Pitt joins group of 5 ACC schools ranked in preseason coaches’ poll
Pitt’s inclusion in the USA Today Sports/American Football Coaches Association Preseason Top 25 poll is not surprising. The Panthers are No. 16 — their highest preseason ranking in that poll since 2010 — after returning a plethora of starters from a team that finished 11-3 and was ranked No. 13...
Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi confirms ‘nothing significant’ with Kedon Slovis’ injury report
Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi said nearly as much about his own injury Monday as he did about what may be ailing would-be starting quarterback Kedon Slovis. Some information was tossed around Twitter on Saturday, indicating Slovis had suffered an unspecified injury during a closed practice. Pat Narduzzi, on competition at...
Special version of competition emerges at Pitt’s training camp
Fans seeking information about the first week of Pitt training camp want to know, of course, about the two quarterbacks vying to replace Kenny Pickett. They are curious about the wide receivers expected to step up in the absence of Jordan Addison. Will transfers Konata Mumpfield and Bub Means allow...
Pitt’s Tylar Wiltz, Karter Johnson step onto bigger stage with confidence
The new Pitt linebacker began his first chat with reporters while flashing a smile and offering a friendly greeting. “How y’all doing? I’m Tylar Wiltz, from Beaux Bridge, La.” Not 20 seconds into the interview — before he answered his first question — he added, “It’s been a blessing to...
Pitt wrestlers Nino Bonaccorsi, Micky Phillipi will return for bonus season of eligibility
Pitt’s wrestling program received a significant boost in manpower for the 2022-2023 season Friday when All-Americans and two-time ACC champions Nino Bonaccorsi and Micky Phillippi decided to use their extra season of NCAA eligibility. The former WPIAL stars — Bonaccorsi from Bethel Park, Phillippi from Derry — have won a...
Ex-Pitt receiver Jordan Addison says move to USC was only about football
LOS ANGELES — Former Pitt star Jordan Addison said he didn’t know Southern Cal was the school for him until the moment he set foot on campus for his recruiting visit shortly after entering the transfer portal in May. And the Biletnikoff Award-winning receiver said anybody who thinks his decision...
All seats sold out for Pitt-WVU Backyard Brawl on Sept. 1
The first Pitt game under the Acrisure Stadium name is a sellout. Pitt’s athletic department announced Friday morning there are no seats remaining for the Backyard Brawl on Sept. 1 between the Panthers and West Virginia. “When (sales) opened up, 15 minutes later it was sold out,” coach Pat Narduzzi...
Pitt Take 5: After only 4 practices, there’s still plenty of chatter while team takes shape
Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi demands no one look beyond the next day’s practice, but we’ll do it here, anyway. The Backyard Brawl already is sold out, and a crowd of close to 70,000 may show up at Acrisure Stadium. Not bad for a televised event in which fans get no...
Pitt’s ability to fix small cracks in defense could lead to big things
Before every practice, Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi gathers his team in a circle for a few moments of bonding. The coach will speak in his singularly defiant tone, challenging players to participate with a purpose. Players contribute words of encouragement, too. Just before they disperse to different areas of the...
High school coach’s memories of Pitt wide receiver Bub Means go beyond football
Edgar Carson knows what Pitt wide receiver Jerrod “Bub” Means can do on a football field. While at Lovejoy High School, which competes in Georgia’s second-highest classification, he played cornerback, safety, wide receiver and even wildcat quarterback. “Heck of a player, great student,” said Carson, the coach at Lovejoy. “Very...
Controlled contact highlights Pitt’s 3rd day of drills
Pitt started crawling toward real football Wednesday morning (Day 3) when players donned shells and limited contact was permitted — what coach Pat Narduzzi likes to call thud sessions. The idea is to hit and bounce off and keep as many players as possible off the ground (and uninjured). Sometimes,...
Running backs, special teams keep Pitt assistant Andre Powell busy
Class was in session for members of the media Monday afternoon at Pitt’s practice facility, and Andre Powell was the instructor. It’s a good idea to listen when Powell speaks. Not only is he one of two assistants who have been with Pat Narduzzi for all eight seasons — tight...
As ACC looks to address revenue gap, competing worldviews emerge on future of college sports
In the span of about a week, in cities separated by about 600 miles, two of the most powerful leaders in college athletics offered contrasting worldviews in this summer of massive change and uncertainty. One of them espoused the supposed values of the traditional collegiate sports model; the other embraced...
