Jerry DiPaola stories, Page 37
Wofford’s Shawn Watson embraces ‘the why’ of coaching as he prepares his Terriers for Pitt
Pat Narduzzi and Shawn Watson will stand on opposite sidelines Saturday at Acrisure Stadium, rival coaches for the three-plus hours it will take Pitt and Wofford to play their 2023 season opener. But it won’t be the first time college football has brought them together. Once, it even tore them...
Fueled by Heather Lyke’s leadership, Pitt athletics experiencing renaissance of success
One by one, they enter the room. Pat Narduzzi. Jeff Capel. Jay Vidovich. Dan Fisher. Every head coach of a varsity program at the University of Pittsburgh shuffles into a room in either the Petersen Events Center or the South Side football facility. They’re all here to meet with their...
Mega-donor Chris Bickell helping Pitt level playing field with college football’s elite teams
Chris Bickell is helping to keep Pitt athletics in the game. For starters, there’s the matter of the $20 million — the largest single donation provided to Pitt athletics — he donated in 2021. To put that into perspective, John and Gertrude Petersen of Erie donated $10 million in 1999...
From QB to athletic office, Pat Bostick continues to leave mark at Pitt
When Pat Bostick first arrived at Pitt, his job was scoring touchdowns — either by throwing them as a highly recruited, four-star quarterback or by leading the Panthers offense. Today, Bostick’s job is scoring points with donors: building lasting relationships with deep-pocketed alumni and supporters who part with their assets...
Good not good enough for Pitt in 2023’s new era of college football
Pitt football began in 1890 with a team that played three games, never bothered to name a coach and managed one victory, 10-4, at Geneva. Today, there are 55 Pitt coaches and staff members — from coordinators to nutritionists — who make significant contributions to a program that is among...
Leechburg’s Braylan Lovelace making smooth transition to college football at Pitt
Braylan Lovelace was faced with a dilemma when he enrolled at Pitt in January while his Leechburg High School classmates were five months from graduation. Pitt coaches and support staff presented him with this challenge: gain weight, but don’t get fat. Upon early graduation from Leechburg, which plays in the...
Depth, local flavor show up on Pitt’s defensive line
Not one prone to make exaggerated claims, Charlie Partridge rattled off names of 13 players he believes will contribute on Pitt’s four-man defensive line before the end of the season. Roster numbers are important, especially early in the season when heat can be an issue. It’s also good to keep...
After walking the walk in NFL, Pitt WR coach Tiquan Underwood talks the talk
During wide receiver drills at Pitt practice, assistant coach Tiquan Underwood keeps up a dialogue. Good catch, bad catch, slick route or sloppy, Underwood will have something to say about it. He is among a cluster of Pitt coaches who constantly chatter during practice — whether it’s offering praise or...
Pitt preparing for 2nd scrimmage before the final week of camp
A week from Friday will be Pitt football’s annual kickoff luncheon, signaling the end of fall camp, the start of classes and the anticipation of football that actually matters. Before that, coach Pat Narduzzi will run his team through its second scrimmage this month Saturday on the Beano Cook Fields...
Pitt 5 things: ACC Network analyst, ex-Miami coach Mark Richt misses game, just not ‘wildly dramatic’ changes
Mark Richt stopped coaching five years ago after 171 victories in 18 seasons, 15 at Georgia, three at Miami. Yet the sights and sounds — even smells — of the game he loves linger. Now an analyst for the ACC Network, Richt visited Pitt practice this week. The stage set...
Pitt notebook: Some starting spots solid on offensive line, but keep an eye on 330-pound redshirt freshman Ryan Baer
There’s plenty of vocalized optimism surrounding Pitt’s offensive line that returns four players with significant experience. Yet there has been no definitive word on the makeup of certain positions along the line. All-ACC preseason tackle Matt Goncalves can play on the left or right side. If he is left —...
Pat Narduzzi teaches ball security by sticking it to Pitt’s ball carriers
During a typical practice, Pitt coaches conduct a wide variety of drills on as many as three fields. Coach Pat Narduzzi walks from one station to another, sometimes just observing, but often offering advice and loud admonishments if something displeases him. Unlike legendary Alabama coach Bear Bryant, who used to...
Splash plays make highlight reels, but Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi more interested in consistency
After two weeks of hanging around Pitt’s summer training camp, you get the impression that everything is great and there are, perhaps, a dozen big plays every day. That may be true, but coach Pat Narduzzi is looking for more than splashes of production. He wants consistency, and the coach...
