Pitt Take 5: Rebuilt defensive line, linebacker positions under scrutiny at final scrimmage
After cleanup at the end of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ preseason game Saturday night, Pitt takes the stage Sunday at Acrisure Stadium for its second and final intrasquad scrimmage of the summer. It’s an important session for several players seeking to earn playing time, especially on the defensive line and linebacker,...
Panthers observations: Pat Narduzzi praises players’ focus in Pitt’s hurry-up, no-huddle offense
Funny thing about Pitt’s new fast-paced offense, at least over the past week: When coach Pat Narduzzi ratchets up the intensity at practice by playing loud music to simulate crowd noise, there are fewer mistakes. You’d think while everyone is lining up in a hurry without huddling, trying to catch...
First Call: Reviewing Kenny Pickett’s game vs. Patriots; Pitt products Damar Hamlin, Ben DiNucci return to Acrisure
Friday’s “First Call” takes a look at former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett’s latest outing in New England. We check out a pair of Buffalo Bills with Pittsburgh roots coming back to Acrisure Stadium to face the Steelers. Another familiar name to Steelers fans has been removed from Buffalo’s roster...
Special attention helps restore Pitt punter Caleb Junko’s confidence
By the time the miserable 2023 season ended, Caleb Junko had lost confidence in himself after finishing 11th among ACC punters with an average of 42.3 yards. Pitt was struggling, and Junko believed he partially was to blame. “I didn’t really do my job last season in giving the defense...
Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi declines to name starting QB for opener, loves competition between Nate Yarnell, Eli Holstein
Although it’s been assumed Nate Yarnell will start Pitt’s season at quarterback, coach Pat Narduzzi said Thursday morning there’s a battle going on between Yarnell and redshirt freshman Eli Holstein that wasn’t decided after the first 12 practices. “You can be a starter at the end of spring ball,” Narduzzi...
Panther observations: Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi identifies 6 freshmen who might help in 2024
A few minutes into Pat Narduzzi’s answer about freshmen who may play this season, a loud “whoop” from the locker room door interrupted his thoughts. “There’s Francis right there getting excited,” the coach said Wednesday morning. He was talking about freshman defensive tackle Francis Brewu, who was getting himself ready...
‘Ghost’ Neal helps Pitt defensive line assume cloak of change
There is a short list of people in Isaiah Neal’s circle of friends, teammates, family members and coaches who have license to call him by his given name. The list begins and ends with Tina Neal, his mom, and Pat Narduzzi, his coach. To everyone else, he’s “Ghost.” If Neal...
Panthers observations: After summer’s 1st scrimmage, Pitt defense moves ahead of offense
No one should read too much into the first scrimmage — and you can bet fans will do so, anyway — but Pitt entered the second half of training camp with the defense ahead of the offense. Coach Pat Narduzzi said Tuesday morning that the defense won the scrimmage Saturday,...
First Call: Former Pitt QB joins Bills before practices against Steelers; Martavis Bryant gets another workout
Tuesday’s “First Call” has news of a former Pitt Panther suiting up with the Buffalo Bills in advance of their joint practice with the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday. An NFC team is taking a second look at former Steeler Martavis Bryant. There is some health news surrounding Cleveland Browns quarterback...
Analysis: Long, difficult rebuilding process continues while Pitt enters 2nd half of training camp
By the time coach Pat Narduzzi called for lights out in the team hotel Monday night, Pitt was in training camp for 13 days. When players get back to work Tuesday morning — after the first intrasquad scrimmage of the summer last Saturday — 12 more remain before game-week practices...
How Kenny Pickett, Mason Rudolph, Josh Dobbs performed in their debuts with new teams this weekend
As Pittsburgh got its first look at Justin Fields in a Steelers uniform Friday night, local fans also saw some very familiar faces at quarterback with their new teams over the weekend. Kenny Pickett made his preseason debut with the Philadelphia Eagles on Friday night. Meanwhile, ex-Steelers Mason Rudolph and...
Terrence Moore tackles plank challenge in Pitt weight room test of will, strength
Imagine doing a pushup and holding it as long as possible while leaning on your forearms or hands and staying off the floor with your upper and lower body and butt in a linear position. It’s called a plank, and the typical YMCA athlete uses it to help tighten the...
Pitt Take 5: Panthers reminded daily to put aside 2023, prove it was ‘a 1-year deal’
The words stare at Pitt’s players from the sidewalk every day when they leave their locker room for the practice fields. “PROVE IT.” What does it mean? “We got a lot to prove,” coach Pat Narduzzi said. “Every unit’s got something to prove, and, obviously, this team has something to...
