As ACC seeks calm, new beginning, forces in college athletics continue to disrupt
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — On the way to Charlotte early last week, and to the ACC’s annual preseason football kickoff, all was quiet off of John D. Swofford Lane. The street, only about 250 feet long, extends a little ways off the Grandover Parkway, which itself runs parallel to I-85 for...
Position-by-position breakdown as Pitt opens 2023 training camp
When Pitt football opens training camp Tuesday, Pat Narduzzi will enter his ninth season as the Panthers head coach, a distinction no one who has followed the program this century should take lightly. Pitt has not had nine seasons of coaching stability since John Michelosen was in charge from 1955-65....
Pitt lands 4-star RB recruit Yasin Willis, top overall player in New Jersey
Pitt’s 2024 recruiting class received a huge boost Saturday night when four-star running back Yasin Willis, ranked No. 1 overall in New Jersey, announced his intention to enroll next year. He chose Pitt from among 22 scholarship offers from some of the top programs in the nation, including Alabama, Michigan...
Before the hitting starts, Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi, 3 players have some fun with ACC media
The calendar says July, but summer is ending for college football players headed to training camp next week. Before they start sweating, tackling and bruising, three Pitt players and coach Pat Narduzzi mixed business with pleasure Wednesday at the ACC Kickoff Media event in Charlotte, N.C. Among the highlights telecast...
Pitt’s Jeff Capel releases nonconference schedule, pleased Backyard Brawl with WVU will continue
Pitt released its 11-game nonconference basketball schedule Wednesday, and coach Jeff Capel is pleased that it features four opponents from power conferences. The highlight will be the hardwood version of the Backyard Brawl against West Virginia on Dec. 6 in Morgantown. It will be the 190th game in the series...
From Pitt to Zoo Crew to pros in Cyprus, Nelly Cummings completes basketball circle of life
Nelly Cummings said suiting up for the Zoo Crew in The Basketball Tournament next week won’t be much different from playing for Pitt last season. With one distinct difference. “It’s just you know there’s a million dollars at the end of it,” he said. “If there’s a loose ball, you...
Vikings rookie WR Jordan Addison, former Pitt star, cited for driving 140 mph in Minnesota
Minnesota Vikings first-round draft pick Jordan Addison was cited early Thursday for speeding and reckless driving, after a state trooper clocked him at 140 mph in his sports car in a 55 mph zone. The Minnesota State Patrol said Addison was pulled over without resistance in a Lamborghini Urus at...
Simple assault case for Pitt, Titans LB Rashad Weaver is closed
PITTSBURGH — The misdemeanor simple-assault case against Tennessee Titans linebacker and Pitt product Rashad Weaver is closed. Weaver was charged in 2021 in a South Side incident that occurred days before the Titans drafted him with a fourth-round pick, with the complaint filed a day before his selection. The charge...
Pitt assistant AD Penny Semaia joins Buffalo Bills as vice president of stadium relations
Penny Semaia, who earned four letters on the Pitt football team before rising to the position of senior associate athletic director for the Cathy and John Pelusi Family Life Skills Program, has accepted a job as the Buffalo Bills’ vice president of stadium relations. He will work with Bills vice...
The CW to broadcast select ACC football games, including Pitt-Cincinnati matchup
Pitt’s Sept. 9 matchup against Cincinnati will be one of 13 football games broadcast on the CW Network as part of a new TV deal announced by the ACC on Thursday. In addition to the football games, the CW Network will broadcast 28 men’s basketball games and nine women’s basketball...
Pitt QB Phil Jurkovec launches fundraiser for UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh
Early in life, Pitt quarterback Phil Jurkovec saw firsthand the kind of impact specialized care can have on young children. Jurkovec’s younger brother, Sebastian, was born 13 weeks premature, weighing 2 pounds, 2 ounces. “His chance for survival was extremely slim,” Jurkovec said. Jurkovec recalled ever-present consternation on the part...
Pitt wrestlers, WVU grad headline MMA fight card at ‘Brawl in The Burgh 17’
Wrestling is a huge part of a mixed martial artist’s repertoire. If fighters don’t grow up on the mats, they invest time to enhance this part of their game. “The two pathways in wrestling post-college are coaching or competing, looking to make an Olympic and World team,” said Mike Wilkins,...
First Call: Minkah Fitzpatrick finally tops best-safety list; Saquon Barkley to ‘pull a Le’Veon?’
The Pittsburgh Steelers’ Minkah Fitzpatrick had spent most the offseason so far picking up plenty of figurative silver medals in the ultimately meaningless realm of “Best Of” lists. • In May, it was Pro Football Network that rated Fitzpatrick as the NFL’s second-best safety behind the Los Angeles Chargers’ Derwin...
