Pitt's Pat Narduzzi names co-captains, gives them their say
Knowing the right time to blitz or call a gadget play are skills every coach should know after gaining years of experience.
But the other side of coaching — the personal interaction with players, especially off the field — is something Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi says he takes seriously.
Which is why he said Friday was one of his favorite days of the year. It was the day he announced the three permanent co-captains for the season, as voted upon by the team. He revealed their names at the Kickoff Luncheon at the Westin Convention Center, Downtown.
Seniors Maurice Ffrench and Dane Jackson (Quaker Valley/Cornell) and junior Jimmy Morrissey will be the co-captains, joined by a different honorary co-captain each week.
Narduzzi said his co-captains are more than the guys who walk to midfield before the game for the coin toss. They meet regularly with the coach.
Additionally, there is a leadership council on the team, labeled the Eagles, with representatives from each class.
“Every week we have a meeting with the Eagles,” Narduzzi said. “After they leave, I sit down with the captains, and we talk just about strategies. ‘What are you thinking? What’s the team thinking?’ They’re in charge of the team. I can’t be everywhere.
“We expect those guys to lead on the field and off the field. I tell them, ‘Have your agenda. Come prepared with stuff you want to talk about.’ Whether it’s the length of practice, whether it’s too much hitting. I don’t care what it is. Whether it’s the food in the dining facility. What are your issues? What’s going on? What do we have to do to get things right?”
The co-captains launched their Pitt careers in different ways.
• Ffrench, a return specialist and wide receiver, never redshirted and will leave Pitt after this season, his fourth on campus.
• Jackson, who has started 28 games at cornerback, redshirted as a freshman.
• Morrissey arrived as a walk-on in 2016, earned a scholarship a year later and is considered one of the top centers in the ACC.
Two years ago, when Narduzzi gave Morrissey his scholarship, the coach said, “He’s a natural leader. I will not be shocked if that guy is a captain some day.”
Ffrench said his ascension to captain is special to him.
“Where I was born and where I was raised (New Brunswick, N.J.), nobody has made it to this level or had the honor to represent a university this big,” he said. “Definitely a dream come true.”
Ffrench, who averaged 14.7 yards per reception last season, said he realized his dream by “being me.”
“Somebody who puts his head down, does what he has to do, doesn’t complain, tries to be consistent every day and helps others who need help, including myself. I’m not a rah-rah guy. I’m the type of guy who will show you how to do it and when to do it.
“I’ll teach you and guide you through it. But if I have to talk, I will talk and I know when the place is to do it.”
Jackson said finishing among the top three in the voting means his teammates trust him.
Narduzzi said he asked his coaches to take an unofficial vote for captains, and they selected two of the three (no details revealed, of course).
“There are lot more guys who deserve to be captains,” Narduzzi said. “You kind of don’t know because we have so many good ones.
“Usually, (you say), it’s going to be that guy, that guy, that guy. It’s almost a slam dunk. But I really didn’t know who it was going to be.”
There are 15 seniors on the team, including graduate transfers Jeff George Jr., Will Gragg, Nakia Griffin-Stewart, Kylan Johnson and Nolan Ulizio, junior-college transfer Chase Brown and Jim Medure, who came to Pitt as a walk-on.
The other eight — Ffrench, Jackson, Saleem Brightwell, Damar Hamlin (Central Catholic), Aaron Mathews (Clairton), Jazzee Stocker, Tre Tipton (Apollo-Ridge) and Amir Watts — were members of Narduzzi’s first two recruiting classes in 2015 and ’16.
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Jerry DiPaola is a TribLive reporter covering Pitt athletics since 2011. A Pittsburgh native, he joined the Trib in 1993, first as a copy editor and page designer in the sports department and later as the Pittsburgh Steelers reporter from 1994-2004. He can be reached at jdipaola@triblive.com.
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