Jerry DiPaola stories, Page 23
New offense scores 3 touchdowns as Gold defeats Blue in Pitt spring game
Here’s what happened Saturday at Acrisure Stadium when Pitt conducted its Blue-Gold game as the exclamation point — albeit a mild one — on spring practice: • The defense, which is way ahead of the offense at this point, was not permitted to tackle the quarterback. Play was stopped and...
Pitt guard B.J. Williams, safety Cruce Brookins named most improved players during spring drills
Guard B.J. Williams and safety Cruce Brookins were named winners of the Ed Conway Award on Saturday, emblematic of the most improved players during Pitt’s spring drills. Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi made the announcement two hours before the Blue-Gold game at Acrisure Stadium. Williams (6-foot-4, 315 pounds) appeared in nine...
Pitt Take 5: Spring game is only part of an important offseason for Pat Narduzzi
Rain or shine, Pitt will put its football program on display Saturday at Acrisure Stadium in the Blue-Gold spring game. (For the record, the forecast calls for an April miracle: The rain might stop.) The ACC Network will telecast live from 2 to 4 p.m. in what amounts to an...
‘Gambler’ Nate Yarnell, ‘aggressive’ Kade Bell entrusted to pull trigger on Pitt’s new offense
Pitt quarterback Nate Yarnell has been called “a gunslinger … a little bit of a gambler” by no less an authority than coach Pat Narduzzi. Likewise, offensive coordinator Kade Bell isn’t afraid to take chances, according to line coach Jeremy Darveau, who is working with Bell at their third school...
After starter Nate Yarnell, Alabama transfer Eli Holstein 1st quarterback chosen by Pitt teammates in spring game draft
ACC Network cameras will be stationed inside Acrisure Stadium on Saturday to record every move Pitt players make in the Blue-Gold spring game. Offensive coordinator Kade Bell will react accordingly. No sense tipping off conference foes and giving them all summer to figure out how to defend Pitt’s new offense....
Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi predicts ‘a tougher football team’ this season
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....
Long-time broadcast partners Bill Hillgrove, Dick Groat will join Pitt Athletics Hall of Fame
For 40 years, Bill Hillgrove and Dick Groat were an inseparable team calling Pitt basketball games on the radio. The University of Pittsburgh will put them together again Sept. 13 when they will be inducted into the Pitt Athletics Hall of Fame. Groat, who died last year at the age...
Jim Leyland, Pirates manager Derek Shelton build friendship based on love for the game
There might not be a more interesting job in the city than that of an eavesdropping waiter at Chartiers Country Club. You just need to pick the right day. Every three weeks — give or take — past and present Pittsburgh Pirates managers Jim Leyland and Derek Shelton will sit...
Pitt Take 5: Pat Narduzzi hopes Saturday scrimmage upstages next week’s Blue-Gold Game
The Big Blitz dance, jazz and rock band won’t be performing at Acrisure Stadium on Saturday. Bad AZZ BBQ won’t be cooking smoked ribs on the street. ESPN’s Louis Riddick won’t be helping to launch a new Pitt apparel line for his alma mater. ACC Network cameras will be shut...
Bub Carrington will leave Pitt, declare for the NBA Draft
On the most important day of his 18 years — the day he put college life behind him and decided it was time to grow up and be a pro — Bub Carrington thanked everyone. Heck, it took him more than two minutes to get through the list. It included...
Dayon Hayes puts his faith up front while approaching final season at Pitt
During his three months on the job, Tim Daoust has worked hard to mentor talented defensive end Dayon Hayes. At practice, Pitt’s defensive line coach pushes Hayes, his star pupil, to hit the blocking sled harder and with better technique. Pitt defensive line coach Tim Daoust keeps the guys on...
New Duquesne coach Dru Joyce III eager to build on program’s success
Dru Joyce III has known Keith Dambrot since before he attended middle school, a quarter-century span of time that included lessons learned on and off the basketball court, memories that will last a lifetime, perhaps an occasional admonishment or two and, of course, plenty of victories. So when Dambrot reached...
Duquesne women’s coach Dan Burt breaks down LSU/Iowa Elite 8 clash
While the Final Four is set for the NCAA Men’s Tournament, the college basketball spotlight will shine on Albany, N.Y., at 7 p.m. Monday when the women of LSU and Iowa clash in the Elite 8. The winner cashes a ticket to the Final Four, set to tip off Friday...
