Gold beats Blue, but Pitt players, coach know there's plenty of work to do

There was a winner and a loser, and, of course, “Sweet Caroline” flowing through the Heinz Field speakers after the third quarter.

Just like an autumn Saturday on the North Shore.

But the rest of Pitt’s Blue Gold spring game had little resemblance to what you’ll see — or hope to see as a fan – when everything starts to count Sept. 1 against West Virginia.

It wouldn’t be right to call it just one of 15 practices college teams are allowed in the spring. There were fans in the stands, reporters in the press box and celebrities such as Aaron Donald on the sideline.

But the first words uttered by coach Pat Narduzzi after the Gold defeated the Blue, 10-7, had nothing to do with running back Daniel Carter running for 72 yards and scoring touchdowns for both teams.

“The most important thing was we came out of the spring game healthy,” Narduzzi said.

Normally, he deplores talking about injuries, but he doubled down on the topic Saturday because, he said, there were none.

“I’ve never seen this in all my years. Chris Hanks, our trainer, never saw it in all his years,” Narduzzi said. “We went through 15 days of practice – and we got some guys banged up – we didn’t have one soft tissue issue the entire spring. Not one hamstring, groin, nothing. That’s unbelievable. That’s a heckuva job from our strength staff.”

On the subject of football, struggles on offense were not subject to public or Narduzzi criticism because of the nature of the game. There were only 275 yards gained from scrimmage by both teams, and the 17 total points were matched by the school’s victorious women’s lacrosse team playing across the river at the same time.

Players were drafted onto each roster at the whim of seniors and coaches. And several uninjured bodies didn’t even suit up, including Biletnikoff winner Jordan Addison, defensive end Deslin Alexandre and starting offensive linemen Gabe Houy, Jake Kradel and Owen Drexel. The Blue team’s offensive line had no starters.

It was all part of Narduzzi’s plan to keep his team healthy and whole for training camp in August.

“Anytime you split your offensive line, that’s the hardest thing to do. That’s always going to hurt you,” Narduzzi said.

Asked to evaluate quarterbacks Kedon Slovis and Nick Patti, who are competing to become QB1, the coach said, “It’s hard to tell with a mish-mosh of receivers.”

But he’s not concerned. “We saw enough in 14 (previous) practices to know who we are and what we can do.”

Said Slovis: “When you cut the teams in half, you have to find the strengths of your team and what you can and can’t run.”

Quarterback play was choppy, but Patti opened the game by hitting Akron transfer Konata Mumpfield in stride for a 55-yard gain. He also found Jared Wayne for 43 yards and finished the day with four completions in nine attempts for 108 yards.

Slovis was 10 of 21 for 64 yards and an interception perfectly read by Notre Dame transfer linebacker Shayn Simon.

There were total of seven sacks by both teams — two by defensive end John Morgan — but they were called by Narduzzi without anyone going to the ground.

Patti appreciates Narduzzi looking out for his welfare, but he would have preferred throwing away the protective red jerseys and playing real football.

“I’m a competitor, through and through,” he said. “I was telling coach Duzz to (allow us) to take the red jersey off. He’s too quick to call some sacks, I believe.”

Overall, it was a vanilla offense in a game in which the result and most of the stats didn’t matter.

“A lot of offense (was left out),” Narduzzi said. “That’s why a linebacker (Simon) jumps on something. He’s maybe seen it already (in practice). We have a lot on the shelf.”

What is tangible — and perhaps difficult to see from afar — is how both quarterbacks have found a comfort level with their teammates.

“The guys are comfortable with me, and they’ve been comfortable with me for a while now,” said Patti, a fifth-year senior. “They see how I play and how I am as a person. I think that they flock to me, and they feel comfortable with how I am. So, I use that as an opportunity to step up and get the best out of our guys.”

Slovis is the new guy, but he said he’s been welcomed from the day he stepped on campus.

“All the guys have been so great,” he said. “It feels like we’re a bunch of friends out there playing football. In some rooms (on other teams), that’s definitely not the case. It’s really easy for a football team to get kind of cliquey. There are a lot of guys out there, 110.

“This is a legit team. Everyone knows this is one big family.”

On the negative side, Narduzzi expressed some displeasure with the kicking game.

Sam Scarton missed field goal attempts from 37 and 56 yards, the latter on the last play of the game. Ben Sauls, last year’s backup, hit from 41 and missed from 49.

Freshman punter Sam Vander Haar averaged 37.5 yards, including a 28-yarder, and dropped a snap.

“Would have liked to see our kicking game be a little cleaner,” Narduzzi said. “Not real happy on the one he dropped, and he didn’t know what to do with it. He’s a 24-year-old freshman.

“He’s had a great spring. You come into Heinz Field, and you have to punt the ball. That was not good.”

Next up for the players are the final classes and exams of the semester, followed by more intense workouts this summer without coaches.

“In the summer, we have all the time in the world to refine it and get better,” Slovis said. “We talk about winning the ACC, but you can go further than that. But we have to get the details right. We have to get a lot better this offseason.”