Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi predicts ‘a tougher football team’ this season
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With Pitt spring football practice almost at an end, Pat Narduzzi said Tuesday he has a good feeling about his team.
Sure, all coaches say that when they’re 0-0, but Narduzzi’s thoughts have roots in the possible return of an attitude that was missing during the 3-9 season of 2023.
The statement in question could come back to haunt him if his team doesn’t match its bravado. Or, it could be an indicator of good season ahead, complete with old-school football physicality, the kind under which Narduzzi was raised by his father, Bill.
The final week of Pitt spring practice is underway… pic.twitter.com/LalGV2hUxC
— Jerry DiPaola (@JDiPaola_Trib) April 9, 2024
“We have a tougher football team right now than we had last fall. That makes me feel better and (helps me) sleep at night,” Narduzzi said while making final preparations for the Blue-Gold Game on Saturday at Acrisure Stadium.
His evaluation, plus another from an outsider, put the coach in a good mood when he met with reporters after practice.
Pitt served as host to several high school prospects and their coaches at the 13th practice of the spring. After watching the proceedings, one coach approached Narduzzi and told him practice looked like it was run by Ralph Friedgen.
Now retired, Friedgen coached in college and with the San Diego Chargers for a total of 47 seasons. He was a two-time ACC Coach of the Year at Maryland who won an ACC championship 20 years before Narduzzi did the same at Pitt. From all accounts, he built a reputation as a tough coach who looked out for his players.
“To me, that’s a compliment,” Narduzzi said of the high school coach’s comparison. “It’s a compliment because it goes back to old school. We’ve had a physical, physical spring and we had physical winter workouts.”
How that translates to the offense finding its lost footing under a totally overhauled coaching staff and the defense getting back to stopping the run is a question that won’t be answered before the passing of at least six months.
Defensive end Nate Matlack, a senior transfer from Kansas State, likes what’s he’s seen so far, especially with the way new line coach Tim Daoust is conducting practice.
“Since coach Daoust got here,” Matlack said, “we even changed from what I got told when I was being recruited. We’re trying to play more vertical, get off the ball, not worry so much about what the offense is doing, just try to get penetration and make plays.”
Although it’s true that the downward trend in sacks is an embarrassment to a proud defense, Matlack said that’s only one area of concern.
“First, we talk about stopping the run,” he said.
The number 150 is displayed prominently in a meeting room for players to see because that’s the average yardage per game Pitt surrendered on the ground last season.
“Unacceptable,” Matlack said. “Stop the run first and, then, we’ll get to the money down.”
A little math will tell you the rush yardage allowed represented a 53% jump from 98 in 2022.
Which explains the quest for more physicality.
“It comes down to playing the game of football the way it’s supposed to be played,” Narduzzi said. “We have to do it as smart as we possibly can, but you have to play the game. The goal coming in was to be even tougher than we’ve been. You have to be to win this conference.”
He noted that such an attitude manifested itself during practice in “guys getting after it” — coach speak for players unafraid of colliding with each other.
“It’s a physical battle every day. We haven’t really pulled back,” Narduzzi said. “We’ve put the foot down. We’re not going to do too much. We’re not going to do too little.
“We’re going to give them the right medicine to be a good football team and win a championship.”