Through the first 19 days of Pitt training camp, freshman wide receiver Jordan Addison has caught the attention of coach Pat Narduzzi.
When Narduzzi was asked Tuesday to compare Addison to other pass catchers he’s come across over the years, Narduzzi made an interesting choice.
“I’m pretty bad at that. I move onto the next game,” he said. “I’m even looking back at Michigan State (when he was the Spartans’ defensive coordinator), just guys, the best receivers you played against.”
Then, a name popped into his head. Maybe you’ve heard of him.
“I remember there’s one guy. You probably don’t want to mention his name in the city of Pittsburgh,” Narduzzi said. “There’s one guy who kicked our butt one year when he was at Central Michigan, named Antonio Brown.
“I didn’t look at Antonio Brown, I guess, close enough until we got beat by him. (Addison is) kind of built like him a little bit. He’s slippery like him.
“I did play against him in college and couldn’t stop him.”
Narduzzi was referring to a game in 2009 when Brown caught 10 passes for 71 yards and a 6-yard touchdown in Central Michigan’s 29-27 upset of the Spartans, who were two-touchdown favorites.
Central Michigan dented Narduzzi’s defense for 418 scrimmage yards. Brown totaled 248, including 174 on punt and kickoff returns, but only 3 on two rushing attempts. Brown also completed a 24-yard pass to quarterback Dan LeFevour.
Addison (6-foot, 170 pounds) is 2 inches taller than Brown, a four-time All-Pro who is thicker today (186 pounds) than Addison is now.
“Other than that, I can’t think of anybody else that he would even look like,” Narduzzi said of Addison. “It’s hard for me to tell. But he’s going to be a good football player, real good.”