Pitt’s Bub Means part of WR group that could signal change in offensive philosophy
Let’s run down the specific reasons why offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr. believes Pitt will have a different look this season, with speed among the wide receivers and a newfound willingness to throw downfield. • Start with wide receiver Bub Means, whose goal is to be the “fastest, strongest person...
4-star defensive end Sincere Edwards makes verbal commitment to Pitt
Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi is in the midst of preparations for the season opener Sept. 2, but the future beyond 2023 got a little brighter Tuesday when four-star defensive end Sincere Edwards announced his verbal commitment to the Panthers. Edwards (6-foot-3, 240 pounds) is Pitt’s fourth four-star prospect from the...
Ranked or unranked, Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi says ‘chip’ will rest on players’ shoulders
Someone told Pat Narduzzi that Pitt came in 32nd in the Associated Press Top 25 preseason poll, seventh among the ORVs (others receiving votes). If Narduzzi played the disrespect card to his players in their private meetings, he didn’t say so Tuesday morning when he met with reporters. “I heard...
Pitt left off Top 25 preseason poll, but no big deal … rankings have created talking points for 88 years
Monday was a big day for those who follow college football. The Associated Press released its preseason Top 25 poll. With 60 of 63 possible votes, defending champion Georgia is the overwhelming choice for the No. 1 team in the land, followed by Michigan, Ohio State and Alabama. Penn State...
Gateway graduate Derrick Davis resurrects that old high school feeling as a running back at Pitt
Derrick Davis Jr. is not dreaming when he steps onto Pitt’s practice fields. Coaches demand focus, not dreams. These days, however, Davis is getting that old Gateway High School feeling, thinking about the success he enjoyed as a football player for the Gators and a student in the classroom, too....
Pitt Take 5: Panthers are confident, but there’s much to be done
Optimism and sincere confidence have been flowing freely from Pitt’s football players over the first nearly two weeks of training camp. Pivotal year for the Panthers? Not really. Thanks in large part to Kenny Pickett’s presence and Pat Narduzzi’s ability to keep the roster largely intact and coaching staff consistent,...
Pitt goes 2-0 overseas after 83-66 victory in Spain
Pitt basketball concluded its 10-day, two-game overseas trip Saturday, overcoming transportation problems while recording an 83-66 victory against the Sant Julia All-Stars in Sant Julia De Vilaporta, Spain. Defense carried Pitt to the victory, allowing the home team only 10 points in the third quarter. Blake Hinson led the Panthers...
Focusing on ‘skootching,’ while mixing in some trash talk, Pitt safeties Javon McIntyre, P.J. O’Brien vie for playing time
He doesn’t know when it will occur, but Javon McIntyre believes Phil Jurkovec’s day of reckoning is coming. McIntyre, a redshirt sophomore safety, can see it in his mind’s eye. One day at practice, Jurkovec will drop back and throw a pass into the Pitt secondary, and McIntyre will snatch...
Pat Narduzzi’s reaction to tiered payments to Pitt football players: ‘You earn what you get’
Pat Narduzzi and Chris Bickell huddled regularly before Alliance 412 announced it will be put annual payments of more than $10,000 in the pockets of every Pitt scholarship player. It’s a concept that would be foreign to coaches in the 57-year-old coach’s past. But he understands how the game is...
Every Pitt scholarship football player will get paid from new $1M NIL pool
The cheers, hoots, hollers and applause from the young men filling the seats in the Pitt football meeting room told the story, one of a new era of college athletics that their fathers never imagined. Alliance 412, the collective formed to provide financial support and guidance to Pitt athletes during...
Pitt notebook: It takes more than a little rain to chase Pitt inside
Pat Narduzzi pulled on gray sneakers and left his nice, white ones inside Thursday morning when Pitt practiced in a light, intermittent drizzle. “Which is perfect,” Narduzzi said. Games are played in the rain, of course, and Pitt claimed one of its most significant, all-time ACC victories in a downpour....
After touring the Canary Islands, Pitt defeats a team of Spanish pros, 86-80
After three days of travel and sightseeing, Pitt’s basketball team overcame a slow start, a clock malfunction and sweltering heat in the gym to record an 86-80 victory Wednesday against the Tenerife All-Stars in the first game of its 10-day trip to the Canary Islands and Barcelona, Spain. Blake Hinson...
