Pitt Take 5: With 2 weeks of spring drills remaining, competition continues at several positions

Among Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi’s main goals for spring drills, the two that stand out are keeping players physically sound through 15 practice sessions and getting the opportunity to conduct at least one scrimmage at Acrisure Stadium.

Narduzzi hopes to scrimmage at Acrisure on Saturday, but there’s a lot of rain and wind in the weather forecast. Narduzzi and his staff will wake up Saturday morning and decide, but the coach likes to visit Pitt’s home stadium to get players, especially the new ones, accustomed to the surroundings before the spring game. Inclement weather forced Pitt indoors last Saturday. The spring game is April 15.

Meanwhile, here are five storylines to consider with two weeks of camp remaining:

1. Offensive line competition

There’s a long way to go before the Sept. 2 opener against Wofford, and perhaps that will be enough time for redshirt freshman Ryan Baer to find his way into the starting lineup. He already is a top sub.

Baer, a four-star prospect from Eastlake, Ohio, is hard to miss at 6-foot-7, 335 pounds. He’s competing with junior Branson Taylor (6-5, 330) at left tackle. Baer calls Taylor, who started four games last season, “a mentor.”

Finding the right player to protect the quarterback’s blind side is one of the most important decisions the coaching staff must make over the next several months.

Baer is only 19 years old, but he seems to know what it takes to succeed in big-time college football.

“You only get a certain allotted time with coaches. To be a really good player, you have to do things on your own,” he said.

He’s also getting some time at guard, which allows him to unleash his aggression.

“Guard teaches you how to be more aggressive, especially in the run game because everything is more close combat,” he said.

In his first 15 months at Pitt — he enrolled early in 2022 — he has learned the best way to take care of his body.

“I’ve gotten a lot stronger. I’ve gotten a lot more comfortable with my body,” he said. “I set a routine. I’m stretching every day where maybe in high school, you don’t do that as much. Now, I have a strength coach around me all the time, helping me out. I’ve gotten my flexibility a lot better.

“In high school, I went up against a lot of 150-pound D-ends. You just lay on them, and they fall. I had to learn how to use leverage and hands and leg drives.”

2. Another decision to make

A big part of spring drills is finding a punter after Sam Vander Haar, who is on scholarship, averaged 38.5 yards last season — last in the ACC.

Special teams coach Andre Powell said Caleb Junko and Jeff Yurk have emerged as leading candidates after both enrolled as walk-ons.

Powell said Yurk, a transfer from Elon who arrived in January, is “a strong-legged guy.”

“He has to work on hang time. He kicks the ball too far with not the appropriate hang time.”

Yurk, a junior, averaged 41 yards over two seasons at Elon, but his 44.1 average last season ranked fifth in the FCS.

Junko, a redshirt sophomore, recorded a 70-yard punt in practice Tuesday, but Powell had a warning for him: “If the kick went (that far) in a game, he’s probably going to have to make the tackle. We don’t want it to go quite that far.”

Junko averaged 48.7 yards on 12 punts last season, including a record-setting 85-yarder in the Sun Bowl. It turned out to be the all-time best in a bowl game, beating the previous standard set by SMU’s Kyle Rote (84 yards) against Oregon in the 1949 Cotton Bow. The Sun Bowl record had stood since 1993.

Closer to home, Junko broke the Pitt record (80) set by Nate Cochran in 1996 against Kent State.

Junko also had a 59-yarder at Miami and, as a kickoff specialist, he successfully executed an onside kick against Rhode Island.

3. Speaking of special teams …

Powell said the special teams room has acquired an air of maturity, led by kicker Ben Sauls, who has earned a leadership role after he booted five field goals in the Sun Bowl. (Who said bowls don’t matter?)

“Ben makes sure they are mature in their own tasks,” Powell said. “Last year, I think there was some immaturity. When we held them accountable, there may have been a little bit of ‘coach is picking on me’ maybe. This year, those guys are on top of it.”

4. QB/WR bonding

Sophomore Myles Alston said the wide receivers are building a strong bond with the quarterbacks, an important development while assistant coach Tiquan Underwood looks for depth behind returning starters Konata Mumpfield and Bub Means.

“We probably have a little bit better of a bond now,” Alston said. “This past winter, we spent a lot of time together, making sure we have our timing down.”

He said the quest for bonding between passers and pass catchers isn’t new.

“We emphasized it more this offseason than last year,” Alston said. “Our timing is way better. Everybody knows the offense better. We feel more comfortable together. Last year, we were all a little bit frustrated, not knowing exactly what to do every play.”

5. Depth at safety

Pitt might have the best three-man cornerback group in the ACC, with redshirt seniors M.J. Devonshire, Marquis Williams and A.J. Woods. Collectively, they have played a total of 11 seasons at Pitt with 12 interceptions.

The safety situation is not as clear after losing starters Brandon Hill and Erick Hallett, who might be in the NFL by the end of April.

Javon McIntyre, Donovan McMillon (Peters Township), P.J. O’Brien Jr. and Stephon Hall (Central Valley) are among the candidates. Hall said of McMillon, “There aren’t many safeties out here who are really aggressive like him. Smart guy. He plays fast.”