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...
Pitt survives series of mistakes in 21-10 victory against Syracuse
While Pitt was preparing for its game against Syracuse, practice went so well one day Pat Narduzzi looked around and was convinced something was wrong. “I had to yell at them for something, just to yell at them, because it was so clean,” he said. Clean would be the last...
Pitt will start answering questions in ACC opener against Syracuse
Pitt’s 10-game journey of discovery through the ACC begins Saturday against Syracuse. It represents the most conference games the Panthers have played in the ACC or Big East since discarding its independent status in 1993. Each game matters, and none are expected to be easy. While some fans wonder what...
Former Pitt running back, Johnstown High School great Artrell Hawkins Sr. dies at 63
Artrell Hawkins Sr., who played running back at Pitt after a career as one of the all-time great players at Greater Johnstown High School, died Thursday of natural causes in Johnstown. He was 63. Hawkins set rushing and scoring records at Johnstown from 1973-75, totaling 3,552 yards and 234 points....
Baldwin defensive lineman Dorien Ford picks Pitt
Pitt landed its fourth 2021 recruit from a WPIAL school Thursday night when Baldwin defensive lineman Dorien Ford tweeted his intention to enroll next year. Tim Sweeney, the first-year coach at Baldwin, didn’t meet Ford face-to-face until two months ago, but he knows a talented player when he sees one....
To smell a victory against Syracuse, Pitt must avoid those nasty tackles for losses
The best way for Pitt to keep Syracuse’s defensive front socially distant Saturday might be for the offensive linemen to wear what Pat Narduzzi calls those “stinky, smelly” T-shirts under their jerseys. Even right guard Jake Kradel wondered about the bonding ritual Pitt’s linemen adopted in training camp, every day...
Pitt accepting ticket deposits for men’s basketball while hoping fans can attend
Pitt’s ticket office is accepting deposits for the 2020-21 men’s basketball season, with the hope that fans will be allowed in the Petersen Events Center for games. Currently, no fans are permitted at any Pitt athletic event through September, but university officials said a $100 risk-free deposit will ensure priority...
The long, strange football history of Pitt-Syracuse. And it’s getting odder by the year.
Saturday marks the 75th college football game between Pitt and Syracuse. And one word sums up the history of this series. Weird. It’s one of the strangest, goofiest rivalries in terms of historical trends that you will find. Just look at Syracuse’s three most recent trips to Heinz Field. 2020...
NCAA sets Nov. 25 start date for men’s, women’s basketballVideo
The NCAA men’s and women’s basketball season will begin Nov. 25, the day before Thanksgiving. The Division I Council voted Wednesday to push the start date back from the originally scheduled Nov. 10 as one of several precautions against the spread of coronavirus. The later start date coincides with the...
SirVocea Dennis aging well as a young Pitt linebacker
Perhaps you’ve heard about Pitt’s starting linebackers Wendell Davis, Cam Bright and Phil Campbell III: Athletic players who bring the necessary elements of speed and athleticism to the three positions. But linebackers coach Rob Harley will tell you — without even being asked — there is competition every day at...
Pat Narduzzi labels Pitt’s Kenny Pickett ‘the most underrated quarterback in the country’
Pat Narduzzi is certainly no neutral observer, but that hasn’t stopped him from beating the drum for quarterback Kenny Pickett. "I think he is the most underrated quarterback in the country." @CoachDuzzPittFB on why you should watch out for @kennypickett10 ?#PackerAndDurham pic.twitter.com/WcevCg7Vf2— ACC Network (@accnetwork) September 16, 2020 Appearing on...
Vincent Davis accepts ‘old-school’ lessons from Pitt assistant Andre Powell
Andre Powell smiled when he heard Pitt running back Vincent Davis called him “old school.” “It means I’m old, and I went to school,” said Powell, Pitt’s 53-year-old running backs coach/special teams coordinator. It was a joke, of course. After 33 seasons of continuous service as a college football coach,...
First Call: Ravens coach defends risking Lamar Jackson, Bruce Arians blunt about Tom Brady
Tuesday’s “First Call” gives us John Harbaugh’s defense of Lamar Jackson staying in the Baltimore Ravens’ blowout win Sunday. Bruce Arians isn’t afraid of criticizing Tom Brady. The Dallas Stars are onto the Stanley Cup Final. And Pitt is a big favorite on Saturday. Leavin’ Lamar The Baltimore Ravens destroyed...
