Finally healthy, Pitt’s Ryan Jacoby embraces position battle at left guard
Ryan Jacoby was one of the most decorated high school football players in Ohio during the 2018 season, a top-10 overall prospect (fourth among offensive linemen) in a state recognized for its wealth of talent. He sifted through nearly two dozen scholarship offers before settling on Ohio State, enrolling at...
Pitt notebook: Like Mark Whipple 2 OCs ago, Kade Bell will call plays from the sideline
There will be a subtle change to the Pitt sideline this season, with offensive coordinator Kade Bell calling plays from the field. Frank Cignetti was upstairs last season, but Mark Whipple before him was on the field where he had constant, face-to-face communication with quarterback Kenny Pickett. “I’m not micro-managing...
With season 3 months away, Pitt coach Jeff Capel talks contract, Olympics, program pride
With the temperature outside Petersen Events Center hitting 90 on the first day of August, a relaxed Jeff Capel sat down with reporters for 34 minutes Thursday. Topics of discussion ranged from Pitt’s nonconference schedule in the upcoming season to Capel’s contract extension through 2030 to the Olympics. “I love...
‘Love for the game’ keeps Pitt players, coaches hungry to reverse misfortune from a year ago
Every day, Pitt defensive coordinator Randy Bates gets down on the ground and does pushups and situps in front of his players. He started with 12 on the first day of practice Wednesday. He promises to reach a daily number of “30 or 40” by the end of the season....
Pitt offensive coordinator Kade Bell isn’t shy about his desire to reach for lofty goals
Kade Bell knows enough about offense, play-calling and the challenges inherent in college football to understand that a goal of averaging 50 points might be unrealistic. But you have to know that Bell, Pitt’s 31-year-old, first-year offensive coordinator, doesn’t allow facts to get in his way of getting a job...
Panthers observations: With 120 players breaking a good sweat, Pitt opens summer training camp
Under bright sunshine and with 120 young men sweating, bouncing off each other and chasing fumbles across the Beano Cook Fields, Pitt opened training camp Wednesday morning on the South Side. If that number sounds high, that’s because there are more players on the roster this season. Coach Pat Narduzzi,...
Pittsburgh Brewing teams with Pitt for blue-and-gold I.C. Light can
A collaboration between Pittsburgh Brewing Co. and Pitt Athletics on a limited edition Pitt I.C. Light can has been brewing for about two years. The can features royal blue and university gold team colors in addition to the recognizable “Pitt” script and “Hail to Pitt.” It is available this week...
Pitt’s potential recovery from 3-9 season leans heavily on ’22, ’23 recruiting classes
Pitt’s 3-9 record from a year ago was only the second losing season among coach Pat Narduzzi’s nine. He’s second all-time in victories (65) to Jock Sutherland (111), and he’s served longer (2015-present) than all but two Pitt coaches since 1890 (Sutherland and John Michelosen). Nonetheless, there has been minimal...
QB Nate Yarnell can’t do it alone, so here are 5 units that need to step up for Pitt this season
Before compiling a list of the most important players who will populate the Beano Cook Fields when Pitt begins prepping for a new season Wednesday, we need to first identify the obvious choice for leader of the class: The quarterback, Nate Yarnell. There are several players who are as important...
Pitt 5 questions: With camp set to open, OC Kade Bell undertakes offensive overhaul while Pat Narduzzi seeks more sacks
When you attempt to identify five questions that fans — and, perhaps, even coaches — might have about the 2024 version of Pitt football, you can look up and down the roster and start your quest almost anywhere. This is a team that lost five defensive starters to the transfer...
Boston College’s Bill O’Brien, Duke’s Manny Diaz make quick push to connect with players after taking new jobs
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Bill O’Brien arrived at Boston College with a high-profile resume that included a stint as an NFL head coach, as well as work with some of college football’s biggest brand names in Penn State and Alabama. Manny Diaz was in similar position as the former Miami head...
Zoo Crew suffers tough loss to Happy Valley Hoopers in The Basketball Tournament
The disappointment will linger with Nelly Cummings after he and his Zoo Crew teammates lost to the Happy Valley Hoopers, 85-82, on Wednesday night in the Sweet 16 of The Basketball Tournament at Petersen Events Center. After all, a team composed largely of former Pitt players led their Penn State...
Norwin alum Noah Czajkowski commits to Pitt baseball team
When he put his name into the national free-agent database known as the NCAA transfer portal, pitcher Noah Czajkowski hoped to garner interest from Division I baseball programs nearer to where he grew up. That one such suitor was Pitt came as a pleasant surprise and a welcome bonus. Czajkowski,...
