Pitt's Izzy Abanikanda, Jordan Addison gametime decisions; TE Gavin Bartholomew could play bigger role

Sometimes, first impressions can be misleading, but that wasn’t the case last year when Pat Narduzzi was recruiting tight end Gavin Bartholomew.

Before Bartholomew even said a word on their first zoom call, Narduzzi liked what he saw.

“The very first thing that impressed me about him was he had a beard,” Pitt’s coach said.

“You wanted a mature tight end. I didn’t want to see any kid who hadn’t shaved. As soon as I saw his face, I said, ‘OK, I like what this guy looks like.’ Sometimes, you have to go off of looks. The beard sold me. He knows that, too.”

Seven games into the season, Narduzzi doesn’t care if the 18-year-old freshman wants to shave. He hasn’t, by the way. He has already turned into a part of the passing game as a backup to Lucas Krull. He has 13 receptions — only four others have more — for 129 yards and a touchdown.

“He’s a heckuva football player,” Narduzzi said.

Bartholomew (6-foot-4, 260 pounds) could step into an increased role Saturday against Miami with wide receiver Jordan Addison and running back Izzy Abanikanda dealing with concussions that could keep them out. Narduzzi said their playing status won’t be determined until just before gametime.

Meanwhile, Narduzzi and tight ends coach Tim Salem hope Bartholomew keeps surprising people.

“He surprised a lot of people because they don’t believe he’s a freshman,” Salem said. “If he walks in the door, he doesn’t look like a freshman. He is a strong guy. He’s benching well into 400 pounds. He’s thick. He strikes you. He hits.

“And he likes to play. He’s like Kenny (Pickett). It doesn’t matter if you’re playing Michigan or St. Mary’s Girls College at 12 midnight, 12 noon. They’re coming to play. You like guys like that.”

Narduzzi’s only concern was the level of play Bartholomew encountered at Blue Mountain High School in Schuylkill Haven, two hours northwest of Philadelphia.

“The ball he played was not very good,” Narduzzi said. “The tape was good. You just worried about the competition. What if his team had to play Central Catholic? Would he look as good? Those are all the things you look at.”

Bartholomew noticed a difference immediately, but it’s one most freshman encounter.

“Everyone’s bigger. I’ve adjusted to that pretty good,” he said.

During training camp, some teammates told Bartholomew that coaches planned to make him part of the offense.

“That was like a big shock to me,” he said. “I knew I would play some, but I didn’t know how much. That really meant a lot. It took off from there.”

He proved himself when Salem approached him this summer to let him know he would be practicing with the first team while Krull recovered from a minor injury.

“I said, ‘Oh, man, this is my shot. I have to give it my all.’ ”

His secret to early success: “Just doing what coaches say. If they tell me to do something, I’m going to do it with everything I’ve got.”

Also, he doesn’t mind doing the dirty work.

“I love blocking. I love hitting kids,” he said. “You get to hit somebody every play and not get in trouble for it.”

Injury update

Bartholomew doesn’t know if he’ll be blocking for Abanikanda, but Narduzzi did not appear concerned Thursday afternoon. He believes Pitt has enough depth at running back and wide receiver to withstand the loss of its leading rusher and pass catcher.

“I wish I could tell you more,” he said when asked about Addison and Abanikanda. “We still got 48 hours. That’s what we’re counting on. We have to get the clearance from the doctor.”

Narduzzi said Addison probably would be better able to play without practicing than Abanikanda.

“Izzy needs reps (to get in step with his blockers). Jordan is a guy who knows every position.”

Losing A.J.

Meanwhile, there is one less body at running back after senior A.J. Davis entered the NCAA transfer portal this week.

“Great kid. He’s gotta do what he’s gotta do,” Narduzzi said. “He saw those young guys playing a lot and didn’t see himself playing again.”

Davis was injured for almost a month this season, and that allowed Abanikanda, Vincent Davis and freshman Rodney Hammond Jr. to get entrenched at running back. Still, it’s a loss because Davis was a good pass blocker.

“We knew he would be in the right place. We knew he was going to protect Kenny,” Narduzzi said. “When he was out, it gave those guys more reps and gave them a chance to be trusted and they were trusted.”

Narduzzi also said sophomore Daniel Carter could help at fullback.

“Really impressed with, No. 1, his attitude, his selflessness,” the coach said. “He’s made some big plays at that fullback position.”

Campus distractions

Narduzzi said he hopes his players remain focused when they leave practice. But really, who knows?

“It’s never easy when you have a bunch of 18-, 19-, 20-year-old kids that, when they leave us, they’re all probably headed back up to campus, dealing with all the nice festivities on a nice fall day. Trying to figure out what Halloween mask they’re going to wear. Halloween is a big deal on Pitt’s campus. I don’t know what they’re doing when they go up there.

“We‘ll find out on Saturdays if they’re all locked in, but we think they’re locked in. It’s never easy because you have so many kids.”

He is leaning on his players’ desire to win a championship and not let their offseason work go to waste.

“If you lose this week, what does last weekend mean? It doesn’t mean anything,” he said. “They worked their tail off for this opportunity to play in big games at Heinz Field.”

‘Bring it on’

Narduzzi said he expects plenty of man-to-man coverage from the Miami defense.

“They’re just fast, physical and they play hard,” he said. “I expect to see them try to man us up across the board and see if they can wire us up at the line of scrimmage and see if we can make a play.

“If I was a receiver, you like man, right? If you get loose, you have a chance. I’ll take that matchup. Bring it on.”