Pitt football notebook: Panthers will need fresh cornerbacks in Miami's heat

Temperatures are expected to soar as high as 84 degrees Saturday when Pitt plays Miami in Hard Rock Stadium.

But even if South Florida is hit with a sudden cold front, Pat Narduzzi plans to give his beleaguered cornerbacks a break against the No. 13 Hurricanes.

“With the tempo we’re going to see when we go down to Miami, we’re going to have to rotate our corners,” he said.

Senior Damarri Mathis is out for the season, and that has left Pitt with little experienced depth behind starters Jason Pinnock and Marquis Williams. Expect to see sophomore A.J. Woods and freshman Rashad Battle more than in the past few games. Woods was the starter in the opener.

Narduzzi said his starting cornerbacks played 90 snaps against N.C. State and 77 on Saturday at Boston College. That’s too many, he said.

“We’re going to have to keep them fresh, and I did a poor job of making sure we were doing that. (Defensive ends) Rashad Weaver and Patrick Jones don’t go 77 plays,” he said.

Pitt will be concerned with the Miami players’ running speed and how fast they line up for the next play.

Offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee arrived from SMU this year, and quarterback D’Eriq King transferred from Houston. As a result, Narduzzi described the Hurricanes’ offense as “very explosive, fast tempo.”

“It’ll be the fastest tempo that we’ve seen to date … very similar to Syracuse but probably faster.”

Narduzzi said he counted 60 snaps of 15 seconds or faster in his video review, not unlike what Pitt encountered against UCF in 2018 and ‘19. Pitt gave up a total of 79 points in those games.

“They’re going to go, and (the) main thing is get lined up and be fresh as we can be,” he said.

With regard to the defense allowing 694 yards through the air in the past two games, Narduzzi said, “Obviously, we have to be better on the back end (secondary). Miami has a ton of speed.”

Shirt tuggers?

When Narduzzi was asked if his wide receivers are getting enough separation from opposing defensive backs, he said, “Depends on if you get held or not. One time, (Jordan) Addison was like this (he tugged on his shirt). I always thought when your shirt did this, it was a hold. We’re not going to get separation if you get held.”

He added his wide receivers getting better releases off the line of scrimmage would help.

Dennis makes his mark

Injured linebacker Cam Bright played only five plays against Boston College, but Narduzzi called him “one of those day-to-day guys. I think he’ll be fully operational this week.”

Sophomore linebacker SirVocea Dennis played so well in Bright’s spot, Narduzzi said, “If we were playing with four linebackers, he’s a starter. I consider him a starter, period. He can go in and play all three positions. That guy’s going to be a future star in the ACC.”

For now, Dennis is the ACC Linebacker of the Week after recording 4 ½ tackles for loss against Boston College. It is the highest single-game total in the ACC and tied for the most nationally this season.

Patrick Jones II, who had three sacks against Boston College, was named the conference’s defensive lineman of the week. Jones leads the nation in total sacks (seven) and sacks per game (1.4).

What about Krull?

There is no update on injured tight end Lucas Krull, who has played in only one game. But Daniel Moraga, Grant Carrigan and Kyi Wright — in that order — are the only tight ends on the depth chart.

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