With family by his side, Pitt's Pat Narduzzi prepares for football

One minute, a recruit will send Pat Narduzzi a text message while he’s on a conference call with reporters.

Then, Marty, the family dog, might bounce into the room, perhaps looking for something to eat or checking to make sure Pitt’s football coach is hard at work and not sneaking in an afternoon nap.

Later, Narduzzi will see a video with his 59-year-old defensive coordinator, Randy Bates, getting down on the floor to do 40 pushups while expecting his players to do the same.

And, finally, at night, maybe Narduzzi, his wife, Donna, and four children will settle down in front of the TV to watch a movie. (But, please, no “Tiger King,” he said.)

Life has changed for college football coaches and players everywhere in the midst of the covid-19 pandemic, but the goal remains the same:

Get ready for a season that is scheduled to start with summer camp in August but might not happen at all.

“Nobody wants to miss college football this fall,” Narduzzi said, speaking to reporters Friday on a Zoom conference call. “But it’s really what’s best for the country.

“We can sit here and hope and hope and wish, but it’s all going to be how well we social distance ourselves here and take care of our business. Wherever this virus takes us, we’ll go.”

Narduzzi shut down his training facility on the South Side on March 17 and sent most of his players home. Only 12 remain on campus, he said. Everyone — players and staff — are healthy.

But so many questions remain, not the least of which is when can everyone get back together. “We have to make sure it doesn’t start up and get shut down. That would be a disaster,” he said.

And how long will teams need to prepare for a season?

Already, Pitt has canceled the May and June camps that attract top high school players and usually lead to several verbal commitments.

Narduzzi doesn’t seem concerned about how Pitt’s recruitment of the class of 2021 will be affected, especially after securing a 2020 player, defensive lineman Dayon Hayes of Westinghouse, he calls “the best player in the state.”

“We’re cutting edge on some of the things we’re doing,” he said, declining to offer details. “Recruiting has maybe sped up for us. Although kids aren’t coming on campus, there are more phone calls and Facetimes than ever before because I have nothing else to do.”

He said some coaches are even playing video games with recruits. “Just to get around them,” he said.

If this was a normal spring, Narduzzi would have made final preparations for the spring game that was scheduled for Saturday at Heinz Field.

With all in-person visits canceled throughout the nation, Narduzzi said perhaps the NCAA will change its calendar and allow July visits for the first time. But that could create another problem.

“What high school coach in the country,” Narduzzi said, “wants to say, ‘Let’s make July open to make college visits.’ Because that’s when they’re trying to prepare for their season, God willing.

“If there are no visits, there are no visits.”

Recruiting is only one problem. Preparing 100 men to play a 12-game schedule is another story, with most of them currently at home and not around their coaches.

The topic came up Thursday when Narduzzi was on a conference call with other ACC coaches. He didn’t reveal much of their conversations, but he did say he hopes to get four weeks (worst case), but prefers six to properly prepare for the season. The first game is scheduled for Sept. 5 against Miami (Ohio) at Heinz Field.

Pitt was able to complete three of 15 scheduled spring practices before the pandemic hit.

“We’ve watched those practices over and over again,” Narduzzi said. “I wish practice three was better than it was, to be honest with you.”

But an inequity arises because every school’s spring schedule is different. Clemson, which has won the past five ACC championships, had nine practices, Syracuse zero.

“It’s an unfair advantage, without a doubt, but we can’t control it,” he said. “Maybe the NCAA or the conference and Power 5 can get together and say we have to do something.

“It’s not Clemson’s fault because they got nine, based on their calendar and their weather maybe. It’s not Syracuse’s fault they have zero. If we all had known this was taking place, we would have started the week school started on the sixth of January.”

Although he insists on being just as “high-strung” at home as he is in the office, he seems to be enjoying going about his daily routine with his family nearby.

Two of his daughters, Arianna and Christina, are working from home while his son, Patrick, and youngest daughter, Isabella, attend virtual classes at Pitt and North Allegheny High School, respectively.

“Just being able to walk out and go into the kitchen and get a cup of coffee after a meeting, as opposed to walking by LaSala’s office,” he said, playfully jabbing associate athletic director Chris LaSala. “(Take a) three-minute family break, see what’s going on. Sit on back patio and make recruiting calls.

“I experienced a little bit more of that, instead of coming home at night and falling asleep and waking up the next day and doing the same thing.”