3 Pittsburgh-area football players named semifinalists for Campbell Trophy
Three players with local ties have been named semifinalists for the 2020 William V. Campbell Trophy, emblematic of the nation’s top football scholar-athlete, the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame announced Thursday. They are Pitt center Jimmy Morrissey, Notre Dame right tackle Robert Hainsey, formerly of Gateway High...
Tim Benz: Steelers, Pitt starting successful seasons on similar tracks
There are many parallels with the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Pitt Panthers to start their 2020 seasons. • Both are 3-0. • Both have a tremendous pass rush. • Both managed to win a tight game at halftime at Heinz Field last weekend. And both are chasing the perception that...
Pitt, linebacker Phil Campbell prepare for strong N.C. State ground game
Phil Campbell III is a senior communications major who has moved from safety to two distinctly different outside linebacker positions in his five seasons at Pitt. He has adapted well. Now, he has other important tasks to complete, such as minimizing the complications inherent to playing in a pandemic, getting...
Pitt women’s soccer team off to best start in program historyVideo
As the coronavirus pandemic continued to alter the status quo, athletes spent much of their spring and summer wondering what would become of their seasons. Members of the Pitt women’s soccer team were no different. Sophomore forward Amanda West called the wait “anxiety-inducing” — mostly because the Panthers were so...
Pitt’s Charlie Partridge sees defensive linemen develop in moments of accountability
The moments that make Charlie Partridge love coaching keep popping up, but funny thing about that: They have more to do with how he’s developing Pitt’s defensive linemen than minutiae such as the Panthers’ ACC-leading 17 sacks or the fact they lead the conference in total defense. Partridge will say...
Pitt senior long snapper Cal Adomitis ponders using NCAA’s extra year of eligibility
Cal Adomitis likes long snapping for Pitt so much that he might not want to leave at the end of the season, even though he is a senior. The NCAA will give back a year of eligibility to all fall student-athletes as a way to lessen the uncertainty caused by...
Heather Lyke: Pitt ‘ready to go’ when they get OK to welcome fans
Bolstering what coach Pat Narduzzi said a day earlier, Pitt director of athletics Heather Lyke said the Pitt community is ready to welcome spectators into Heinz Field as soon as the next game Saturday against N.C. State. Lyke, speaking on KDKA-FM on Tuesday morning, said, “We have been ready to...
Pine-Richland’s Grant Carrigan hopes to fill Pitt’s void at tight end
Pitt tight ends Lucas Krull and Kyi Wright were out with undisclosed injuries against Louisville, which opened opportunities for junior Grant Carrigan of Pine-Richland and others. Coach Pat Narduzzi wasn’t impressed by everyone, but he was encouraged by what Carrigan, a former offensive lineman, showed him. “We just had mental...
Pitt’s defense remains strong in face of ‘yeah, buts,’ and ‘what-ifs’
A fair and balanced discussion of Pitt’s defense through the first three games must be prefaced by these dreaded words: Yeah, but … What if … Pitt has settled into the top 10 nationally in four yards- and points-allowed categories: • Total, 177, second. • Rushing, 56, second. • Passing,...
Pat Narduzzi: ‘A chance’ Pitt players’ parents can get into Heinz Field on Saturday
Pat Narduzzi said there’s “a chance” a small number of spectators will be allowed inside Heinz Field on Saturday for Pitt’s game against N.C. State. The coach said he assumes players’ parents would be No. 1 on the priority list, but he added, “There’s a chance for anything. Who knows?”...
Big Ten, Pac-12 teams back in most unusual AP Top 25 pollVideo
No. 6 Ohio State, No. 10 Penn State and No. 14 Oregon returned to the Associated Press college football poll Sunday, weeks before they start playing, creating a Top 25 as unusual as this season. At the top of the rankings this week, Clemson remained No. 1 with 55 first-place...
Pitt notebook: Alex Kessman meditates, kicks 3 field goals
Pat Narduzzi said defensive end Patrick Jones practiced “like an animal” last week before getting three of Pitt’s seven sacks Saturday in a 23-20 victory against Louisville. Alex Kessman took a different road, as kickers often do. He met with a sports psychologist, took copious notes about their conversation and...
Defense rules for No. 21 Pitt in win over No. 24 Louisville
Days before Pitt lined up against Louisville, Pat Narduzzi took offense to repeated references to Louisville’s speed. The coach’s thinking appeared to be, “How dare anyone imply Pitt’s defense couldn’t keep up.” He wasn’t happy about the expectations of long gains, busted coverages and Pitt defensive backs futilely chasing Louisville’s...
