Jerry DiPaola stories, Page 76
The show must go on: Pitt, Michigan State sidestep covid complications at the Peach Bowl
ATLANTA — The 60-year-old man hustled past Pitt fans congregated in large numbers in the lobby of the Omni Hotel on Thursday morning. No time for anything but his appointed destination. With his signature long strides, a quick wave and an I’m-in-a-hurry look, it was easy to identify Pitt’s interim...
Year in Review: Pitt’s run to ACC championship among top Pittsburgh sports stories
A look back at the 2021 Pitt football season is put in its best perspective by comparing it to 2020. A year ago, Pitt football was plagued by a preseason All-American who opted out, another who quit in mid-season, a quarterback who missed two important games with an ankle injury,...
Pitt’s basketball game at Virginia Tech postponed amid Hokies’ covid complications
Pitt men’s basketball joined the growing list of teams affected by the recent covid-19 surge when the Panthers’ game scheduled for Saturday at Virginia Tech was postponed because of complications within the Hokies’ program. The ACC will attempt to reschedule the game. It’s the second postponement this week for Virginia...
Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi believes it’s time to name a college football commissioner
ATLANTA — Pat Narduzzi isn’t lobbying for the job of commissioner of college football (a job that doesn’t exist at the moment). But he clearly believes it’s time one is appointed. “For sure,” he said Wednesday on a Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl conference call. “That’s not a slam on anybody who’s...
Pitt Take 5: After the Peach Bowl, how long does Pat Narduzzi want to coach?
ATLANTA — Nearly a month after the fact, Pat Narduzzi has not allowed himself the pleasure to reflect on the significance of Pitt winning the ACC championship. “I think that happens when you retire as a coach,” he said. OK, so what about it? How long do you want to...
When Pat Narduzzi called, Randy Bates saw nothing ‘vanilla’ about Pitt’s attacking defense
ATLANTA — At the end of the 2017 season, Randy Bates had a secure job coaching linebackers at Northwestern. He’d been there 12 years, hired in 2006 by coach Pat Fitzgerald, who has been a fixture at Northwestern for all but the first year of this century. The 2017 Northwestern...
Opportunity knocks for replacements Tim Salem, Nick Patti in Pitt’s Peach Bowl venture
Two jokes made by Tim Salem and quarterback Nick Patti during a conference call Monday morning were thoughts that randomly jumped into their heads and will mean nothing to the outcome of the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. Most likely, the Pitt men who carry the most responsibility into the game were...
‘Hot topics’ emerge around Pitt as team arrives in Atlanta for Peach Bowl
Pat Narduzzi called it a “hot topic.” But it was no surprise Sunday when Narduzzi named Pitt tight ends coach Tim Salem the play-caller and interim offensive coordinator, replacing Mark Whipple, for Thursday’s Peach Bowl. Salem is one of only two on-field assistants who have been with Narduzzi through all...
How does this Pitt team compare to the best in program history?
When old friends and former University of Pittsburgh football standouts Dan Marino, Jimbo Covert and John Pelusi get together to recall their playing days — perhaps rattling ice cubes in a glass or enjoying an after-dinner cigar — an argument often arises. Pelusi was the center on Pitt’s undefeated 1976...
Pitt linebacker Phil Campbell will miss confronting Michigan State’s Kenneth Walker in Peach Bowl
Phil Campbell III holds a bachelor’s degree in communications while pursuing another in sociology. Given his academic background, Pitt’s senior outside linebacker understands what makes people tick. So, when former Michigan State running back Kenneth Walker III announced his plans to opt out of the Peach Bowl, avoiding a date...
Peach Bowl matters to Pitt, new starting quarterback Nick Patti
For those who believe bowl games are meaningless TV fodder for those with nothing better to do over the holidays, Pitt center Owen Drexel doesn’t buy it. The Peach Bowl offers Pitt a chance to win its 12th game of the season, tying a school record set by the 1976...
Duquesne cancels final nonconference game amid covid complications
Duquesne revisited the misery of the 2020-21 season Wednesday when its game against Wofford, set to tip off at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, was canceled because of covid complications on its team. It was the first cancellation of 2021-2022 for the Dukes (5-7), who played only 18 games last season...
Where’s the beef? Find it on Pitt’s offensive line, with all 5 starters returning
They marched into the room Wednesday morning – four of them, weighing a total of nearly 1,300 pounds – wearing wry smiles like someone carrying a secret no one else knew. Trouble was, Twitter already ruined the surprise minutes earlier: Pitt’s starting offensive linemen had decided en masse to return...
