Pitt coaches, players shrug off last year's win at Georgia Tech

You can be sure Andre Powell shook Vincent Davis’ hand — or offered another form of dignified congratulations — after the Pitt running back gained 247 yards last season against Georgia Tech.

A bear hug might not be Powell’s style as an assistant who’s been in the business for 34 years, but he certainly was happy to see Davis and his blockers bury the Georgia Tech defense in a 34-20 Pitt victory.

So, how much is that game discussed in Powell’s meeting room as the Panthers prepare for the rematch Saturday in Atlanta?

If you guessed less than zero, you’re probably right.

“What he did last year was last year. It really has no bearing on this year,” Powell said, pointing out that Davis remains Pitt’s starting tailback.

Offensive lineman Gabe Houy said video of that game is not must-see TV in the Pitt training facility.

“I don’t think we look at it at all because they changed their (defensive) front a little bit,” Houy said, noting Georgia Tech now uses three down linemen, compared to four in 2020. “It’s never going to be the same as last year.”

Pitt players and coaches are choosing their words carefully this week, all but ignoring last year’s game while not wishing to rile the Ramblin’ Wreck defense. In fact, Powell has a story from his past that emphasizes that point.

In 1996, he was running backs coach at Virginia and one his players was Tiki Barber, who went on to become ACC Player of the Year and a 10-year veteran with the New York Giants.

The year before, Barber scored four touchdowns in Virginia’s 41-14 victory against Georgia Tech.

Before the ‘96 game, Barber sat down with reporters to discuss the rematch.

“Tiki made some comments in the paper prior to the game that he probably shouldn’t have, and it fired Georgia Tech up,” Powell said.

At the time, the Daily Press in Newport News, Va., reported Barber said Virginia has “better athletes, a better game plan and better coaches” while predicting Virginia would win “easily.”

Georgia Tech won, 13-7, and Virginia coach George Welsh temporarily banned players from speaking to reporters.

“Tiki played a heckuva game,” Powell said. “He put the team on his back. He played hard. He did what we needed to do to win. We came up a little short.”

Pitt can’t afford a similar lapse in judgement when it opens ACC play against Georgia Tech.

The Pitt running game is ranked 65th in the nation (an average of 161.5 yards per game) after managing only 96 and 75 yards in the Tennessee and Western Michigan games.

But there is hope one or two of Pitt’s three top backs – Davis, sophomore Izzy Abanikanda and freshman Rodney Hammond – will rise up and make the ground game a force in the coming weeks. Together, however, they have totaled just 437 yards in four games.

Powell will stick with the back who’s the most productive, but he likes specific parts of each player’s game.

• Abanikanda is “ making good progress,” he said.

“Really, the kid had only gone through one spring. He had the covid year, and he was injured a couple times (in 2020). He was behind the learning curve a little bit.

“One of the things that was the biggest concern of ours in regard to Izzy was being able to identify who he has in pass protection and actually block him. He’s done a fantastic job with that.”

• He calls Hammond “a smart guy.”

“He’s ahead of the learning curve as a true freshman. He’s serious. He’s into football.

“He did a fantastic job (running for 100 yards last Saturday), but you have to keep it in perspective. That was New Hampshire. We’re playing Georgia Tech. Everyone’s excited that he did a good job, but we’ll see where he goes from this point forward.”

• As the oldest of the three, Davis carries the advantage of experience.

“Vince has seen a lot more snaps than those two guys,” Powell said. “Sometimes in a game, things happen that you just didn’t quite draw it up that way. Because he’s seen it so many times, he’s able to adjust and be able to come back to the sideline and tell you, ‘The guys did this, so I adjusted here.’

“Those younger guys can’t quite do that yet.”

NOTE: Bradley Mann, a three-star defensive end prospect from Jacksonville, Fla., announced his decommitment from Pitt’s class of 2022. Mann had been verbally committed to Pitt since July 11. Pitt has 11 nonbinding commitments in its class, which is ranked 59th in the nation by Rivals.com.

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— Bradley Mann (@Bradleymann5422) September 28, 2021