Kade Bell shepherding Pitt offense through spring’s ‘growing pains’
Long past anyone else’s 7½-hour work day, Kade Bell is typically still in his office, evaluating another piece of video, working on the next day’s Pitt practice schedule or just formulating new ways to move the football. Finally, it’s time to go home, but sometimes when Bell is leaving the...
Duquesne names associate head coach Dru Joyce III as its next men’s basketball coach
In keeping with Keith Dambrot’s wishes — and his strong suggestion — Dru Joyce III was named Duquesne’s next men’s basketball coach Thursday. He replaces Dambrot, who is retiring after seven seasons at Duquesne and 26 as a collegiate head coach. Joyce, 39, has been Dambrot’s associate head coach since...
Pro Day gives 12 former Pitt players chance to tell their stories to the NFL
The 12 former Pitt players working out for the NFL on Wednesday had a variety of stories to tell: Here are some of them: A.J. Woods, cornerback Woods used his Combine snub from a month ago as motivation to run an unofficial 4.30-second 40-yard dash inside Pitt’s practice facility and...
WPIAL standouts Braylan Lovelace, Cruce Brookins hope to increase their impact on Pitt’s defense
With so much change occurring in all corners of Pitt’s practice facility — on the Beano Cook fields, in the locker and weight rooms, inside the coaches’ offices and certainly in the offensive playbook — Pat Narduzzi occasionally uses the words “work in progress” to describe certain elements of his...
Pitt notebook: Rain or cold, Pat Narduzzi exposes his team to the elements
Tuesday morning was cold and rainy, but Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi didn’t care. Pitt practiced outside, rather than work in the indoor facility. “Beautiful day out there,” he said after Pitt’s eighth practice of the spring. “You don’t often get that nice, cold rain. Kind of went (outside) on purpose.”...
Robert Morris loses 4 players to transfer portal, plus 2 assistants
Significant change is coming to the Robert Morris men’s basketball program after four players, including three who started at least 19 games this season, and two assistants left the program. In the wake of a 10-22 record (6-14 in the Horizon League), players Josh Corbin, Stephaun Walker, Jackson Last and...
West Virginia hires Drake’s Darian DeVries as next men’s basketball coach
West Virginia hired its next men’s basketball coach Sunday, and it’s a man who’s accustomed to winning. Darian DeVries, who led Drake to six consecutive 20-victory seasons, will be the third coach in the past nine months to lead the program. He agreed to terms of a five-year contract and...
After losing twice to Pitt, N.C. State visits PPG Paints Arena, continues sweet run
Let’s pretend for a moment. You’re a casual basketball fan, and you watched Pitt defeat N.C. State in Raleigh, N.C., on Feb. 7 and again March 9 at Petersen Events Center. Finally, you got tired of the constant flow of basketball information and shut off your computer and TV. You...
Pitt receives verbal pledge from 2025 Ohio QB Mason Heintschel
Pitt received a verbal commitment from its second 2025 prospect Sunday when quarterback Mason Heintschel told coach Pat Narduzzi he plans to enroll next year. Heintschel (6-foot-2, 200 pounds) amassed a total of 3,080 yards and 33 touchdowns as a junior last season at Clay High School in Oregon, Ohio....
NC State ends the Jack Gohlke story with an OT victory over Oakland
No one had more fun Saturday night than D.J. Burns, the mountain of a man who scored 24 points to lead N.C. State to a 79-73 overtime victory against Oakland at PPG Paints Arena. He played more than 42 of the game’s 45 minutes, grabbed 11 rebounds, dished out four...
After 6 games in 11 days, N.C. State coach, players say there’s still important work to do
N.C. State had a losing record in the ACC (9-11), finished behind nine teams in the standings and lost to Pitt twice. Yet the Wolfpack will be inside PPG Paints Arena on Saturday night competing against Oakland — an 11 seed against a 14 seed — for a spot in...
Oakland coach Greg Kampe, 3-point specialist Jack Gohlke handle celebrity, thousands of text messages
When Oakland coach Greg Kampe climbed the steps to the stage Friday afternoon for the final news conference before his team’s game Saturday night against N.C. State, few knew the truth. The 68-year-old man had not been to sleep since the night before Oakland’s victory Thursday against Kentucky at PPG...
