes from the wideouts.”
Underwood said the team needs to work on eliminating pre-snap penalties.
“Unfortunately, it’s been a recurrent theme, and we’re trying to focus on that and hopefully on Saturday (against Syracuse), we’ll put out a better performance. I feel like we’re playing (against) ourselves before we’re playing the other team. We have to clean those things up, for sure.”
Narduzzi makes a point of showing the weekly penalty report to coaches and players.
“By the guys seeing it and showing it in front of the entire team (they say), ‘Darn, I have to fix this.’ It’s just locking in and having good focus,” Underwood said. “That’s what it comes down to. As coaches, we have to hold them accountable.”
False starts have been a particular problem while Pitt has used seven configurations on the offensive line. Largely because of injuries, four of the five positions have needed three players each.
“We’ve had a number of guys playing, older guys, younger guys,” Underwood said. “I could say that may be a part of it. But at the end of the day, we all have a job to do. Whatever the issue is, we have to fix it.
“Had a practice today, few bloopers there. We still got things to fix. By Saturday, hopefully, we’ll come out clean when we do get that penalty report.”