Pitt’s defense tries to adjust to the ‘ton of crazy stuff’ offense throws its way
Fans and, especially, coaches should know enough not to put excessive trust in what happens in training camp. Former Pitt quarterback Kenny Pickett can confirm that after he went last year from strong outings with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the summer to being traded before the first day of spring....
Panthers observations: Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi expects Saturday scrimmage to ‘tell us a lot’
Pitt will close out its second week of practice Saturday when the Panthers line up on the Beano Cooks Fields for the first intra-squad scrimmage of the summer. “That will tell us a lot about what we have,” coach Pat Narduzzi said. The second scrimmage is scheduled for Aug. 18...
In city where countryman Roberto Clemente is revered, Pitt volleyball’s Valeria Vazquez Gomez seeks her own slice of Pittsburgh history
Long before she was asked to model one of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ promotional T-shirts, Valeria Vazquez Gomez knew all about Roberto Clemente. Vazquez Gomez, a sixth-year outside hitter with the Pitt volleyball team, hails from Puerto Rico, birthplace of the most famous Pirate of all. She said her father is...
Pitt transfers ‘Poppi’ Williams, Tamon Lynum hope to make good in their new neighborhood
When Rachel Sims was a young mother in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., she liked how her little boy’s big eyes seemed to pop out of his head. “Pop eyes,” said Pitt junior wide receiver Raphael Williams Jr., who was that little boy. Thus, the nickname that Rachel bestowed upon her son,...
Panthers observations: Pat Narduzzi has praise for linebackers, but he can do without mandatory injury reports
Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi guards his team’s injury information like a general hides his platoon’s next move. But the Big Ten instituted mandatory injury reports for game days in 2023, and there’s talk that the SEC might follow suit at the start of this season. Narduzzi has no use for...
Freshman defensive tackle Francis Brewu unafraid to tackle heavy load at Pitt
Weightlifting is more than just a way for Pitt defensive tackle Francis Brewu to get stronger, win playing time earlier and impress his teammates in the locker room. “It’s like therapy to me,” said Brewu, a freshman from Worthington, Ohio. “Physical therapy. Nothing feels better than when you hit a...
Feeling ‘a little old’ at 21, Pitt RB Rodney Hammond likes sharing knowledge
When Rodney Hammond walks in the Pitt running backs’ meeting room, his teammates call him “Unc.” Not because he’s old. “I do feel a little old,” said the 21-year-old senior. It’s because he’s been there before, all the way back to the Kenny Pickett/Mark Whipple/Izzy Abanikanda days that only seem...
Panthers observations: Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi points to a ‘War Daddy’ at WR, 5-8 RB with big heart
The sixth practice of Pitt’s summer camp Tuesday was a big day for the players who put on full pads for the first time and were permitted to do what most of them enjoy most — hit someone as hard as they can. It also was one of the hottest...
Pitt’s Nahki Johnson not weighed down with transition from defensive end to tackle
Nahki Johnson’s high school career at Steel Valley and West Mifflin was something to remember. He committed to Pitt two months before the start of the 2019 season and went on to become, perhaps, the Big Eight Conference’s best player. He recorded eight sacks, forced four fumbles and earned the...
Panthers observations: Pat Narduzzi gives reporters up-close look at passing drill during 5th day of Pitt practice
When the coach summons you to midfield, you don’t ask questions. You go. That’s what happened Monday morning to reporters at Pitt practice near the end of the media’s viewing window. Coach Pat Narduzzi allowed reporters, who typically stand on the sideline or in the end zone, to stand five...
Belle Vernon graduate Cam Guess’ bond with kicker Ben Sauls brought him back to Pitt for 5th season
Cam Guess won’t lie about his story. “It sounds a little corny,” he said. But he’s proud of it, and he was eager to tell it to reporters Friday at the end of the first week of Pitt’s training camp. Guess, a Belle Vernon graduate, has been Pitt’s regular holder...
Pitt Take 5: Meditation, piano playing help Ben Sauls, Nate Yarnell prepare for intensity of football season
The noise level around Pitt football eventually will rise. The stakes will get higher. Coaches’ shouts will pierce players’ ears and enter their brains daily through the end of November. Maybe longer, if they’re lucky. Amidst the chaos, two Pitt football players have found a way to handle the intensity...
