Mark Whipple builds relationships with his players, productive offense for Pitt

He enjoys the victories, of course, and the calls that work and those times when a Pitt player is standing in the end zone, holding the football aloft.

But for Mark Whipple, the best of times might be in his office – day or night — when Pitt’s quarterbacks voluntarily return to headquarters after class to watch video, discuss the next opponent and, perhaps, just talk and pick the brain of a man who has been calling plays and working with quarterbacks since the early 1980s.

“Every quarterback room I’ve been in has been good,” said Whipple, who has coached such NFL stars as Ben Roethlisberger and Donovan McNabb. “We’ve had great relationships. Next door (at the Pittsburgh Steelers where he was quarterbacks coach for Bill Cowher’s final three seasons) we had a lot of fun.”

An Ivy League man, Whipple, 64, played quarterback and shortstop at Brown — he was inducted into the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame 25 years ago — so maybe that helps him build relationships with college players who are 40 years younger.

“It‘s a joy when those guys come in at night and during the day,” he said. “You get attached to the guys that way.

“You try to make it fun. It’s still a game. There has to be a balance. It can’t be all grind.”

The grind resumes Saturday when Pitt (4-1, 1-0) visits Virginia Tech (2-3, 1-0) for the first of seven consecutive games that will help decide the ACC Coastal championship.

The leader of the group — and a player whose foot is on the accelerator — is senior quarterback Kenny Pickett, one of the nation’s best quarterbacks. It’s a distinction that automatically puts him in the Heisman Trophy conversation, even if coach Pat Narduzzi hadn’t boldly mentioned it after the Georgia Tech game.

What does all that talk mean to Whipple?

“A pain in my (butt) because I have to answer some of these questions,” he said, laughing. “No, I don’t really read (the Pickett hype). It’s great for him.

“It wasn’t anything that we didn’t expect and things we talked about. He’s just staying level-headed and going about his business.

“What’s most important is what you do on the field. That’s how he got to wherever he’s at now. If you want to keep those things, you have to win games.”

Whipple’s offense leads the nation in points per game (52.4) while Pickett is the highest-graded quarterback for overall offense (92.6) in the Power 5, according to Pro Football Focus. His passing grade (92.8) is second only to Nebraska’s Logan Smothers (92.9).

He also is one of eight quarterbacks who have thrown zero or one interception — he was picked off in the Western Michigan loss — and he leads that group with 19 touchdown passes and 1,731 yards passing. Another Heisman hopeful, Alabama’s Bryce Young, has 20 and 1,734, with three interceptions

Whipple said Pickett’s performance is “what we expect.”

“All his expectations are our expectations. His experience is showing. The work (Pickett and his pass catchers) put in in the summer without us being around, him knowing what to do and all the little idiosyncracies that come with the throw game. Those things are paying off for us in games.”

Whipple also credits Pickett’s support group, especially pass catchers and blockers.

“We haven’t dropped the ball. Two (previous) years we led the country in drops. I haven’t lost a game as a coach where we didn’t drop a ball,” he said.

“The guys up front. They’re not getting enough credit. I told them I don’t know if I would have called some runs on third-and-4 that I am now because I have confidence in the guys doing the blocking. That makes play-calling a little bit easier.”

Pickett’s been sacked eight times but only once in the most recent game, at Georgia Tech.

“A lot of times Kenny’s got time,” Whipple said, “and he gets off of 1 (the first read) and gets to 2 and 3, which just takes experience.”

Talk of the NFL Draft already is circulating around Pickett. Who better to analyze it than Whipple, who has been with Steelers, Philadelphia Eagles and Cleveland Browns?

He refused to take the bait.

“I don’t have to worry about that,” he said. “I’m just worried about Virginia Tech, and that’s what he’s doing right now.”