Running backs, special teams keep Pitt assistant Andre Powell busy
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Class was in session for members of the media Monday afternoon at Pitt’s practice facility, and Andre Powell was the instructor.
It’s a good idea to listen when Powell speaks. Not only is he one of two assistants who have been with Pat Narduzzi for all eight seasons — tight ends coach Tim Salem is the other — but he coaches special teams and running backs at Pitt and has held down a variety of jobs in college football for 35 of his 55 years.
And while he minds his own business (“I don’t even know what quarterback is in the game. I farm my own land,” he said.), he quietly keeps an eye on the pulse of the team.
He has seen a subtle attitude change in recent seasons that made a difference in last season’s ACC championship and will help this year.
“When we first got here, at the end of practice, we’d break down (with the chant), ‘ACC champs.’ Our kids, they would say ‘ACC champs,’ but they didn’t say it like they thought we could really do it,” he said.
“As last season went on, when they broke down ‘ACC champs,’ it sounded like they meant it. Now our kids are breaking it down, ‘National, Natty, national championship.’ Our kids believe, and that’s because of the tone Pat has set.”
Powell’s players — running backs, kickers, punters and holders — possibly will play larger roles this season in the absence of the quick-strike passing game of Kenny Pickett and Jordan Addison.
Powell’s running back room is stocked with four players who have earned his trust and a fifth he is getting to know, Notre Dame transfer C’Bo Flemister.
Last season, Vincent Davis, Izzy Abanikanda and Rodney Hammond Jr. combined to amass 2,127 yards from scrimmage and 19 touchdowns. Then, along came junior Daniel Carter to win the Conway Award as the most improved offensive player in spring ball.
“Daniel is the smartest guy in my room,” Powell said. “When you’re smart, you have a lot of things you can do. And he executed and made plays.
“The main value of a running back is when we get to the guy we didn’t block or couldn’t block, what are you going to do? He excelled at that. He’s a big dude. He’s got some finesse in his game. He’s got good balance. He’s got good ball skills.”
In June, Flemister joined the team in Narduzzi’s attempt to boost depth at the position. Powell pointed out that many ACC teams have five trusted backs.
“I got four guys I can trust and before long, I hope I can trust C-Bo,” he said. “He’s smart. He makes plays. He’s tough. He’ll flat-head you. You know what that means? He’ll drop that truck stick on you.”
(The Google machine defines “truck stick” as a tactic “normally used by larger running backs to lay out defensive backs and linebackers.” It comes from the Madden video game series.)
“There’s a lot to like. There’s not much to dislike in anybody in my room,” Powell said.
Abanikanda, who will also return kickoffs, was Pitt’s leading rusher last season with 651 yards (20th in the ACC, but 11th in yards per carry, 5.3).
“I thought Izzy played pretty dang good throughout the year,” Powell said. “Sometimes, teams we play, they make it hard for you to run the ball. The more he plays and the more confidence he gets, he’ll just get better and better.”
Perhaps Abanikanda eventually will seize total control of the job, but offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr. has no problem with a group effort.
“If one guy steps up and shows us he is the guy, maybe we’ll have one guy with the bulk of the carries,” Cignetti said. “Until then, we’re very lucky to have a running back room that can do it by committee.”
Davis and Hammond are content sharing snaps with each other.
“One gets tired, the next one comes on,” Abanikanda said.
Added Hammond, who was the fourth-quarter clock killer last season: “The more running backs in your room, the healthier everybody can be.”
Davis, the only senior in the group, said they learn from each other.
“We all got our own niches. Whatever (one) does better, we can look at it and say, ‘This is how we have to get better.’
“We all feed off each other. We criticize each other. Whoever gets hot, that’s who stays in
“I was never, like, a selfish guy. I know I’m going to need somebody to help me out in the game, somebody to come in for me because I can’t do it all by myself.”
Overall, Pitt’s ground game finished 11th in the 14-team ACC, with an average of 149.2 yards per game. It’s below the standard of an old-school defensive coach such as Narduzzi, who believes the best way to slow down an offense is to shut down its run game.
All five starting offensive linemen return, and Narduzzi believes they came back to prove Pitt still has a running mentality.
“They wanted to run the ball more,” he said, “and show that they can run block more than just in the end of the fourth quarter.”