Pat Narduzzi likes his 2022 Pitt roster, but 3 transfers fill some holes

Pat Narduzzi’s feelings shifted from pleased to proud when he walked inside Pitt’s indoor practice facility.

There, he found the defending ACC champions in the midst of workouts, preparing for the start of spring — actually, late winter — drills Feb. 28.

“When you look around,” he thought to himself, “everybody’s back.”

But that wasn’t enough for Pitt’s coach to feel comfortable entering the 2022 season.

For the first time in forever, Pitt will open a season with something shiny and tangible to serve as a foundation: a championship trophy. If you look at the participation chart from the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on Dec. 30, there were 23 players — not including injured starting guard Jake Kradel and several backups — who lined up against Michigan State with at least one more year of eligibility remaining.

A nice start, but Narduzzi was seeking the next level of excellence.

Kenny Pickett left a significant hole at quarterback. Five players who totaled 111 catches are gone, plus linebackers Cam Bright, John Petrishen and Phil Campbell III.

Even the bettors aren’t sure about the Panthers. Pitt has the eighth-longest odds among ACC teams to win the national championship (+25,000) — longer than Boston College and Louisville and tied with Virginia Tech — according to betrivers.com.

Pitt fans might cry, “No respect,” but Narduzzi knew his team needed fortification.

Narduzzi likes his 12-man freshman class, but he wanted experienced players to cement the cracks.

Enter three transfers — quarterback Kedon Slovis, wide receiver Konata Mumpfield and linebacker Shayne Simon.

They didn’t enroll with four-season eligibility, but they aren’t necessarily one-and-done players. Slovis and Simon can play for two more seasons, Mumpfield three.

Here’s a look at all three:

Kedon Slovis

A year ago, while recognizing his immense good fortune after Pickett delayed his NFL career for a season, Narduzzi knew he eventually would need another quarterback.

“There was nobody in that ’22 (quarterback) class that we said, ‘We want that guy,’ ” he said. “We didn’t think it was a great year quarterback-wise.”

Narduzzi, with the help of director of player personnel Graham Wilbert, was the point man in the Slovis recruitment.

“That was kind of my guy,” Narduzzi said of Slovis, who entered the portal after throwing for 7,576 yards in three seasons at USC.

Said Slovis: “Knowing that the head coach was recruiting you and wanting you was great and special. We had a lot of different conversations. It really allowed me to get to know him. There are only so many real dudes in college football, and he’s one of them.

“It really allowed me to get comfortable with him being my head coach and pushed me to make the decision to come here.”

Pitt identified three transfer quarterback targets, and Narduzzi said two wanted to sign. But he held them off for a week while waiting for Slovis — his No. 1 guy — to decide.

“The main thing was you saw the talent last year,” Slovis said of Pitt’s 2021 team. “From afar, I assumed it was an older team and everybody would be leaving. When I got the call, I realized everyone was staying except for Kenny.

“It was a no brainer.”

Some outside the program assumed Slovis (6-foot-3, 205 pounds) was intent on joining his girlfriend, Pitt soccer player Kate McKay. Narduzzi said that nugget of information never came up in their conversations. But Slovis said his familiarity with the campus from previous visits helped make a cross-country jump more palatable.

“I knew I liked the city already,” he said. “Auburn and Notre Dame, I had never been to those places.”

Slovis, a Scottsdale, Ariz., native, also was recruited by Nebraska, where former Pitt offensive coordinator Mark Whipple was looking for a quarterback.

Slovis didn’t come to Pittsburgh to be a backup, but there will be competition with Nick Patti, who is approaching his fifth season with the Panthers.

I’m excited to announce my first NIL deal with Brushes & Beans Cafe! I’m excited to see y’all on the 12th! #H2P @BrushBeanCafe @_schristian_ pic.twitter.com/Kv4gETbrWk

— Nick Patti (@Nickpatti12) February 2, 2022

Konata Mumpfield

With Lucas Krull, Taysir Mack, Shocky Jacques-Louis, Melquise Stovall and Tre Tipton moving on, Narduzzi wanted another target to complement Jordan Addison, Jared Wayne, Jaylon Barden and Jared Bradley.

Mumpfield (6-1, 178) was a freshman All-American at Akron, where he caught 63 passes for 751 yards and eight touchdowns last season. He caught seven passes for 67 yards and a touchdown against Ohio State, and he craves a bigger stage.

“He’s athletic. He can make plays. He has great ball skills,” Narduzzi said. “That’s the No. 1 thing you want.”

Said Mumpfield: “I’m a very good route runner, technician. When I catch the ball, I’m pretty shifty.”

While preparing to play Western Michigan last season, he watched tape of Pitt’s game against the Broncos and was impressed.

“It kind of caught my eye the way they were moving people around, and I felt like they knew how to put people in good spots and different matchups.”

Shayne Simon

Simon, who played 31 games at Notre Dame, remembered the respect Irish coaches had for Pitt’s run defense when they were preparing for the 2020 game.

“They play fast. They play downhill,” he said. “The years I’ve been in college, they’ve grown in my eyes.”

Simon, who missed all but one game last season with a shoulder injury, will be an outside linebacker at the money position that was manned by Campbell.

“He’s a specimen. He’s big (6-2¾, 233). He’s strong,” Narduzzi said.

He has watched all three players on video, and now he’s eager to see them in the flesh in pads.

“This is going to be a fun spring,” he said.