Pitt defeats Jacksonville for 2nd win in row, wraps nonconference schedule
When Pitt players get together with their coaches in the days after a game, they invariably turn on the video machine and live it again. Doesn’t matter how much it hurts. Sophomore point guard Femi Odukale took his misery to new heights after he missed 11 of 12 shots and...
Pitt signs USC transfer quarterback Kedon Slovis
Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi made what could be the most important move of the offseason Tuesday when he signed USC transfer quarterback Kedon Slovis to a letter of intent. Panther Nation let’s welcome @Kedonslovis to Pittsburgh! #H2P pic.twitter.com/kcO63rc7xE— Pat Narduzzi (@CoachDuzzPittFB) December 21, 2021 Slovis, 6-foot-3, 205 pounds, gives Narduzzi...
Pitt aims to pursue bigger prizes after surviving bright lights of New York City
For a basketball team trying to find sure footing in a season of rough roads, the bright lights of Madison Square Garden can be daunting. But Pitt (4-7, 0-1 ACC) found a way to win a close game there Saturday, pushing past St. John’s, 59-57, after leading for only 4...
Pitt cornerback Damarri Mathis plans to skip Peach Bowl
Pitt lost another starter for the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on Friday when senior cornerback Damarri Mathis announced on Twitter his plans to skip the game and focus on preparing for the NFL Draft. Mathis has been invited to the Senior Bowl next month, but he is not listed among ESPN...
Pitt quarterback Kenny Pickett won’t play in the Peach Bowl
Kenny Pickett’s season is over. Pitt’s record-setting All-American quarterback and ACC Player of the Year tweeted Thursday night that he won’t play against Michigan State in the Peach Bowl, the Panthers’ final game Dec. 30 in Atlanta. Only hours earlier, Michigan State All-American running back Kenneth Walker III also opted...
Pat Narduzzi braved wind, fog to secure Pitt’s 2022 recruiting class
In the skies over Buffalo, N.Y., wind gusts reached 45 mph on the night of Dec. 6, rocking the airplane carrying Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi back and forth. Bound for scheduled meetings with two prospects and their families, Narduzzi said he wasn’t sure what would happen next. “I didn’t know...
Pitt long snapper Cal Adomitis joins Kenny Pickett, Jordan Addison as first-team All-Americans
All five NCAA-recognized All-America teams have been released, and Pitt made its mark on each. The American Football Coaches Association team was the last of the five Wednesday, and quarterback Kenny Pickett, long snapper Cal Adomitis and wide receiver Jordan Addison were recognized. Pitt has three first-team All-Americans for the...
Central Valley’s Sean FitzSimmons first of Pitt’s prospects to submit signed letter of intent
Sean FitzSimmons, who helped lead Central Valley to three WPIAL championships, back-to-back PIAA titles and 27 consecutive victories, was the first Pitt prospect to sign and submit his letter of intent Wednesday morning. Pitt welcomed FitzSimmons onto the team at 7:05 a.m., five minutes into the signing period. The 1st...
Pressing matters surround Pitt, Michigan State while they prepare for Peach Bowl
There was plenty to discuss Tuesday when representatives of the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl showed up at Pitt headquarters. First of all, getting formalities out of the way, Peach Bowl CEO Gary Stokan sat down at a news conference and officially offered an invitation to Pitt athletic director Heather Lyke for...
Pitt athletic director Heather Lyke says discussions underway toward contract extension for Pat Narduzzi
New to her job in 2017, Heather Lyke made a bold move when she extended Pitt football coach Pat Narduzzi’s contract seven years through 2024 — only days after the conclusion of a 5-7 season. Perhaps it’s no surprise, then, that Pitt’s athletic director confirmed Tuesday that another extension for...
Pitt’s Jordan Addison named first-team All-American by AP; Kenny Pickett, Calijah Kancey also honored
Pitt wide receiver Jordan Addison, quarterback Kenny Pickett and defensive tackle Calijah Kancey were named Associated Press All-Americans Monday. Addison was a first-team selection while Pickett, a Heisman Trophy finalist and Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award winner, was named to the second team and Kancey to the third team. It...
Monmouth coach King Rice’s past gives him unique perspective on suspended Pitt player Ithiel Horton
King Rice stopped by Petersen Events Center on Sunday night, presumably just to win a basketball game. He did that, leading Monmouth to a 56-52 victory against Pitt, boosting his team’s record to 8-2. After the game, he had something to say about an issue that matters to him more...
