There is a running joke among Pat Narduzzi and reporters who cover Pitt football. Don’t ask about injuries.
Of course, reporters often break the rule, causing Narduzzi to drop his eyes, shake his head and say, “(insert reporter’s name here), you know better than that.”
So, when LSU coach Brian Kelly instituted a transparent injury reporting policy, it made sense to get Narduzzi’s thoughts on the subject. Kelly wants to be proactive, control the release of information and prevent gamblers from hanging around his players, looking for betting tips.
Narduzzi, however, won’t budge on his policy.
Pat Narduzzi, on why he and his players are reluctant to talk about injuries. pic.twitter.com/Tyob6Rbo4P
— Jerry DiPaola (@JDiPaola_Trib) August 4, 2023
“We used to have that policy (in the ACC),” he said. “We got rid of it.”
During Narduzzi’s first few years at Pitt, teams were required to report injuries two days before a conference game.
“I think it creates gambling,” Pitt’s coach said. “When you sit there and say who’s playing and who’s not, I think it creates more. When you have policies like that, you’re trying to help out the gambling because you want to make sure everybody’s accurate.”
Narduzzi also has a rule that players aren’t allowed to talk about injuries in their conversations with reporters.
“Kids, I hope, don’t have that conversation,” he said. “At our Tuesday meeting, we talked about gambling and what people are trying to get out of you. We don’t give that stuff up. We don’t talk about it. It’s an advantage for our opponents. We try to keep those gamblers away and you hope they stay away. I don’t think we have that problem.”
Narduzzi said his rule is not a response to the current betting scandal involving Iowa and Iowa State athletes.
“We’ve always talked about it,” he said, referencing the players’ manual he first issued in 2015.
“Hazing, Title IX stuff, it’s all stuff we cover,” he said. “We try to teach them what to do and how to do it.”
On the field, Friday is the first day players wore shoulder pads at practice. Linemen and quarterbacks also wore knee braces.
Narduzzi, minutes before Pitt’s third practice of the summer pic.twitter.com/QoRZBu1jAV
— Jerry DiPaola (@JDiPaola_Trib) August 4, 2023
During the open viewing window, coaches were especially feisty, perhaps a response to the increased physicality.
Before running onto the field, Narduzzi dropped a few names of young players who made an impression during the first two days:
• Freshman wide receiver Zion Fowler-El. “He wasn’t in spring ball. He’s one of those surprises.”
• Freshman safety Cruce Brookins of Steel Valley. “Pretty impressive for a young guy.”
