Pitt football overhauls offensive coaching staff, severs ties with 3 assistants
Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi almost completely overhauled his offensive staff Friday night, parting ways with veteran assistant coaches Tim Salem (tight ends), Andre Powell (running backs and special teams) and Dave Borbely (offensive line). The moves surfaced six weeks after Narduzzi began dismantling the offensive staff, firing offensive coordinator Frank...
Pitt gets commitment from transfer WR Raphael Williams, 3rd Western Carolina skill player lured by OC Kade Bell
The influx of new players at Pitt can’t be labeled a roster turnover, but Pat Narduzzi hopes a year from now it will, at least, be labeled a roster enhancement. They tried to hold me back, but it was God planned ‼️???????? #Committed pic.twitter.com/pHkVytOp3l— Raphael Williams Jr. (@Poppi1k) January 5,...
Pitt Take 5: Louisville may not be a ‘must-win,’ but losing at KFC Yum! Center wouldn’t taste good
There is no such thing as a must-win game in early January, but Saturday’s game against Louisville comes close. If Pitt (9-5, 0-3) loses to Louisville on Saturday at the KFC Yum! Center and finds itself 0-4 in the conference for the first time since the last of the Kevin...
After practicing in pain, Pitt former walk-on K.J. Marshall rewarded with scholarship
For senior walk-on guard K.J. Marshall, Pitt’s post-practice meeting Thursday was like many that had come before it. “Honestly, I wasn’t listening too much. I was in the back, playing around like I normally do,” he said. But the theme of the meeting was unselfishness, and it suddenly became about...
Ex-Ohio U. linebacker Keye Thompson plans to transfer to Pitt, add versatility to the position
Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi added depth and a possible starter to his linebacker group Thursday when Keye Thompson announced plans to transfer from Ohio University. He is the 10th player to join the team through the transfer portal since the end of the season. Thompson, who has one season of...
Winless in ACC, Pitt men seek better point production
Jeff Capel was proud of the effort his team displayed in Pitt’s 70-57 loss to No. 8 North Carolina on Tuesday. He repeatedly has praised his players’ attitude and togetherness, hoping those three traits eventually will lead to victories in the ACC. So far, however, Pitt (9-5 overall) has lost...
Cold-shooting Pitt remains winless in ACC after loss to No. 8 North Carolina
The missed shots hurt – badly – and Pitt had plenty of those in its 70-57 loss to No. 8 North Carolina on Tuesday night. Shots that go awry create opportunities for rebounds and second-chance points. But that was no advantage for a Pitt team that lost the battle of...
Analysis: Pitt needs better rebounding, balanced scoring when it meets North Carolina
Losses create plenty of angst among the Pitt fan base, and what happened at Syracuse will spawn its share. Justifiably so. But when a coach voices concern for the immediate future after Pitt (9-4, 0-2 ACC) was pounded on the glass by the Orange in an 81-73 defeat, it’s time...
Pitt loses 11-point lead, falls to Syracuse 81-73
Before Pitt’s game at Syracuse on Saturday became an 81-73 loss for the Panthers, there were several opportunities to reverse that outcome. • Start with rebounding. Pitt did far less of that than what was necessary, especially in the second half when the score was tied 61-61 with five minutes...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Pittsburgh sports had no ‘best of 2023’
This is the time for cliched, year-in-review “best of 2023” lists. But Pittsburgh sports had no “best of 2023.” All the major sports teams were rotten. All seem pointed in the wrong direction. The Steelers, Penguins, Pirates and Pitt football were a combined 20 games under .500 in 2023. The...
Pitt’s Blake Hinson feels pulse of team, provides scoring touch it needs
Blake Hinson is the only senior in Pitt’s starting lineup, so he willingly accepts the responsible roles of guidance counselor and the team’s leading scorer. The scoring part is easy for Hinson, who leads the ACC and is tied for sixth in the nation in made 3-pointers (45). He also...
2023 in Pittsburgh college sports: Pitt men’s basketball ended 5-year NCAA Tournament drought
To fully and fairly assess the 2023 sports year at Pitt, you need to go back to the end of 2022. The metamorphosis of coach Jeff Capel’s men’s basketball program began to take shape Dec. 30, 2022, when Pitt upset No. 25 North Carolina, 76-74, at Petersen Events Center. The...
Diaz Graham twins’ mom makes herself at home on Pitt campus during holiday visit
When Elizabeth Graham goes shopping in her favorite Italian grocery story, people know her and stop to say hello. That wouldn’t be unusual in her hometown of Tenerife in the Canary Islands. But it’s happening not far from the Pitt campus in Oakland where Graham is spending the holidays visiting...
