Jerry DiPaola stories, Page 111

While Pitt was preparing for its game against Syracuse, practice went so well one day Pat Narduzzi looked around and was convinced something was wrong. “I had to yell at them for something, just to yell at them, because it was so clean,” he said. Clean would be the last...

Penn State will begin its nine-game grind over nine weeks Oct. 24 at Indiana, according to the Big Ten’s reconfigured, conference-only schedule released Saturday. The home opener is Oct. 31 — Halloween night — against Ohio State at Beaver Stadium. The Buckeyes and Nittany Lions were ranked Nos. 2 and...

Pitt’s 10-game journey of discovery through the ACC begins Saturday against Syracuse. It represents the most conference games the Panthers have played in the ACC or Big East since discarding its independent status in 1993. Each game matters, and none are expected to be easy. While some fans wonder what...

Artrell Hawkins Sr., who played running back at Pitt after a career as one of the all-time great players at Greater Johnstown High School, died Thursday of natural causes in Johnstown. He was 63. Hawkins set rushing and scoring records at Johnstown from 1973-75, totaling 3,552 yards and 234 points....

Pitt landed its fourth 2021 recruit from a WPIAL school Thursday night when Baldwin defensive lineman Dorien Ford tweeted his intention to enroll next year. Tim Sweeney, the first-year coach at Baldwin, didn’t meet Ford face-to-face until two months ago, but he knows a talented player when he sees one....

The best way for Pitt to keep Syracuse’s defensive front socially distant Saturday might be for the offensive linemen to wear what Pat Narduzzi calls those “stinky, smelly” T-shirts under their jerseys. Even right guard Jake Kradel wondered about the bonding ritual Pitt’s linemen adopted in training camp, every day...

Pitt’s ticket office is accepting deposits for the 2020-21 men’s basketball season, with the hope that fans will be allowed in the Petersen Events Center for games. Currently, no fans are permitted at any Pitt athletic event through September, but university officials said a $100 risk-free deposit will ensure priority...

Perhaps you’ve heard about Pitt’s starting linebackers Wendell Davis, Cam Bright and Phil Campbell III: Athletic players who bring the necessary elements of speed and athleticism to the three positions. But linebackers coach Rob Harley will tell you — without even being asked — there is competition every day at...

Pat Narduzzi is certainly no neutral observer, but that hasn’t stopped him from beating the drum for quarterback Kenny Pickett. "I think he is the most underrated quarterback in the country." @CoachDuzzPittFB on why you should watch out for @kennypickett10 ?#PackerAndDurham pic.twitter.com/WcevCg7Vf2— ACC Network (@accnetwork) September 16, 2020 Appearing on...

The Big Ten is going to give fall football a shot after all. Less than five weeks after pushing football and other fall sports to spring in the name of player safety during the covid-19 pandemic, the conference changed course Wednesday and said it plans to begin its season the...

Andre Powell smiled when he heard Pitt running back Vincent Davis called him “old school.” “It means I’m old, and I went to school,” said Powell, Pitt’s 53-year-old running backs coach/special teams coordinator. It was a joke, of course. After 33 seasons of continuous service as a college football coach,...

Although seven players were kept out of Pitt’s opening game Saturday for what the university called “covid-related protocols,” Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi said he feels safe in the team’s training facility on the South Side. “I feel safe as I can be in this building and with the people that...

Pitt got away with having duplicate numbers on the field for two punt returns Saturday. Wearing a No. 3 jersey, starting free safety Damar Hamlin was on the field with returner Jordan Addison (3). Also, safety Brandon Hill (9) was one of the 11 with returner D.J. Turner (9). Narduzzi...

On the surface, Pitt’s next challenge — moving beyond a performance Pat Narduzzi called “pretty perfect” — sounds impossible. Pitt’s coach offered his players that ultimate compliment Monday after reviewing video of Pitt’s 55-0 victory against Austin Peay on Saturday. “That’s what it’s supposed to look like in a perfect...

Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi admitted Monday that being ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 in the midst of a season-altering pandemic carries less significance than in a normal year. Pitt (1-0) is ranked No. 25 this week after dismantling FCS opponent Austin Peay, 55-0, on Saturday. The rankings do...

Pat Narduzzi has found the respect for his team he believed was lacking in the preseason. The Associated Press released its Top 25 on Sunday — its first since the start of the college football season — and Pitt landed at No. 25 after its dominant 55-0 victory against Austin...

In his time as Pitt’s coach, Pat Narduzzi had seen too many meaningless victories against weaker competition: • Youngstown State in 2015, 45-37 (overtime). • Delaware and Eastern Michigan last year (17-14 and 34-30). Of the latter game, Narduzzi said, “… we played hard enough just to win the game.”...

Pitt defensive end Rashad Weaver won’t play Saturday against Austin Peay after getting conflicting results from four covid-19 tests. Pitt officials announced that seven players won’t play because of “covid-related protocols.” The university did not identify the players. Missed all season heck let’s add one more game to it no...

An hour before kickoff against Eastern Kentucky, West Virginia coach Neal Brown announced he suspended 11 players for violation of team rules, including four who are listed No. 1 on the depth chart. Those suspended include tight end T.J. Banks and his top backup Mike O’Lauglin, wide receiver T.J. Simmons,...

Pat Narduzzi doesn’t usually watch another coach’s game early in the week when he’s getting Pitt ready to play. But he glanced at the TV on Monday night when Navy, a team that won 11 games last season, allowed 580 total yards (301 on the ground) in a 55-3 loss...

Pitt plays Austin Peay on Saturday at Heinz Field in its first game of what will be a season like no other. Let’s get the big question out of the way first: Who was Austin Peay? Born to a former Confederate cavalryman, Austin Peay was the first Tennessee governor since...

Before Jason Pinnock started answering questions from reporters Wednesday afternoon, he glanced at his phone. The news of the day from the NFL struck him like a bolt of lightning. “Oooh, Jalen Ramsey,” Pinnock said, raising both eyebrows at Ramsey’s new five-year, $105 million contract from the Los Angeles Rams,...

While the start date of the 2020-21 college basketball season remains uncertain, ACC men’s coaches voted Wednesday to propose an all-inclusive NCAA Tournament in 2021. If every team was invited to the tournament, the difficulty of playing a nonconference schedule, followed by a conference season, would be mitigated in the...