Young Pitt players learned hard, but valuable lessons in 2020

Many months and too many practices to count stand between Pitt football and the 2021 season, but perhaps a moment during the first game of 2020 kick-started the process.

Sophomore cornerback A.J. Woods earned a start for the opener against Austin Peay after senior Damarri Mathis had been lost for the season with an injury.

Early in the game at Heinz Field, Austin Peay connected on a 57-yard pass play. Woods was responsible.

The play had no impact on the outcome, only setting up the visitors for a missed field-goal attempt in a 55-0 loss. But it was a valuable lesson for the 19-year-old cornerback.

At that moment, a senior pulled Woods aside and assured him everything would be OK.

“When I first let up a deep ball, (senior safety) Damar Hamlin (said), ‘The worst that can happen has already happened. We’re good. We still got you,’ ” Woods said, recalling the moment Tuesday.

“It happens. It’s all a part of the position. Next play. As a young guy, you have to learn fast, take the good and the bad.”

Woods is one of several players eligible to return in 2021 when Pitt (5-5, 4-5 ACC) will try to atone for a disappointing season that is scheduled to end — if there’s no bowl invitation — Thursday at Georgia Tech.

A large senior class entered this season, but coach Pat Narduzzi said recently only 10 will be leaving.

He described it as a “fluid situation,” based on other seniors changing their minds and deciding to leave. But with the NCAA gifting every student-athlete with a free season of eligibility, as many as 11 Pitt seniors could return and be joined by 10 current redshirt juniors and 14 redshirt sophomores.

Almost all of them made contributions, even if only on special teams.

Maybe that’s good news. Or, perhaps, Pitt is still a top-20 recruiting class or two from returning to the ACC championship game.

Nonetheless, many underclassmen such as Woods played meaningful snaps this season.

One of those is redshirt freshman offensive lineman Matt Goncalves, who has played tackle, guard and center either in games or practice.

When covid-19 protocols forced starters Gabe Houy, Jake Kradel and Carter Warren to miss the past two games, Goncalves, Blake Zubovic and Carson Van Lynn stepped in to help Pitt defeat Virginia Tech on Nov. 21. The next game at Clemson didn’t go as well, but lessons still were there to be learned.

“These last couple weeks I think I’ve grown up a little bit and came through,” said Goncalves, who believes tackle might be his best position.

“It’s been a great two weeks. I’m starting to love every second of each day more and more. It’s sad to see our seniors leave. But we’ll be ready for next year, even better.”

Center Jimmy Morrissey and guard Bryce Hargrove are the only players among the top 10 offensive linemen who won’t be back. Coaches are hoping for marked improvement among all of them, but their past experiences will lay a good base for the start of spring drills (if they occur).

Several others on offense are due to return, including senior tight end Lucas Krull, a transfer from Florida who missed almost the entire season with an injury.

“I would say you can probably put his name in ink,” Narduzzi said.

Also, running back A.J. Davis and wide receivers Taysir Mack and Tre Tipton, who are seniors, have indicated to their coach they would like to return and compete for playing time with underclassmen Jordan Addison, Jaylon Barden, Jared Wayne and senior-to-be Shocky Jacques-Louis.

Addison leads the team in receptions (57) and yards receiving (652) and is third in the ACC in receptions per game (6.3). Only two freshmen in Pitt history — NFL stars Tyler Boyd and Larry Fitzgerald — caught more passes in a season than Addison.

Woods is part of a secondary that must compensate for the losses of Hamlin, Paris Ford, a junior who opted out after seven games, and cornerback Jason Pinnock.

Mathis might be back, but Woods, safeties Erick Hallett and Brandon Hill, and cornerbacks Rashad Battle and Marquis Williams, who started seven games and intercepted two passes, plan to be in the mix.

The losses of Patrick Jones II and Rashad Weaver, two of the nation’s best ends, will hurt, but line coach Charlie Partridge made sure younger players such as Deslin Alexandre, John Morgan and Habakkuk Baldonado received meaningful playing time.

And at linebacker, sophomore SirVocea Dennis made only two starts, but he is tied for second in the ACC with 14 tackles for a loss (a half-tackle behind Weaver). Only Hamlin and Dennis had more overall tackles than linebacker Cam Bright, who will be a senior.

Dennis and Woods are members of the 2019 recruiting class that is highly regarded by the coaching staff.

“I see a bright future for our class and the class below us to really take over,” Woods said.

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