Jerry DiPaola stories, Page 36
Seeking fixes, Pitt offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr. looks at everyone, himself included
Frank Cignetti Jr. has many issues specific to Pitt’s offense that need to be addressed before the Panthers venture into hostile West Virginia territory Saturday night, where the Mountaineers and nearly 60,000 fans are ready to pounce. At least one problem may have been of his own making during the...
WVU coach Neal Brown recalls salute from Pitt fans last year at Acrisure Stadium
Neal Brown gets it. He knows all too well — from personal experience — that the passion triggered by the Backyard Brawl is real. It was a year ago at Acrisure Stadium when Brown, the West Virginia coach, walked onto the field before the game against Pitt. His son, Dax,...
Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi spreads blame to everyone, but he emphasizes it starts with him
Win or lose the day before, Sundays are pretty much the same at Pitt’s training facility. Truth be told, they’re probably the same at most schools across the nation at every level of college football. Coaches start early, sometimes mere hours after the end of the game. In some cases,...
Pat Narduzzi on Pitt players being heckled: ‘It doesn’t really matter’
There were people among the nearly 50,000 at Acrisure Stadium on Saturday night who were disappointed with what they were watching. It was Pitt’s second game of the season, and it turned into a 27-21 loss to Cincinnati, an unexpected result for many people. It also was quarterback Phil Jurkovec’s...
After loss to Cincinnati, before facing tough road ahead, Pitt must find answers in a hurry
After Pitt lost a game no one inside or outside the program expected to lose, there is an unmistakable and somewhat misplaced tendency for fans to overreact. • Hire a better coach. • Change quarterbacks. (Coach Pat Narduzzi offered a definitive “no” to that one.) • If Pitt (1-1) can’t...
Pitt swallowed up by mistakes in loss to Cincinnati
Phil Jurkovec’s footwork was bad. He was not in rhythm. He failed to trust the things he learned playing quarterback for three teams and six seasons. He either left the pocket too early or held onto the football too long. He was sacked five times. Those points could have been...
Pitt Take 5: Teams haven’t met since 2012, but Panthers still stoked for River City Rivalry
There is no reason to suspect that any couches were burned in Cincinnati when Pitt lost to the Bearcats in 2012 in the most recent installment of the River City Rivalry. A crowd of 27,112 — 71% of capacity — showed up at Nippert Stadium on the second week of...
Young Pitt ‘gunners’ go to school after failing to down punt in opener
Pitt only punted twice in its opener against Wofford last week, and the first one triggered some angst on the sideline. Pitt had fourth-and-20 on the Wofford 45-yard line in the first quarter when Caleb Junko placed a punt near the goal line. Three Pitt players — they’re called gunners...
Pitt notebook: Jake Kradel at center of chaos when Panthers meet Cincinnati’s ‘Godfather’
After lining up either as a guard or center over his six seasons at Pitt, senior Jake Kradel finally came to his coaches with a definitive choice. Kradel (6-foot-3, 305 pounds) is a center and, he hopes, that will be so for a long time. “Jake really wanted to do...
Pitt freshman forward Papa Amadou Kante injures knee, lost for the season
Jeff Capel’s roster rebuilding efforts suffered another blow Thursday with the announcement that freshman Papa Amadou Kante, a forward who might have provided a rebounding and defensive presence off the bench, will miss the entire 2023-24 season with a knee injury. Amadou Kante suffered a non-contact injury during a workout...
Running, sticking to disciplined diet pay off for Pitt tight end Karter Johnson
For a year when he was thirsty, Pitt tight end Karter Johnson drank nothing but water. His regimen for a long time included waking up most mornings and going on runs of between 1 and 5 miles. “On days I didn’t run, I would go and work out,” he said....
Duquesne basketball schedule features 9 nationally televised games
Duquesne men’s basketball released its 2023-2024 schedule Wednesday, and it includes nine Atlantic 10 games on national television over three networks. The Dukes open A-10 play Jan. 3 at UMass before playing at Loyola Chicago on CBS Sports Network on Jan. 6. Four of the next five games will be...
Pitt linebackers coach Ryan Manalac learned the game while working side-by-side with Pat Narduzzi
Imagine, if you can, Pat Narduzzi as a mortgage banker, sitting alone behind a desk, shuffling papers, pecking at a calculator, working the boring 9-to-5 daily routine. Makes no sense, right? It’s been said that Pitt assistant coach Ryan Manalac mirrors Narduzzi in many ways. They both played linebacker in...