Pat Narduzzi says he feels ‘safe’ from coronavirus in Pitt’s training facility
Although seven players were kept out of Pitt’s opening game Saturday for what the university called “covid-related protocols,” Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi said he feels safe in the team’s training facility on the South Side. “I feel safe as I can be in this building and with the people that...
Pitt’s duplicate jersey numbers escape officials’ attention in Austin Peay game
Pitt got away with having duplicate numbers on the field for two punt returns Saturday. Wearing a No. 3 jersey, starting free safety Damar Hamlin was on the field with returner Jordan Addison (3). Also, safety Brandon Hill (9) was one of the 11 with returner D.J. Turner (9). Narduzzi...
‘Pretty perfect’ Pitt seeks improvement entering ACC opener vs. Syracuse
On the surface, Pitt’s next challenge — moving beyond a performance Pat Narduzzi called “pretty perfect” — sounds impossible. Pitt’s coach offered his players that ultimate compliment Monday after reviewing video of Pitt’s 55-0 victory against Austin Peay on Saturday. “That’s what it’s supposed to look like in a perfect...
Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi: In-season rankings less important in covid-altered field
Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi admitted Monday that being ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 in the midst of a season-altering pandemic carries less significance than in a normal year. Pitt (1-0) is ranked No. 25 this week after dismantling FCS opponent Austin Peay, 55-0, on Saturday. The rankings do...
Pitt lands at No. 25 in Associated Press poll
Pat Narduzzi has found the respect for his team he believed was lacking in the preseason. The Associated Press released its Top 25 on Sunday — its first since the start of the college football season — and Pitt landed at No. 25 after its dominant 55-0 victory against Austin...
La.-Lafayette leads 10 new teams in AP Top 25 rankings
Louisiana-Lafayette and Appalachian State were among 10 new teams ranked Sunday in first regular-season Associated Press college football poll, which was stripped of the teams not yet scheduled to play a fall season. There was no change at the very top: Preseason No. 1 Clemson received 60 of 61 first...
Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi has covid warning for his players: ‘We don’t want to be next’Video
Pat Narduzzi had no appetite for discussing why seven players were kept home from Pitt’s season-opening victory Saturday against Austin Peay. School officials said the players were absent for “covid-related protocols.” That doesn’t mean they tested positive for covid-19; it could be a result of contact tracing. Defensive Rashad Weaver,...
Without 6 starters, Pitt slams Austin Peay in opener
In his time as Pitt’s coach, Pat Narduzzi had seen too many meaningless victories against weaker competition: • Youngstown State in 2015, 45-37 (overtime). • Delaware and Eastern Michigan last year (17-14 and 34-30). Of the latter game, Narduzzi said, “… we played hard enough just to win the game.”...
Rashad Weaver gets conflicting test results, won’t play; Pitt says seven players will miss opener because of covid protocols
Pitt defensive end Rashad Weaver won’t play Saturday against Austin Peay after getting conflicting results from four covid-19 tests. Pitt officials announced that seven players won’t play because of “covid-related protocols.” The university did not identify the players. Missed all season heck let’s add one more game to it no...
Despite quarantine, disrupted routine, Pat Narduzzi says Pitt well-prepared for opener
Pat Narduzzi doesn’t usually watch another coach’s game early in the week when he’s getting Pitt ready to play. But he glanced at the TV on Monday night when Navy, a team that won 11 games last season, allowed 580 total yards (301 on the ground) in a 55-3 loss...
Answering the most pressing question about Pitt’s opener: Who was Austin Peay?
Pitt plays Austin Peay on Saturday at Heinz Field in its first game of what will be a season like no other. Let’s get the big question out of the way first: Who was Austin Peay? Born to a former Confederate cavalryman, Austin Peay was the first Tennessee governor since...
Rosary beads at the ready, Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi awaits covid test resultsVideo
On the day before the day before, Pat Narduzzi talked of rosary beads, his (potential) ulcer and a medical laboratory in Raleigh, N.C., that could hold Pitt’s fate in its test tubes. The issue is covid-19 testing. It happens three times a week for ACC teams – Sunday, Wednesday and...
