Another day, another practice for the Pitt football team in the South Side on Thursday, as Week Two of training camp moves closer to its conclusion. And the conclusion of Week Two means the start of Week Three, aka the final week of training camp.
The coaches are breaking it up a little with some early prep work for the season opener against Youngstown State. They actually started working with the team on that prep work Wednesday, and there will be some periods next week when they work on Georgia Tech.
I don't think the coaches are trying to give the players a break from the grind; I think it's normal to start game prep around this time. But the main point is that we've reached a certain point in camp, and the end is in sight for the players and coaches.
As such, the list of position battles that are still up in the air is pretty short. Jim Chaney has said Chad Voytik is the starting quarterback - check out more from Chaney on today's Panther-Lair Show; he and I covered all the bases on offense - and most of the offense is set, once it gets healthy.
The health questions are the big questions on the offense and, more specifically, the offensive line. WithArtie Rowell and Alex Bookser limited, the line is in a bit of flux; Alex Officer is working at center, Mike Herndon is on the first team at right guard and Brian O'Neill is at right tackle.
"They're doing good," Pat Narduzzi said Thursday. "They're getting reps, which is what happens in camp. It's the next-man-up method…those guys are waiting for those opportunities. I don't think they're begging for them and praying for them, but there are opportunities to show what they've got."
Those opportunities are nice, but Pitt needs Bookser and Rowell back. The offensive line depth was tested by the loss of Jaryd Jones-Smith, but it had the depth to absorb that loss.
That one.
More losses would be tough to weather, and that's the case right now. Fortunately for Pitt, there's a decent amount of time prior to the season opener. But the sooner they can get Rowell and Bookser - who are certainly among the five best linemen - the better. The offensive line is supposed to be a strength of the team this season - but the depth is finite, and the experienced depth is even more so.
Losing three projected starters for any amount of time would be a blow to just about any team. Pitt's no different.
Numbers on the DL
On the other side of the line, things are mostly coming into shape as they have for the past week and a half.
"You'd like to have four guys at each spot; you're lucky if you can have five," Narduzzi said. "I think we have five guys inside, probably four outside, from what I've seen so far. The more, the merrier. Especially versus some fast-tempo offenses that you may see, you'd like to keep guys fresh."
To that end, I think the players Narduzzi is referencing probably aren't much of a surprise: Darryl Render(who didn't practice Wednesday; Narduzzi said Render "will be fine"), Khaynin Mosley-Smith andTyrique Jarrett are all at the top of the list at defensive tackle - Narduzzi said those three "are all starters at this point" - with Mark Scarpinato and, from what I can gather, Jeremiah Taleni behind those three.
At defensive end, there are three guys at the top again: Ejuan Price, Rori Blair and Shakir Soto, and I think the fourth end is Allen Edwards. I think James Folston will be in the mix to provide a fifth end for reserve duties and to give the top guys a breather (he'll probably play more in the opener when Blair is suspended).
But Pitt probably won't go beyond that group. The other players just don't seem to be showing much.
Catching passes
I think we've discussed the receivers a number of times, and I think we've got a solid idea of what to expect this season from that group. Tyler Boyd and Dontez Ford will start, with Elijah Zeise, Zach Challingsworth and Jester Weah behind them.
Challingsworth has been limited recently, so Zeise has been the top guy behind Boyd and Ford, and Weah has been behind him. Freshmen Quadree Henderson and Tre Tipton are also in the mix.
We know the word with the receiver corps is "unproven" since everyone other than Boyd has combined for about five career catches. But there's good potential in the group. Zeise and Challingsworth are good players who will be very reliable with a sneaky potential to make plays. Weah's athleticism/speed has been well-documented. And the freshmen are showing some very positive signs, especially if they can grasp the offense enough to be useful on the field.
Throw in the tight ends - we all know what JP Holtz and Scott Orndoff can do - and the running backs - who should catch more passes this season - and all the ingredients are there for the offense to be as productive as most of us expect it to be.