While noting loss of Pitt-Penn State rivalry, Pat Narduzzi pleased to continue series with West Virginia
Pitt and Penn State haven’t met on the football field since 2019 when a four-game series ended with the Nittany Lions’ 17-10 victory at Beaver Stadium. It was the 100th game in a series that spans three centuries, but it has been played only five times since 2000. No renewal...
Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi wants another championship ring but understands plenty needs to be fixed
Pat Narduzzi made a fist on his right hand and, with sincere pride, flashed the bling that represents his greatest triumph as Pitt’s head coach the past nine seasons: the ring earned in 2021 as ACC champion. He appeared on the ACC Network on Tuesday morning during the ACC Kickoff...
Zoo Crew advances to TBT Regional Final with 91-79 victory against Best Virginia
When former Pitt player Nike Sibande was asked Monday night if he’s a better player now than at the end of his final season 16 months ago, he didn’t hesitate with his answer. He tapped the side of his head with his right index finger. “Personally, I think I grew...
In wake of lawsuits filed by FSU, Clemson, commissioner Jim Phillips plans ‘to fight to protect the ACC’
At the outset of an ACC football season that will play out unlike any that came before it — with lawsuits filed against the conference by two of its marquee members while teams prepare to fly cross-country to play games — commissioner Jim Phillips said Monday he will “fight to...
Pitt women’s soccer coach Randy Waldrum leads Team Nigeria into Olympic Games
Randy Waldrum is well aware of the challenges his Nigerian women’s soccer team will confront in Bordeaux, France, when the Olympic Games get underway Thursday. “We don’t have the resources that the U.S. team has,” said Waldrum, who also has coached Pitt’s women’s team since 2018. “We don’t have the...
Zoo Crew advances in The Basketball Tournament, awaits Best Virginia in Round of 32
Mike Young played in two NCAA Tournaments and scored 1,835 points in four seasons at Pitt. He proudly sits seventh on the school’s all-time scoring list. Who could ask for anything more from a collegiate basketball career? Something’s missing, however, and Young plans to fix that Monday night at Petersen...
Returning to the Pete for The Basketball Tournament gives ex-Pitt players chance to reflect on careers
If the Zoo Crew is fortunate enough to win six games in The Basketball Tournament that starts Saturday at Petersen Events Center and share the $1 million winner-take-all prize, the victory will raise an obvious question for the nine-man team of former Pitt and Pittsburgh area players: What will they...
Jeff Capel’s ‘family-type’ culture helped attract transfers Damian Dunn, Cam Corhen to Pitt
Damian Dunn didn’t transfer to Pitt from Houston, one of the top college basketball schools in the nation, because his hometown of Kinston, N.C., is less than 100 miles from where Jeff Capel grew up in Fayetteville. He didn’t listen to Capel’s sales pitch because his father, Paul, competed against...
Pitt signs basketball coach Jeff Capel to contract extension through 2029-30 season
Most of the news concerning the Pitt men’s basketball team this offseason has centered on coach Jeff Capel’s attempts to rebuild the team’s scoring base after losing Blake Hinson and Bub Carrington. The news was finally about Capel on Wednesday when Pitt athletic director Heather Lyke extended his contract through...
On Sports: Steelers near bottom of NFL skill-position rankings; Bengals’ Tee Higgins locked in 1-year deal
You’re not the only one unimpressed by the group of “skill position” players on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense. It being the height of football media’s “list season” (a dead period before training camps open), ESPN’s Bill Barnwell released his annual “Ranking NFL team WR, TE, RB talent for 2024 season,”...
Hempfield grad, Pitt pitcher Phil Fox drafted by White Sox in 7th round
Hempfield graduate Phil Fox can’t remember a time when he didn’t want to pitch in professional baseball. “From the day I was, like, born, I knew I wanted to do this for the rest of my life,” he said. The Chicago White Sox made no promises that he will have...
On Sports: Patric Hornqvist again engraved on Stanley Cup; ex-Pitt star arrested; waived Pirate starts for Dodgers
Former Pittsburgh Penguins fan favorite Patric Hornqvist has his name on the Stanley Cup for a third time. The NHL’s “Keeper of the Cup,” Philip Pritchard, released a photo of the newly engraved chalice via social media over the weekend. And among the 53 of Florida Panthers players and staff...
