Narduzzi hires ex-Maryland assistant to coach wide receivers

Chris Beatty, who worked with Pitt assistant coaches Tim Salem and Dave Borbely in previous coaching stops and served under Penn State coach James Franklin at Vanderbilt, has been named wide receivers coach at Pitt.

Beatty, 45, arrives at Pitt following three seasons at Maryland, where he coached receivers and served as associate head coach and co-offensive coordinator. At Maryland, he worked with first-round draft selection D.J. Moore, the 2017 Big Ten Wide Receiver of the Year.

Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi said he was motivated to hire Beatty, due in large part to his versatility as a coach.

“Chris is an absolutely outstanding addition to our staff,” Narduzzi said in a statement. “His expertise goes well beyond one position on the offensive side of the ball. That diverse experience is going to be an incredible asset for our players and entire coaching staff.

He is also a highly driven recruiter with valuable contacts in so many key areas.”

“Pitt football has a great tradition and I love what coach Narduzzi is doing to build upon that wonderful history,” Beatty said. “I’m excited to get to work with our players and start preparing for spring ball.”

Beatty was a successful high school coach in Virginia for many years, including compiling a 40-2 record at Landstown from 2003-05, winning a state title in 2004 and earning a No. 9 national ranking. That team featured future All-American and first-round draft choice Percy Harvin.

Beatty started his college career in 2006 at Hampton (Va.) as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. He also coached running backs at Northern Illinois for one season.

His first Power 5 job was at West Virginia from 2008-2010 as running backs/wide receivers coach before working as Franklin’s receivers coach and recruiting coordinator in 2011.

In 2012, he was co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Illinois with Salem before going to Wisconsin from 2013-14 as running backs coach and recruiting coordinator. He joined the Virginia staff in 2015, when he worked with Borbely.

Beatty will replace Kevin Sherman, who was fired after the season, along with offensive coordinator Shawn Watson. Sherman was an original member of coach Pat Narduzzi’s staff. Only linebackers coach Rob Harley, running backs coach and special teams coach Andre Powell and tight ends coach Salem remain from Narduzzi’s first staff that was hired in 2014.

Beatty’s task will be reviving a wide receivers group that was part of a passing game ranked 120th of 129 FBS schools (141.8 yards per game) last season.

Jerry DiPaola is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Jerry at jdipaola@tribweb.com or via Twitter @JDiPaola_Trib.