Just gotta get that offensive line settled…
The coaches are breaking it up a little with some early prep work for the season opener against Youngstown State. They actually started working with the team on that prep work Wednesday, and there will be some periods next week when they work on Georgia Tech.
I don't think the coaches are trying to give the players a break from the grind; I think it's normal to start game prep around this time. But the main point is that we've reached a certain point in camp, and the end is in sight for the players and coaches.
As such, the list of position battles that are still up in the air is pretty short. Jim Chaney has said Chad Voytik is the starting quarterback - check out more from Chaney on today's Panther-Lair Show; he and I covered all the bases on offense - and most of the offense is set, once it gets healthy.
The health questions are the big questions on the offense and, more specifically, the offensive line. WithArtie Rowell and Alex Bookser limited, the line is in a bit of flux; Alex Officer is working at center, Mike Herndon is on the first team at right guard and Brian O'Neill is at right tackle.
"They're doing good," Pat Narduzzi said Thursday. "They're getting reps, which is what happens in camp. It's the next-man-up method…those guys are waiting for those opportunities. I don't think they're begging for them and praying for them, but there are opportunities to show what they've got."
Those opportunities are nice, but Pitt needs Bookser and Rowell back. The offensive line depth was tested by the loss of Jaryd Jones-Smith, but it had the depth to absorb that loss.
That one.
More losses would be tough to weather, and that's the case right now. Fortunately for Pitt, there's a decent amount of time prior to the season opener. But the sooner they can get Rowell and Bookser - who are certainly among the five best linemen - the better. The offensive line is supposed to be a strength of the team this season - but the depth is finite, and the experienced depth is even more so.
Losing three projected starters for any amount of time would be a blow to just about any team. Pitt's no different.
Numbers on the DL
On the other side of the line, things are mostly coming into shape as they have for the past week and a half.
"You'd like to have four guys at each spot; you're lucky if you can have five," Narduzzi said. "I think we have five guys inside, probably four outside, from what I've seen so far. The more, the merrier. Especially versus some fast-tempo offenses that you may see, you'd like to keep guys fresh."
To that end, I think the players Narduzzi is referencing probably aren't much of a surprise: Darryl Render(who didn't practice Wednesday; Narduzzi said Render "will be fine"), Khaynin Mosley-Smith andTyrique Jarrett are all at the top of the list at defensive tackle - Narduzzi said those three "are all starters at this point" - with Mark Scarpinato and, from what I can gather, Jeremiah Taleni behind those three.
At defensive end, there are three guys at the top again: Ejuan Price, Rori Blair and Shakir Soto, and I think the fourth end is Allen Edwards. I think James Folston will be in the mix to provide a fifth end for reserve duties and to give the top guys a breather (he'll probably play more in the opener when Blair is suspended).
But Pitt probably won't go beyond that group. The other players just don't seem to be showing much.
Catching passes
I think we've discussed the receivers a number of times, and I think we've got a solid idea of what to expect this season from that group. Tyler Boyd and Dontez Ford will start, with Elijah Zeise, Zach Challingsworth and Jester Weah behind them.
Challingsworth has been limited recently, so Zeise has been the top guy behind Boyd and Ford, and Weah has been behind him. Freshmen Quadree Henderson and Tre Tipton are also in the mix.
We know the word with the receiver corps is "unproven" since everyone other than Boyd has combined for about five career catches. But there's good potential in the group. Zeise and Challingsworth are good players who will be very reliable with a sneaky potential to make plays. Weah's athleticism/speed has been well-documented. And the freshmen are showing some very positive signs, especially if they can grasp the offense enough to be useful on the field.
Throw in the tight ends - we all know what JP Holtz and Scott Orndoff can do - and the running backs - who should catch more passes this season - and all the ingredients are there for the offense to be as productive as most of us expect it to be.
Just gotta get that offensive line settled…
