After losing a Heisman Trophy finalist and Biletnikoff winner, it’s only natural to expect some degree of regression in Pitt football.

Kenny Pickett’s arm and leadership and Jordan Addison’s ability to make defensive backs look like they were standing still made it difficult to defend Pitt’s passing attack last season.

What happens now?

Will the regression be evident — or even surface at all — against the better teams on Pitt’s schedule?

Will West Virginia’s secondary — much of which is composed of freshmen and sophomores — take advantage of the transition period in Pitt’s passing game?

Senior wide receiver Jared Wayne and others are hoping to ease those worries. Keep an eye on Pitt’s passing game in the first two games against WVU and Tennessee. It will provide some clues to how the rest of the season will evolve.

Here are five thoughts as Pitt and West Virginia are now within a week of Thursday’s Backyard Brawl:

1. Wayne’s thoughts

We’ve heard plenty this summer about Konata Mumpfield’s athleticism and leadership. They were evident last season at Akron, and he could become one of the ACC’s best pass catchers. But Pitt fans want to see his skills live.

Meanwhile, senior Jared Wayne already has done that. In three seasons, he has 86 receptions for 1,245 yards and eight touchdowns while playing in Addison’s shadow in 2020 and 2021.

Three years ago, Wayne was the first Pitt freshman since Tyler Boyd (2013) with a 100-yard game, and at the end of the season he caught a touchdown pass in the Panthers’ most recent bowl victory (Eastern Michigan).

He should become known as the leader of the wideouts this season, and a good season will force him to decide: “Do I stay or do I go?”

“A lot of things have to go right for me to make that move (to the NFL Draft),” he said. “I’m going to take it game by game, week by week. I’ve always wanted to play in the NFL. If the opportunity is right, it’s a definite possibility.

“I think I’ve definitely put the work in.”

Wayne made it clear he’s only focused on this season, and he proved it after practice Thursday when he spent more than 20 minutes catching balls off the Jugs machine. He said Mike Tomlin’s presence on the field did not affect his work ethic.

“If he was watching, great,” Wayne said. “But it’s a personal thing for me.”

2. Block out the noise

Pat Narduzzi says he gets all the news he needs from his USA Today app, and he’s hoping quarterback Kedon Slovis follows that lead. Who needs to hear/read what people are saying about you?

“I hope he doesn’t read anything,” the coach said. “If he does, we’re going to try and teach him not to. We tell him not to listen to you guys. Cut out the noise.

“The only people who really matter are the guys in this room. We love you guys coming in here. We love you writing. But we don’t want to listen to it. I’ve seen good players crash and burn because they listened to the noise, what Nick Saban calls rat poison. Don’t read it, the good or the bad. You start to feel yourself, too.”

Sounds to me like there’s no sense giving Narduzzi that Trib subscription for Christmas.

3. Does knowing really matter?

Those meetings going on daily in the football offices at Pitt and West Virginia might be interesting.

West Virginia offensive coordinator Graham Harrell tutored Slovis and WVU quarterback J.T. Daniels at USC. Harrell might be able to tip off the Mountaineers’ defense on some of Slovis’ habits.

Meanwhile, Slovis might tell his defense what Harrell and Daniels like to do on third-and-long.

“I watched a ton of USC tape the last two months,” Narduzzi said. “Not watching Kedon, but the OC at WVU is from Southern Cal.”

4. Coach’s work: Never done

Fans from both schools are eagerly and anxiously awaiting the game, but it’s different for coaches. Getting ready for the game involves lots of film study and meeting time — when they’re not working on recruiting for the next few seasons.

“We meet every evening on practice, and we go through the entire depth chart and go through every name on that depth chart,” Narduzzi said.

“Excitement starts probably next Thursday morning when you wake up or maybe Wednesday night when you can’t sleep. Until then, we have a lot of work to do.”

5. Instant leader

It’s clear why veteran Panthers Deslin Alexandre, Carter Warren and SirVocea Dennis were voted captains by their teammates.

Alexandre, a defensive end, will be a two-year captain, and Warren is approaching his fourth season as Pitt’s starting left offensive tackle. Dennis is the Panthers’ playmaking linebacker who makes all the calls on defense.

But a year ago, Slovis was on the other side of the country getting ready for USC’s season. He quickly gained the trust of his coaches and teammates.

“I love those guys,” said Slovis, who won the starting job after a training camp battle with Nick Patti.

He said he stopped feeling like the new guy after spring practice.

“It feels like I’ve been here longer than I have. It didn’t take too long to feel that way.”

Said Narduzzi: “He’s the leader of our offense, anyway, captain or not.”

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