From cuffs on his shirt to willingness to voice an opinion, Pitt's Pat Narduzzi steals show

The most discussed coach Thursday at the ACC Football Kickoff in Charlotte, N.C., was, of course, Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi. After all, he might have been the only man wearing signature-embroidered cuffs on his dress shirt at the Westin Charlotte.

But the real reason for Narduzzi’s celebrity was that his Panthers won the 2021 ACC championship, a distinction that doesn’t mean as much to him now as it did in December. Old news, he said.

Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi w/the sweet embroidered cuffs. He said if you want some, “go see the suit man” pic.twitter.com/bKn9a4y64s

— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) July 21, 2022

“That was a long time ago,” he said of the victory against Wake Forest in the title game, also in Charlotte. “It was great to be on that stage after the game. But we’re moving onto the next one.”

He did admit, however, “Someday, I’d like to watch it on TV. Wouldn’t that be fun to watch it as a fan?”

The title in the past, Narduzzi did come up with some fresh news even before his appearance at the Westin. And it didn’t involve the persistent secrecy on the identity of Pitt’s next starting quarterback.

Earlier in the week, Narduzzi created a few waves when — on a podcast with Pittsburgh car dealer Richard Bazzy — he voiced his distaste for how the SEC and Big Ten are perceived as college football’s premier conferences.

Bazzy's Black & Gold Banter Episode 38 https://t.co/9GGDJl6T34

— Shults Ford (@ShultsFord) July 20, 2022

It sounded like a slam at the Big Ten — where he coached for eight years as Michigan State’s defensive coordinator — when he said Kenny Pickett opting out of the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl played a major role in Michigan State’s 31-21 victory.

Pickett’s absence made a “21-point difference,” he said.

“Michigan State gets their butt kicked in (if Pickett plays). It’s at least a 14-point difference if (backup Nick) Patti plays the whole game.”

Patti missed most of the game with a shoulder injury.

“You talk about Big Ten and SEC and ACC,” Narduzzi said on the podcast. “If that’s one of the best Big Ten teams, let’s go to the Big Ten and win it every year. I don’t want to hear about this Big Ten dominance and SEC dominance.”

Let’s give Narduzzi the benefit of the doubt: Perhaps he was trying to deflect attention away from the quarterbacks. Because when he stepped to the Westin podium to meet with reporters Thursday morning, his podcast remarks triggered the first question.

Asked if he cared to elaborate, he laughed and said, “Not really.”

But he answered the question, anyway, with an expansive explanation.

“You hear all these things during the summer about the Power 2s,” he said. “You know, we play some pretty darn good football in the ACC, and I think people forget it.

“How about the teams that are getting better? I think Pittsburgh is getting better, so we’ll start there.

“I’ve coached in the Big Ten for eight years, so I know it. It’s not being arrogant. It’s just kind of knowing the landscape and knowing what we played against in the Peach Bowl. Just would have liked to have our backup quarterback play the whole game.

“That’s just confidence. That’s no disrespect to the Big Ten or Michigan State. It’s just about Pitt and the ACC. I think ACC football is really, really good.”

That statement will get tested immediately this season, with Pitt opening against two nonconference Power 5 opponents (West Virginia and Tennessee).

Suddenly the hunted one after winning a championship, Narduzzi insisted his players are still “hunting.”

“They feel like they’re going to repeat. There’s a ton of confidence in our building,” he said. “They know how good they can be, but they have to go out and make it happen. They’re just not going to show up and make it happen.”

Making the right choice at quarterback is the first step in that quest, and it will be hashed out in training camp, beginning Aug. 1.

Narduzzi said he’s pleased that he has two options — USC transfer Kedon Slovis and Patti, a fifth-year senior — and he wants to see one separate himself sometime next month.

But he said the decision isn’t his to make.

“I don’t pick the quarterback. They do. Our team does,” he said. “We should know a couple weeks into camp who that starting quarterback is.

“If I have to pick the quarterback in the end, then I think we got issues. Because (then), no one really knows. I want that thing to be resolved by our players, by our team to say ‘That’s our guy.’ ”

No doubt, the question is a serious one, but it also created a moment of hilarity Thursday when senior linebacker SirVocea Dennis, a quarterback in high school, said he knows the answer.

“It’s me,” he said.

NOTES: The NCAA declared wide receiver Bub Means eligible for this season after his second transfer. He previously was with Tennessee and Louisiana Tech. … Freshman linebacker Marquan Pope, who was part of Pitt’s 2022 recruiting class, is on medical scholarship and won’t be part of the active roster.