Former N.C. State offensive lineman Lyndon Cooper commits to Pitt from the transfer portal
After veteran guards Jake Kradel and Blake Zubovic exhausted their eligibility and tackle Matt Goncalves declared for the NFL Draft, Pitt needed help on its offensive line. Coach Pat Narduzzi looked inside the ACC to find it. Former N.C. State guard/center Lyndon Cooper announced Thursday night on X his decision...
Pitt scoring falls off in 62-48 victory against Purdue Fort Wayne
Jeff Capel had no problem with Pitt’s defense Wednesday night in its 62-48 victory against Purdue Fort Wayne. In fact, he thought it was “unbelievable.” And the numbers prove it. The Mastodons were averaging 86.8 points per game (14th in the nation), but they managed only 17 in the first...
Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi tried to avoid NIL talk, star rankings while recruiting his 19-man class
The initials NIL cast a shadow over college football every day, but name, image and likeness — and the riches it can offer players — come into greater focus at certain times of the year. Wednesday, national letter of intent day, was one of those times. While introducing his 10th...
Central Catholic DE and German OL among 1st to officially commit on Pitt’s signing day
Moritz Schmoranzer kick-started Pitt’s signing day at 7:08 a.m. Wednesday when coach Pat Narduzzi received a signed national letter of intent from the German-born offensive lineman. Schmoranzer sent his letter from Germany where he is spending the holidays before enrolling next month. Let’s go‼️ All the way from Germany! ????????...
First Call: Ex-NFL, Pitt player calls out George Pickens’ effort; Pat Freiermuth owns bad play vs. Colts
If Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens thinks that only non-athlete media types are criticizing his lack of effort, then he is sorely mistaken. Pat Freiermuth is taking the blame for a bad play in the Steelers’ most recent loss. The officiating crew has been revealed for this week’s Steelers-Bengals...
Pitt secures commitments from 2 more transfers: defensive end David Ojiegbe, tight end Jake Overman
The results of Pitt’s venture into the transfer portal won’t be completely known until the end of the 2024 season, but it’s clear coach Pat Narduzzi considers that avenue an important road toward rebuilding his program. Narduzzi claimed his seventh and eighth verbal commitments from transfers Tuesday when former Clemson...
Pitt’s Jeff Capel likes team’s progress, seeks improved on-court communication
Jeff Capel’s sixth season as Pitt’s head coach is off to a good (not great) start. The 8-3 record is nothing special, and he knows it. The Panthers have won eight of their first 11 games in three of Capel’s five previous seasons. “Certainly would not like to have three...
Jeff Capel finds bench strength as Pitt nears end of nonconference season
There isn’t much Pitt could have proven Saturday while thoroughly defeating South Carolina State, 86-50. As soon as Pitt got over its malaise, possibly caused by a week without playing a game, the Bulldogs simply were outmanned and had no answers. South Carolina State is the fourth opponent this season...
Pitt’s defense gets a boost from transfers Nick James, Nate Matlack
Pitt bolstered its defensive depth Sunday when two players from power conferences verbally committed to coach Pat Narduzzi. COMMITTED H2P pic.twitter.com/PrdP0SRwBh— Nate Matlack (@nmatlack1) December 17, 2023 Defensive tackle Nick James and defensive end Nate Matlack are transferring from Indiana and Kansas State, but the key to these two roster...
Western Carolina’s Desmond Reid, Censere Lee follow offensive coordinator Kade Bell to Pitt
Roster additions from the most important source these days — the NCAA transfer portal — continued for Pitt on Saturday when running back Desmond Reid and wide receiver Censere Lee verbally committed to the Panthers. Reid and Lee complete the package that arrived from Western Carolina, starting with the Catamounts’...
Pitt stretches winning streak to 3 with rout of South Carolina State
With final exams over, campus half-empty and Pitt playing a game – a nonconference game — for the first time in a week, Petersen Events Center was quieter than usual Saturday afternoon during the Panthers’ 86-50 victory against South Carolina State. Didn’t matter. After a slow start, players’ effort was...
Recruiting rankings, ratings accurate but imperfect in projecting eventual NFL talent
When former Pitt defensive lineman Calijah Kancey heard his name called as the 19th overall pick in the NFL Draft last spring, he was one of eight former three-star recruits, as ranked by 247Sports, to be selected in the first round. Kenny Pickett, chosen by the Steelers at No. 20...