Pitt notebook: Expectations high, but Pat Narduzzi says preseason rankings don’t matter to him
Pitt hasn’t been ranked in the Associated Press preseason college football poll since 2010, a streak that could end this month. The Panthers finished 2021 as ACC champions and were ranked No. 13 in the final AP poll. They return 15 starters from that team, and Sports Illustrated predicted Pitt...
Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi hopes NIL is brought under control to eliminate poaching
Pat Narduzzi seemed to think the answer was obvious when he was asked Monday if he believes his Pitt program was violated this offseason by name, image and likeness rules. “You tell me,” he said. “I would say, probably.” Narduzzi did not specifically reference former Pitt All-American wide receiver Jordan...
Kedon Slovis, Nick Patti build bond with teammates while competing for Pitt QB job
When Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi was luring quarterback Kedon Slovis from USC, he was able to use Jordan Addison as bait. Why wouldn’t he? Addison caught 17 touchdown passes among his 100 receptions last season and was named winner of the Biletnikoff Award as college football’s best wide receiver. What...
Pat Narduzzi shepherds 110 Pitt players onto practice fields for 1st day of camp
The first morning of Pitt training camp dawned Monday with a predictable sight: Pat Narduzzi in a straw hat. There was no sun in a cloudy sky over the Beano Cook fields and a bit of a chill in the South Side air (relatively speaking), but Narduzzi wore the hat...
Pitt opens training camp with lofty goals for 2022
Winning a Power 5 conference championship is an impressive feat that requires talent, focus and preparation from everyone for an entire calendar year. It starts with winter workouts (when hardly anyone is watching) through the nationally televised title game 11 months later. Wearing that ring also creates a thirst for...
Pitt Take 5: Expectations soaring on cusp of training camp
Football returns to the Beano Cook Fields on Monday when Pitt opens its summer training camp, triggering the long process of defending the ACC championship. With 13 players back who were named All-ACC last year (on one level or another), expectations — not just hopes — are high. Yet, departed...
Defensive linemen Habakkuk Baldonado, Calijah Kancey represent Pitt on All-ACC preseason team
Indicative of the anticipated strength Pitt will employ in the trenches this season, defensive end Habakkuk Baldonado and defensive tackle Calijah Kancey were named to the 2022 All-ACC preseason team Baldonado, a senior from Rome, Italy, and Kancey, a junior from Miami, were part of Pitt’s pass rush last season...
Preseason prognosticators pick Pitt to finish 2nd in ACC Coastal
If Pitt football fans are looking for a discussion topic in the days before the start of summer camp, the ACC obliged Tuesday with the release of its preseason poll. In a vote of 164 reporters last week during the ACC Football Kickoff, defending ACC champion Pitt — with eight...
Pitt gets commitment from B.J. Williams, 5th high school offensive lineman in 2023 class
Pitt offensive line coach Dave Borbely typically doesn’t feel comfortable until he finds enough big bodies to completely fill out his two-deep depth chart. With all five starters moving on next year after their upcoming redshirt senior seasons, Borbely must be pleased with how the 2023 recruiting class is developing....
Pat Narduzzi seeks more balance in Pitt’s offense, but it wasn’t unbalanced a year ago
With camp starting on the first day of August, it’s a good time for Pat Narduzzi to clarify how he wants Pitt’s offensive identity to evolve this season. “I want to score touchdowns. I like touchdowns,” he said Thursday during his appearance on the ACC Network. “I don’t care how...
Mark Madden: We will see if Pat Narduzzi is as smart as he thinks he is
In 2021, Pat Narduzzi had his best season since taking over as Pitt football coach in 2015: His Panthers went 11-3, won the ACC and went to a New Year’s Six bowl. The offense was the driving force of the two platoons, averaging 41.4 points (third best in the nation)...
From cuffs on his shirt to willingness to voice an opinion, Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi steals show
The most discussed coach Thursday at the ACC Football Kickoff in Charlotte, N.C., was, of course, Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi. After all, he might have been the only man wearing signature-embroidered cuffs on his dress shirt at the Westin Charlotte. But the real reason for Narduzzi’s celebrity was that his Panthers...
