Week Three of training camp 2015 is upon us, and that means the Pitt football team has just one week left of training camp practices before moving into full-on in-season game prep next week.
Pat Narduzzi said Monday that Saturday's scrimmage was a pretty physical one, and while they will likely have some more live work this week, things probably won't match what happened on Saturday. So players who were looking to win a starting job - or a top backup role - needed to do so on Saturday, for the most part.
As such, Narduzzi said Monday that he more or less knows what the two-deep looks like, even if he isn't itching to reveal it.
"I feel like I have a pretty good idea."
So do we, and I think we've presented a pretty clear picture of what the two-deep looks like over the last two weeks.
So let's review.
Offense
Quarterback - Chad Voytik, Nate Peterman
Running back - James Conner, Chris James
Fullback - George Aston, Anthony RIppole
Tight end - JP Holtz, Scott Orndoff, Jaymar Parrish
Wide receiver - Tyler Boyd, Zach Challingsworth, Jester Weah
Wide receiver - Dontez Ford, Elijah Zeise
Left tackle - Adam Bisnowaty, Aaron Reese
Left guard - Dorian Johnson, John Guy
Center - Artie Rowell, Gabe Roberts
Right guard - Alex Officer, Mike Herndon
Right tackle - Alex Bookser, Brian O'Neill
Lots of notes to cover in that group. We'll start at the top.
Quarterback - No surprises there. Voytik will be the starter and Peterman will be his backup.
Running back - I suspect James will be listed as the backup behind Conner on the initial two-deep. James was limited earlier in camp but is working his way back. Even with him healthy, though, Qadree Ollisonand Rachid Ibrahim will both see lots of work. Freshman Darrin Hall is in the mix, too, but if the four upperclassmen are healthy, Pitt might not need him.
Fullback - I'm guessing about the backup, to be honest. But I am pretty sure Aston is the top fullback.
Tight end - I expect to see a lot of two-tight end sets, so Holtz and Orndoff will be together. But Parrish and Devon Edwards will get mixed in based on the situation.
Wide receiver - I think that's how the coaches will order it on the initial two-deep, although I'm not sure if they plan to list Boyd on the two-deep for the opener, since he will be suspended for that game. Without Boyd, I expect Challingsworth to start opposite Ford (assuming Pitt is in a two-receiver set). Zeise and Weah will play a lot, though, both in the opener and beyond.
Narduzzi pointed out Weah on Monday.
"Jester Weah has done a nice job. He had another good scrimmage and he has really stepped up and made some good plays. He has made some major improvements."
Offensive line - We all know there are a lot of caveats with the line, and they're all health-related. Bisnowaty and Johnson are locked in, but there is uncertainty from center to right tackle. If Rowell is healthy - and Narduzzi said he's not to the point of being concerned about anyone missing the opener - then he starts at center, Officer starts at right guard and Bookser is at right tackle.
But if Rowell is out, then the lineup looks like what we reported on Friday: Officer at center, Bookser at right guard and O'Neill at right tackle.
If it seems like a big jump for O'Neill to go from a 260-pound backup tight end to a 290-pound starting right tackle in less than three months, you're right: it's a huge jump. But Narduzzi likes what he has seen from the redshirt freshman.
"O'Neill has done a nice job, showed great athleticism out there on the field," Narduzzi said Monday. "He's a guy that is raw right now, that is just going to continue to get better, comparing him [from] game one to game six or seven. But he has really bought in and done a nice job at that tackle position."
Obviously the ideal situation is to have everyone healthy. If that isn't the case, then a line with Bookser and O'Neill is less than ideal but probably still passable - and with a great deal of potential to be better at midseason than it is on Sept. 5.
Continued in the next post
Pat Narduzzi said Monday that Saturday's scrimmage was a pretty physical one, and while they will likely have some more live work this week, things probably won't match what happened on Saturday. So players who were looking to win a starting job - or a top backup role - needed to do so on Saturday, for the most part.
As such, Narduzzi said Monday that he more or less knows what the two-deep looks like, even if he isn't itching to reveal it.
"I feel like I have a pretty good idea."
So do we, and I think we've presented a pretty clear picture of what the two-deep looks like over the last two weeks.
So let's review.
Offense
Quarterback - Chad Voytik, Nate Peterman
Running back - James Conner, Chris James
Fullback - George Aston, Anthony RIppole
Tight end - JP Holtz, Scott Orndoff, Jaymar Parrish
Wide receiver - Tyler Boyd, Zach Challingsworth, Jester Weah
Wide receiver - Dontez Ford, Elijah Zeise
Left tackle - Adam Bisnowaty, Aaron Reese
Left guard - Dorian Johnson, John Guy
Center - Artie Rowell, Gabe Roberts
Right guard - Alex Officer, Mike Herndon
Right tackle - Alex Bookser, Brian O'Neill
Lots of notes to cover in that group. We'll start at the top.
Quarterback - No surprises there. Voytik will be the starter and Peterman will be his backup.
Running back - I suspect James will be listed as the backup behind Conner on the initial two-deep. James was limited earlier in camp but is working his way back. Even with him healthy, though, Qadree Ollisonand Rachid Ibrahim will both see lots of work. Freshman Darrin Hall is in the mix, too, but if the four upperclassmen are healthy, Pitt might not need him.
Fullback - I'm guessing about the backup, to be honest. But I am pretty sure Aston is the top fullback.
Tight end - I expect to see a lot of two-tight end sets, so Holtz and Orndoff will be together. But Parrish and Devon Edwards will get mixed in based on the situation.
Wide receiver - I think that's how the coaches will order it on the initial two-deep, although I'm not sure if they plan to list Boyd on the two-deep for the opener, since he will be suspended for that game. Without Boyd, I expect Challingsworth to start opposite Ford (assuming Pitt is in a two-receiver set). Zeise and Weah will play a lot, though, both in the opener and beyond.
Narduzzi pointed out Weah on Monday.
"Jester Weah has done a nice job. He had another good scrimmage and he has really stepped up and made some good plays. He has made some major improvements."
Offensive line - We all know there are a lot of caveats with the line, and they're all health-related. Bisnowaty and Johnson are locked in, but there is uncertainty from center to right tackle. If Rowell is healthy - and Narduzzi said he's not to the point of being concerned about anyone missing the opener - then he starts at center, Officer starts at right guard and Bookser is at right tackle.
But if Rowell is out, then the lineup looks like what we reported on Friday: Officer at center, Bookser at right guard and O'Neill at right tackle.
If it seems like a big jump for O'Neill to go from a 260-pound backup tight end to a 290-pound starting right tackle in less than three months, you're right: it's a huge jump. But Narduzzi likes what he has seen from the redshirt freshman.
"O'Neill has done a nice job, showed great athleticism out there on the field," Narduzzi said Monday. "He's a guy that is raw right now, that is just going to continue to get better, comparing him [from] game one to game six or seven. But he has really bought in and done a nice job at that tackle position."
Obviously the ideal situation is to have everyone healthy. If that isn't the case, then a line with Bookser and O'Neill is less than ideal but probably still passable - and with a great deal of potential to be better at midseason than it is on Sept. 5.
Continued in the next post
