Pitt notebook: Tight end becomes a position of interest

Almost from the minute Lucas Krull stepped on the Pitt campus, he felt a connection with quarterback Kenny Pickett.

“Our relationship has been building, truthfully, since my visit here,” Pitt’s senior tight end said of his recruiting visit last year when he was transferring from Florida. “He hosted me. I knew he was special from the moment I got here on the visit.”

It’s one thing for Pickett to show his new buddy where to get the best french fries in Oakland. It’s quite another to hook up with him on the Heinz Field turf and give Pitt something it hasn’t had since Scott Orndoff left after the 2016 season — a reliable target at tight end.

”He’s a difference maker. It’s something I haven’t had in my time here,” said Pickett, who arrived in 2017.

Krull caught five passes on five targets for a game-high 58 yards and a touchdown to help Pitt pound UMass, 51-7, on Saturday.

“I don’t know the last time we had a tight end with five catches,” coach Pat Narduzzi said.

Actually, Krull’s performance surfaced a year later than what was expected from the 6-foot-6, 260-pounder. He was injured early last season and was around long enough to make only one catch.

“When you get hurt, it’s all negative. It’s frustrating. It’s painful,” he said. “To do all you can to help the team, it’s a special feeling.”

Pitt rolled up 597 yards of offense and 35 first downs, which are impressive numbers. But beyond that, Pickett targeted 13 players and 11 caught passes. Wide receiver Jared Wayne caught six for 55 yards, Jordan Addison added five for 40 and a touchdown and Jaylon Barden displayed his speed with the longest reception of the day, 48 yards

Even freshman tight end Gavin Bartholomew caught three for 21 yards.

If Pitt can get such variety in its passing game against more difficult opponents, the season will get interesting.

“It really opens it up. We have a lot of guys who can do a lot of special things with the rock in their hand,” Krull said. “If you’re not open, you know someone else is going to be open and (Pickett) is going to find that guy.

“My touchdown wouldn’t happen if the receivers didn’t block for me. That’s how it works. We help each other.”

Just a puppy

Early in the second quarter, Pitt was leading 13-0 and had fourth-and-1 from the UMass 8 when Narduzzi decided not to kick the field goal. Kicker Sam Scarton, who won the camp competition with Ben Sauls, missed the extra point after Pitt’s second touchdown.

The call was a handoff to freshman running back Rodney Hammond, who was stopped for no gain.

Narduzzi said it was a coaching mistake to have a freshman in the game.

“I wish we didn’t have a puppy (freshman) in there,” Narduzzi said. “Rodney was in there. I don’t think he ran as hard as he needed to. Probably had nerves going on, some butterflies in his stomach. Probably a coaching issue there.”

Time to pick 1 or 2

Senior A.J. Davis started at running back after Narduzzi and others spent a good portion of camp heaping compliments on Izzy Abanikanda and Vincent Davis.

But Vincent Davis, who ran for 247 yards in the 2020 finale at Georgia Tech, didn’t get in the game until the second half.

“It’s hard to get them all in there,” Narduzzi said.

He said not starting Davis was a “coach’s decision … going from what we saw at camp.”

“Vince is a good football player.”

As it turned out, Hammond was Pitt’s leading rusher with 44 yards on a team-high eight carries. Pickett was next with 39, followed by Vincent Davis (32), wide receiver Shocky Jacques-Louis (31), Abanikanda (30), A.J. Davis (21), Daniel Carter (20) and Todd Sibley (14).

“We can’t play five backs all year,” Narduzzi said. “We’ll look to see what we like and go from there.”

Donation earmarked for now

Chris Bickell, who made a $20 million gift to Pitt football, said he has been asked many times how the money will be used.

“Everyone’s asking me, ‘Is this for a stadium?’ ” he said while speaking to reporters before the game.

“No. (It’s) for right now. We want to win right now. We want to attract talent for next year and the year after. We are focused on the things that are right in front of you. If you get too far out, then you lose sight of (immediate needs).”

Bickell, who grew up in “a Penn State household” in Malvern, said he believes Pitt can win championships, basing his thinking on the stability at the top of the program with athletic director Heather Lyke and Narduzzi.

“I forget the gentleman who said, ‘We cured polio. We can win 10 games.’ It’s about people. It’s about being well-financed and sticking together and having that stability.”

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