Pitt’s Izzy Abanikanda earns AP’s midyear ACC honors
North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye and Syracuse coach Dino Babers headline the honorees in The Associated Press’ midseason report for the Atlantic Coast Conference. Maye, a second-year passer, was picked as the league’s top offensive player through the season’s first half in voting by AP writers covering league teams after...
Pitt, senior Jamarius Burton confront adversity with new faces, injection of confidence
Anyone with a TV or access to the internet knows the state of Pitt basketball. Over the past six seasons, the Panthers lacked scoring, quality depth, proper locker room chemistry and, in the end, enough victories to uphold the tradition of winning created at the turn of the century by...
First Call: Steelers work out former Pitt wide receiver; Bills praise Kenny Pickett; Logan Cooley update
Wednesday’s “First Call” features a Pitt Panther who got a tryout with the Steelers. Kenny Pickett got the attention of some Buffalo Bills stars. We have a Logan Cooley update from Minnesota. And the NHL season is underway. Pickett draws praise In advance of their 38-3 victory over the Steelers...
Pitt women’s basketball coach Lance White encouraged by players’ confidence
Now in his fifth season as Pitt’s women’s basketball coach, Lance White said Tuesday that he sees more than hope building among his players. He sees confidence, which is an encouraging sign for a team that has lost 28 of its past 33 ACC games. “They’re understanding the confidence that...
Pitt using bye week to prepare for tough finishing stretch
With no game until Oct. 22 in Louisville, Pitt’s players and coaches are spending the week on the South Side working on fixing those “little things” — their words — that have dropped them from the Associated Press Top 25. • Bad angles by defensive players toward ball carriers. •...
First Call: Odd substance check for ex-Pirates pitcher in playoffs; Browns make a trade; Pitt vs. Penn State alumni showdown
Monday’s “First Call” features a strange occurrence surrounding a former Pittsburgh Pirate in the Major League Baseball playoffs. The Cleveland Browns are making a trade. A Cincinnati Bengals star is struggling. And a Pitt versus Penn State alumni battle lives up to the billing. Messin’ with Musgrove Former Pirate Joe...
During off week, Pitt will direct plenty of attention toward 1-dimensional offense
Pat Narduzzi has built his coaching career — a pretty good one in its 33rd overall season — on a desire to make the opposing offense one-dimensional. Actually, it’s more of a demand than a desire. As such, it’s no secret where Narduzzi will direct plenty of attention before Pitt’s...
Bill Hillgrove sees history made at both ends of nearly a half-century of Pitt football
Legendary broadcaster Bill Hillgrove’s weekend was busy just like they all are during football season. Pitt on Saturday at Acrisure Stadium for the play-by-play call of the Virginia Tech game, and a car trip to Buffalo on Sunday for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Buffalo Bills. Of course, it was nothing...
Pitt notebook: Panthers carry momentum into bye week, but need to tighten bolts defensively
After dropping its ACC opener last weekend to Georgia Tech, Pitt handled business vs. Virginia Tech on Saturday at Acrisure Stadium, defeating the Hokies, 45-29, avoiding another toe-stubbing loss against one of the conference’s lesser opponents. There was plenty to celebrate following the game for the Panthers, nothing more so...
Pitt rides Izzy Abanikanda’s school-record 320 yards to victory over Virginia Tech
Izzy Abanikanda might have been the least surprised person inside Acrisure Stadium on Saturday night. Almost as if rushing for a school-record 320 yards and six touchdowns and leading Pitt to a 45-29 victory against Virginia Tech was little more than a stroll along the Ohio River. “I was just...
Highly touted freshman Pitt basketball player Dior Johnson charged with assaulting woman, suspended from team
A University of Pittsburgh basketball player is facing charges of aggravated assault, strangulation and false imprisonment after an incident that took place last month. Dior Johnson, 18, of Forbes Avenue, Oakland, is accused of assaulting a woman Sept. 5 and again the next morning in his apartment because he was...
Pitt Take 5: Virginia Tech game no must-win, but the Panthers better win, anyway
By definition, Pitt’s game Saturday against Virginia Tech does not represent a must-win. Pitt (3-2, 0-1 ACC) can lose to the Hokies and still rally to win the ACC Coastal. Remember: Pitt lost two within the conference and still went to the championship game in 2018. But a loss to...