Pitt pitchers Logan Evans, Dylan Simmons selected in 12th, 15 rounds of MLB Draft
Pitt right-handed pitchers Logan Evans and Dylan Simmons were chosen Tuesday in the 12th round by the Seattle Mariners and 15th round by the Cincinnati Reds on the third day of the MLB Draft. They were the 367th and 458th players drafted. Evans (6-foot-4, 215 pounds) transferred from Penn State...
‘Damar Hamlin Day’ in Pittsburgh celebrated with CPR awareness event at PNC Park
Damar Hamlin has been recognized and honored a number of ways for the way he responded after suffering a sudden cardiac arrest during a Jan. 2 game in Cincinnati. On Sunday, he received an honor that hit close to home. Mayor Ed Gainey declared Sunday “Damar Hamlin Day” in the...
First Call: Interesting projection for Steelers QB Kenny Pickett; scary Pirates draft comp; ex-Pitt star to join Team USA
Friday’s “First Call” has an interesting forecast for Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett. An ex-Penguins player is about to be surrounded by some familiar faces. A WPIAL basketball product is now on Team USA. And Pirates fans are about to read something they probably don’t want to consider regarding the upcoming...
First Call: Pitt’s Darrelle Revis reveals presenter for Hall of Fame induction; an ex-Steelers player’s special job in Detroit
Thursday’s “First Call” has a big reveal for former Pitt star Darrelle Revis regarding his Hall of Fame induction. An ex-Steeler is taking on some off-field responsibilities with his new franchise. We have gambling odds on the Calder Trophy, a preview of Thursdays’ Pirates-Dodgers pitching matchup, and an interesting prediction...
Cam Johnson stays with Nets on 4-year deal worth $108M
NEW YORK — Cam Johnson (Pitt, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart) is staying with the Brooklyn Nets on a four-year deal worth about $108 million after quickly becoming one of their top players following his arrival in the trade for Kevin Durant. Johnson averaged 16.6 points in 25 starts...
No. 15 in national recruiting rankings, Pitt lands German offensive lineman Moritz Schmoranzer
Pitt’s 2024 recruiting class — now numbering 20 prospects who have made their commitments public — jumped to 15th in Rivals.com’s national rankings Friday night after offensive lineman Moritz Schmoranzer of Roanoke, Va., told coach Pat Narduzzi he plans to enroll next year. 1000% committed❗️❗️@CoachDuzzPittFB @Pitt_FB @CoachBorbs @FrankCignetti @BatesBacker @CoachAPowell...
WVU athletic director Wren Baker supports continuing basketball version of Backyard Brawl with Pitt
MORGANTOWN, W. Va. — The Pitt and West Virginia basketball teams have met 189 times, with No. 190 coming up this season. WVU athletic director Wren Baker said Monday he wants the series to continue beyond 2023-24, and he has made his intention known to Pitt’s Heather Lyke. “I called...
Penn Hills native, Indiana star Jalen Hood-Schifino drafted by NBA’s Lakers
Jalen Hood-Schifino, a Penn Hills native who was verbally committed to Pitt as a sophomore in 2019 before changing his mind, became NBA property Thursday when he was drafted in the first round — 17th overall — by the Los Angeles Lakers. Hood-Schifino played college basketball at Indiana for only...
Pitt lands Miami’s Jeremiah Marcelin, 3rd linebacker in its class of 2024
Like most teams, Pitt only puts three linebackers on the field at a time. Also like many others in college football, Panthers linebackers coach Ryan Manalac makes sure to substitute regularly. That’s why the past several weeks have been important to Pitt’s roster-building efforts. Three linebackers who will be high...
‘Special’ Hill District corner named after Pitt basketball great Sam Clancy
Sam Clancy estimates that Tim Grgurich had dinner at his home near the corner of Bedford Avenue and Roberts Street in the Hill District “60 or 70 times.” Luckily for the former Pitt basketball coach and tireless recruiter of the mid 1970s, the university’s compliance department looked the other way....
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Penn-Trafford grad Josh Spiegel transfers to Pitt
Going from Penn State to Pitt seems borderline taboo, but Josh Spiegel is doing the unthinkable. He is leaving one side of the in-state rivalry for the other. The former Penn-Trafford standout will depart Penn State after three seasons to play his final year at Pitt. A catcher, Spiegel entered...
Pitt names former Harvard coach Jenny Allard to be its next softball coach
Athletic director Heather Lyke sought someone with documented success over a long period of time when she named Jenny Allard on Monday to be Pitt’s next softball coach. She replaces former coach Jodi Hermanek. Allard, a National Fastpitch Coaches Association Hall of Famer, spent the past 27 seasons as Harvard’s...