Pitt assistant Andre Powell considers several factors when assembling a rotation for running backs
Running to daylight never has been enough for Pitt’s running backs in their quest to please Andre Powell, their position coach. They can penetrate the first wall of defenders, and that’s good. But after getting past defensive linemen, they must make a linebacker or safety miss (better yet, run him...
No Paddlewheel Trophy, but much at stake Saturday when Pitt meets Cincinnati
The River City Rivalry between Pitt and Cincinnati lacks the hate, intensity and longevity of the Backyard Brawl. But in its day, the rivalry did have something the Brawl lacks: a trophy presentation for the winner. The 95-pound Paddlewheel Trophy has been retired, but from 2005-2012, it symbolized the Ohio...
Pitt notebook: Panthers turn the page after easy victory against Wofford
The victory counts for one, just like it would have if Pitt had defeated Florida State or North Carolina. Actually, viewed through another prism, defeating Wofford of the FCS on Saturday at Acrisure Stadium is worth a bit less because the nonconference game does nothing to enhance Pitt’s hopes of...
Phil Jurkovec leads Pitt to 45-7 victory against Wofford
Long before kickoff, Pat Narduzzi and everybody in the crowd of 45,096 at Acrisure Stadium knew Pitt would defeat tiny Wofford on Saturday. Clean execution and careful planning had plenty to do with the 45-7 victory that, in reality, was easier than the final score indicated. Wofford, an FCS team...
Jeff Capel boosts Pitt’s depth, adds grad transfer guard Michael Hueitt
A week after guard Dior Johnson left school, Pitt basketball coach Jeff Capel moved to bolster his depth at the position by adding graduate transfer Michael Hueitt Jr. to the roster. Pitt will be Hueitt’s fourth school since finishing his high school career at Northwood Temple Academy in Fayetteville, N.C.,...
Pitt Take 5: Close call in opener against Wofford won’t be tolerated
Wide receiver Jerrod “Bub” Means put Pitt’s opener Saturday against tiny Wofford in its proper light. “We take every team the same way,” he said. “We respect all of our opponents. We don’t care who the opponent is. We don’t let up. We prepare the same way. We go out...
Pitt notebook: Answers to everyone’s questions will start to come in Saturday
Pat Narduzzi is not directly in the business of selling tickets, but he sounded a bit like a carnival barker Thursday when he met with reporters two days before Pitt opens its season against Wofford. If you want to get the first glimpse of what Pitt may be like this...
For more than 50 years, Bill Hillgrove’s voice has been ‘the soundtrack to our sports memories’
Before he called Tony Dorsett’s 303rd rushing yard against Notre Dame in 1975, Kenny Pickett’s fake slide in the 2021 ACC championship game or M.J. Devonshire’s pick-6 against West Virginia last year, Bill Hillgrove’s first venture behind a microphone required him to play the part of a brat. It was...
Pitt’s deep tight end group gives assistant coach Tim Salem lineup options
Tim Salem didn’t want to answer the question. Which was a surprise. Normally, Pitt’s tight ends coach loves to talk about his men, but this question didn’t interest him: Is Pitt’s current crop of tight ends the program’s deepest since he was hired nearly nine years ago? Salem started to...
Bub Means, A.J. Woods hope to get a kick from Pitt’s passing game, special teams
Wide receiver Bub Means has a ready explanation for why he is listed as the No. 1 kickoff returner on the Pitt depth chart. In his mind, it’s simple, really. “They’re trying to get the playmaker the ball. That’s what I see. Me and my dog back there,” he said,...
After slight shuffling of personnel, Pat Narduzzi will ‘find out on game day’ Pitt’s true identity
Pat Narduzzi was careful Monday not to inaccurately describe the personality of his ninth Pitt team at the outset of the first game week of the season. “We got a great group of guys,” he said. “I don’t want to say polite.” Polite usually doesn’t carry the day in college...
Jeff Capel credits administrative support system for Pitt basketball turnaround
The dramatically positive revival of Pitt basketball this year was the result of coach Jeff Capel recruiting and developing the right men and helping them bond as more than teammates. In a span of only a few months, they became friends who had each other’s backs. But what spawned the...