Pitt Take 5: Panthers hope to match Louisville’s speed in Top 25 showdown
Pat Narduzzi sounded hurt, indignant and defensive when he was asked if Pitt will be equipped with enough speed to counter Louisville’s big-play offense in Saturday’s game at Heinz Field. Although the intent of the question was not to denigrate Pitt’s team speed — to the contrary, Pitt has plenty...
NCAA denies transfer guard Nike Sibande’s request to play immediately for Pitt
Nike Sibande, a 6-foot-4 transfer guard from Miami (Ohio), may have to wait until the 2021-22 season to play basketball for Pitt. The NCAA has denied Sibande’s waiver request to play immediately, instead of sitting out one season as a transfer. He has one season of eligibility remaining. Pitt plans...
Steelers ‘optimistic’ about hosting fans at Heinz Field in October; Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi says parents could sit 60 feet apart
The upcoming weekend marks the final games in September for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Pitt, but there has been no word in regards to officially lifting the ban on allowing fans inside Heinz Field. Before the season, Steelers and Pitt officials jointly agreed to play their five September games in...
Rashad Weaver says Pitt is ‘tired’ of being the underdog
Pitt is favored by three points Saturday, but Rashad Weaver probably is not aware and it wouldn’t matter. Weaver believes the No. 21 Panthers (2-0, 1-0 ACC) don’t get enough respect around the country, and he said it’s time to change that big-picture perception. He figures Saturday’s game at Heinz...
Defenses take early edge in ACCVideo
Defense seems to have the early edge in the ACC after the start of this pandemic-affected college football season. There are 11 ACC teams among the top 40 in defense nationally, and that’s with Virginia and Virginia Tech sidelined so far because of covid-19 postponements. Still, the ACC is off...
Veteran announcer Wes Durham lumps Pitt among cluster of ACC contenders
Wes Durham counts the first seven years of his life as the only time he wasn’t surrounded by ACC football, basketball or baseball. His father, legendary play-by-play announcer Woody Durham, called North Carolina games on radio for 40 years (1971-2011) after replacing Bill Currie, who left for a job at...
Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi looking for touchdowns, not field goals
If Pat Narduzzi is getting weary of questions about kicker Alex Kessman, who missed all three of his field-goal attempts in two games, there is a foolproof solution. “How about scoring touchdowns?” Pitt’s coach said. Rest assured, Narduzzi and special teams coach Andre Powell are working on Kessman’s mechanics and...
Pat Narduzzi hopes Pitt justifies his expectations for a special season
Pat Narduzzi’s message Monday after he dissected Pitt’s 2-0 start to the season was simultaneously sincere, hopeful and cautionary. • Sincere because he believes the Panthers could be the most successful of his six Pitt teams, and he wants his players to know it. • Hopeful because he may be...
Pitt will wear alternate uniforms geared to pay tribute to city’s steel heritageVideo
When unbeaten and 21st-ranked Pitt welcomes No. 24 Louisville to Heinz Field on Saturday, players will wear alternate uniforms for the first time since the university unveiled new colors and branding in April 2019. ?.??.??ꜰᴏʀɢᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ꜰᴜᴛᴜʀᴇʙᴇᴀᴛ ʟᴏᴜɪꜱᴠɪʟʟᴇ⛓️ #H2P ⛓️ pic.twitter.com/BegciILZs9— Pitt Football (@Pitt_FB) September 20, 2020 The jerseys and...
Mark Madden, Tim Benz: Limited fans should be allowed at Heinz Field games
Don’t get your knickers in a twist, Pitt fans. I know you enjoy doing that. But I’m not here to offend. I’m not here to make the all-too-easy jokes about attendance at Heinz Field for Panthers football games. “How would Pitt players know the difference if fans were in the...
Pitt moves to No. 21 in Associated Press poll after victory against Syracuse
Pitt made the second-largest jump in the Associated Press poll Sunday when the Panthers landed at No. 21 after their 21-10 victory Saturday against Syracuse. Pitt (2-0, 1-0 ACC) was ranked 25th last week. Only Miami, which leapfrogged from No. 17 to No. 12, made a bigger jump. Next up...
Pitt notebook: ‘Old man’ Rashad Weaver hasn’t forgotten how to sack quarterback
Pitt defensive end Rashad Weaver’s 14-game absence didn’t hurt his ability to sack the quarterback. Perhaps just as important, he retained a most refreshing character trait: honesty. In a 21-10 victory Saturday against Syracuse, Weaver experienced his first game competition since the Sun Bowl on New Year’s Eve 2018. After...
