Pitt football notebook: In rare exceptions, transfer portal can go in reverse

Pat Narduzzi has been a football coach for 34 years. By nature, men of his stature and durability are reluctant to embrace change.

But 3-9 changes everything, and Pitt’s football coach is making some unaccustomed moves this offseason.

The first and most obvious was scrapping the offense that didn’t work last season and replacing it with 31-year-old offensive coordinator Kade Bell’s up-tempo attack.

He also welcomed back two players — linebacker Brandon George and defensive end Nate Temple — who entered the transfer portal at the end of the 2023 season, changed their minds and wanted to return. Usually, players who go into the portal stay there until another team offers a new home.

Narduzzi made an exception and allowed them to rejoin the team.

“That’s not going to happen all the time,” he said, noting another portal resident wanted to return to Pitt and was rejected. “Sometimes, you don’t like to set that precedent. But you have to treat everybody individually.

“Both of them felt like they messed up. The thing about these young men (generally) right now, they hear all these different stories that the grass is greener. Those are two old guys who played a lot of football here. Two pretty darn good leaders for us. If they were anybody else, it probably wouldn’t happen.

“Those are two team guys when you think of the attitude they bring every day in the meeting rooms, on the field. They’re team guys and program guys.”

Temple’s return was cut short March 8 during the first week of spring drills when he suffered a season-ending lower leg injury.

George told reporters earlier this month that linebackers coach Ryan Manalac called him “just about every day” to monitor his free agency.

Both players had spent the previous five seasons at Pitt, and thought they wanted a change.

“I didn’t necessarily want to leave,” George said. “When you leave and come back you realize how special this place is and how special your teammates are. You realize it’s hard to find a culture like we have here.

“I had the feeling they always wanted me to come back, regardless.”

George, 23, is stationed at first-team middle linebacker.

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Back to work

Narduzzi said the fourth day of spring drills went well Tuesday, especially considering the team had been on a week-long break.

“Sometimes you worry about what you’re going to get off of spring break. They came back energized,” he said. “I’m happy with the way practice ended. A lot of competition in the red zone.”

There were three live periods totaling 24 minutes, he said. “I saw some good stuff, getting better at some of the details. Offense is moving along well for being new.”

Johnson moving inside

Another significant change is emerging on the defensive line where rising junior Nahki Johnson (West Mifflin) has moved from end to tackle at 6-foot-2, 275 pounds. Narduzzi said Johnson first played inside for six snaps in the last game of the 2023 season at Duke.

“We should have been smarter as coaches to maybe make the move (earlier),” he said. “There is more thinking at defensive end than there is at ‘D’ tackle. He thinks too much. You think time will take the thinking out of it for him. It just didn’t happen.”

Narduzzi believes Johnson’s athleticism will help him make the move.

“He’s twitchy. He gives you a little different gear in there,” the coach said. “We have to teach him how to play with a little bit more leverage. I didn’t think size-wise he could do it. He probably weighed 260 at the Duke game.”

Notable

• Braylan Lovelace, a sophomore from Leechburg, was blitzing during a practice drill Tuesday and redirected himself to his right to make a tackle. “It looked like a little SirVocea Dennis move,” Narduzzi said, referencing the former Pitt linebacker now with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Dennis visited practice Tuesday.

• Outside linebacker Rasheem Biles recorded a sack while rushing off the edge on third down. “He crawled and sacked the quarterback,” Narduzzi said. “It’s hard to bend like he did around the corner. His motor just keeps getting better.”

• Freshman running back Juelz Goff has displayed promising speed. “Goff has got a different gear. He has some of that (former Pitt running back) Izzy Abanikanda speed, I think. Still haven’t seen enough to say he’s Izzy yet.”

• Redshirt freshman Jesse Anderson is giving Pitt some depth at safety. “That safety position is pretty deep right now, some quality players there,” Narduzzi said, referencing Donovan McMillon, Javon McIntyre, P.J. O’Brien and Cruce Brookins (Steel Valley). “I would imagine one of those guys will be out there when we get into our nickel package on third down.”

• Andre Powell, who was fired this year after nine seasons on Narduzzi’s staff, has been named special teams coordinator at East Carolina. He now has worked at four Carolina schools (North, South, East and Clemson).

• Pitt will hold Pro Day for 12 NFL Draft hopefuls March 27 at its practice facility. Pitt players anticipated to work out include defensive linemen Tyler Bentley and David Green, quarterback/tight end Phil Jurkovec, offensive tackle Matt Goncalves, wide receiver Bub Means, cornerbacks M.J. Devonshire, A.J. Woods and Marquis Williams, linebacker Shayne Simon, guard/center Jake Kradel, tight end Malcolm Epps and running back C’Bo Flemister.

A chat with Pickett

Narduzzi said he spoke to former Pitt quarterback Kenny Pickett after the Pittsburgh Steelers traded him to the Philadelphia Eagles.

“He’s doing great,” he said. “It’s a business, right? It’s a business for everybody, business for the Steelers and business for Kenny. Business as usual.

“I’m happy for Kenny. I’m happy for the Steelers. Things happen for a reason.”

What growing pains?

The offense is new, but Narduzzi said the players’ growing pains with it haven’t been emerging as much as others might think.

“I don’t see as many growing pains right now with our offense as I saw last year in spring ball and fall camp,” he said. “Players are buying into the scheme. There’s a lot more production on the field that I see, getting the ball in playmakers’ hands, getting them the ball in space.”