Friday Football Footnotes: Von Miller dismisses Kenny Pickett’s ‘underdog’ quote; Bart Scott pans Steelers drafting Pickett
In this week’s edition of “Friday Football Footnotes,” a member of the Buffalo Bills takes exception to something said by Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett. A former rival of the Steelers pans the franchise’s decision to draft Pickett instead of addressing the offensive line. Plus, Le’Veon Bell isn’t done with boxing,...
Is Izzy ready to return? Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi hints running back Abanikanda may be getting better
All Pat Narduzzi needed was a remote microphone, and his final words Thursday at his weekly media briefing would have qualified as a classic mic drop. While he rose from the long, wooden table in a room where many of the Pitt coaching staff’s most important meetings are held, he...
Pitt’s Gavin Bartholomew doesn’t allow pregame ‘jitters’ to keep from being grounded
The moments before a game are when Gavin Bartholomew wants to be alone. “I try to keep to myself a little bit, tune in to what I have to do to get the job done,” Pitt’s sophomore tight end said. But he should know — actually, he likely is well...
Pitt defensive line coach Charlie Partridge likes leadership shown by senior end Habakkuk Baldonado
Habakkuk Baldonado recorded nine sacks for Pitt last season, and he was poised to become an even better defensive end this season. Among his 43 tackles were a career-high seven that he made when they mattered most: in the ACC championship victory against Wake Forest. At the end of the...
Pitt coaches aren’t surprised by Kenny Pickett’s fast rise to Steelers’ QB1
Charlie Partridge was busy Sunday afternoon, preparing for another week of practice, trying to help figure out how to beat Virginia Tech. The Pittsburgh Steelers game was on the TV, but it was little more than elevator music to Pitt’s defensive line coach. He was fixated on the Hokies. Later,...
Pitt basketball lands 4-star guard recruit Jaland Lowe
Pitt coach Jeff Capel landed the second four-star recruit for his class of 2023 when Jaland Lowe, a shooting guard from Missouri City, Texas, pledged to enroll next year. Lowe, 6-foot, 160 pounds, joins four-star Carlton Carrington, a 6-3 guard from Baltimore. The third member of Capel’s projected ’23 freshman...
Pat Narduzzi stands behind quarterback Kedon Slovis while looking to `clean up’ problems
Before launching into a discussion about why Pitt’s passing game has fallen into mediocrity, let’s get one issue out of the way. Kedon Slovis remains the unquestioned starter at quarterback. Nothing in Slovis’ 3 ½ games has indicated it’s time for a change. That’s more fact than opinion, and coach...
Pitt’s 5 worst losses of the Pat Narduzzi era
The Pitt football team has won an ACC championship and made six bowl appearances since Pat Narduzzi was hired as the program’s head coach in December 2014. But the Panthers also have experienced some crushing losses in his nine seasons, including Saturday’s 21-17 loss to Wake Forest. Here’s a look...
First Call: JuJu Smith-Schuster’s eye-catching quote about Steelers; Diontae Johnson says 2022 a ‘rebuilding year’
We have some very revealing quotes about the Pittsburgh Steelers from JuJu Smith-Schuster, Minkah Fitzpatrick and Diontae Johnson. Plus, a former Pitt Panthers football coach has been fired. All that in Monday’s “First Call.” So what are you trying to say, JuJu? Melissa Stark of NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” had...
Former Pitt, Jets, Steelers offensive lineman Jim Sweeney dies at age 60
Jim Sweeney, who left his mark on Western Pennsylvania football as a teenager and later became a durable and reliable offensive lineman for Pitt, the New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers, died Saturday. He was 60. Sweeney helped Seton LaSalle win its first WPIAL title in 1979 while compiling a...
Hard lessons, tough questions surround Pitt after embarrassing loss to Georgia Tech
The doors were locked to outsiders Sunday afternoon when Pat Narduzzi met with his Pitt coaches and players, but you can bet he was asking serious questions. Such as: • What’s up with the passing game? Kedon Slovis finished strong, but he missed 10 of his first 16 attempts when...
Pitt’s run defense collapses in loss to Georgia Tech
Heading into Saturday night’s ACC matchup between No. 24 Pitt and Georgia Tech at Acrisure Stadium, the contrast between the programs was visible to the naked eye. The Panthers, three-touchdown favorites, looked to be in good position to chalk up a conference-opening victory and in the process, increase their stock...
Georgia Tech bullies mistake-prone Pitt into deflating loss
Shortly before midnight Saturday — after a defeat that may rank as the worst of the Pat Narduzzi era because of expectations his team has created for itself — Pitt linebacker SirVocea Dennis glanced at the stat sheet and the hard, numerical facts of the 26-21 loss to Georgia Tech....
