Thursday was practice No. 13 of training camp 2023, according to Pat Narduzzi - I’ve lost count myself - and here’s what stood out from the morning practice in the South Side.
- Let’s talk about the offensive line.
I think we had a pretty solid handle on the situation with the line heading into training camp, but there have been a few things we’ve noticed.
One is Matt Goncalves. I’m on record saying he’s the best lineman on the team, both in terms of talent and experience, and while he spent all of last season at right tackle, I think the coaches are giving him a long look at left tackle. Pat Narduzzi kind of dismissed the notion on Thursday morning when I asked him about it, although if you look at the language he used, I think it’s pretty clear what’s happening.
Matt Goncalves played at right tackle pretty much all last year; are you looking at him more on the left this year?
Narduzzi: We like him at both. We’re just kind of playing around. We don’t know if he’ll be left or right. We like him at both. He’s played both in the past. So we’ll kind of see.
To me, those are the words of a coach who is getting closer and closer to the regular season and starting to get more and more anxious about details like that being made public. I can only imagine what Narduzzi thought when he saw that Rashad Battle’s current state - wheeling around on a knee scooter due to an apparent injury - showed up on TV during the ACC Network broadcast Wednesday night; either way, that news is out there now.
- Back to the line, though, I think Goncalves could find a home at left tackle, which would move Branson Taylor and Ryan Baer to a battle on the right side. Baer still has the flexibility to play guard or tackle, so I think he’ll be something of a swing player at those spots and step in where he’s needed.
- Narduzzi mentioned Jason Collier as well on Thursday, saying the redshirt senior guard has “had a good camp,” so I’ll probably move him onto my projected two-deep as the backup left guard behind Ryan Jacoby, who seems like a natural fit to step into the starting job left vacant by Marcus Minor.
- My guess is Terrence Moore will be the backup to Jake Kradel at center, although it seems like Jacoby and Trey Andersen have both been getting work snapping, so they’re options as well. Jackson Brown could find himself in the mix for a backup job on the right side, too, along with Terrence Enos.
- The main guys, of course, are Goncalves, Kradel and Zubovic. To me, you can mix and match some combination of Taylor, Jacoby and Baer and get a really solid starting five - which we’ve kind of said all summer, even if we assumed that mixing and matching would happen largely on the left side - but Goncalves, Kradel and Zubovic are the key guys. You need them to stay healthy to keep the offensive line moving in the right direction.
- Watching the offensive line on Thursday morning, I was impressed by the look of the players. It’s a big group and they have some really athletic guys (for 300-pound linemen). They can move well, and I think there’s every reason to expect that group to pick up where they left off.
- They’re certainly providing a good challenge for a relatively young group of defensive linemen. The tackles aren’t necessarily young, of course; Devin Danielson, David Green and Tyler Bentley are all seniors who have played a lot. Deandre Jules is a senior, too, and if the comments from Randy Bates on Wednesday are any indication, he’s going to get a shot to put together his best season yet.
“Deandre has lost a bunch of weight - he’s still a monster, size-wise - and he has figured it out. He’s really hard to block and he’s way more athletic now, he’s moving as good as he’s ever moved, and he’ll play a lot of ball for us.”
Jules could fill out the rotation at defensive tackle and make the Panthers four-strong there, which is where Charlie Partridge would like to have it. But Pitt’s defensive line coach is lucky in that there are some promising younger players like Elliot Donald and Sean FitzSimmons - not to mention freshman Isaiah Neal - who will be ready to step in when they’re needed. The main rotation will probably be Danielson, Green, Bentley and Jules, but I expect to see those younger tackles on the field a decent amount this season.
- Whatever happens, I’ll be pulling for the all-Western Pennsylvania defensive line of Dayon Hayes and Nahki Johnson at end and Danielson and Green at tackle. Throw in Stephon Hall and Donovan McMillon at safety and M.J. Devonshire at cornerback and you could legitimately have seven of the 11 defensive players on the field hailing from the local region.
I’ll have to check the record books, but I don’t know if even Dave Wannstedt put that many local kids on the field together.
- We haven’t updated the “TAKEAWAYS” count in awhile, so here’s the latest. By my count, 20 defensive players have at least one “TAKEAWAY” sticker on their helmet, indicating they recorded a turnover in a team drill during camp. Safety Stephon Hall leads the way with four stickers, while cornerback M.J. Devonshire and linebacker Kyle Louis have three each. Defensive tackle Devin Danielson, linebackers Shayne Simon and Aydin Henningham and safety Donovan McMillon have two each.
- I think the thing that’s most remarkable to me is the linebackers. I count nine linebackers with a “TAKEAWAY” sticker this camp, and while I’ll have to check my notes to confirm, that seems like more than in previous camps. Louis has three (we’ve talked about him pushing for a spot in the rotation) and Simon and Henningham have two; Bangally Kamara, Rasheem Biles, Brandon George, Braylan Lovelace, Solomon DeShields and Dylan Bennett have each recorded one.
So you’ve got the top four guys (Simon, George, Kamara and DeShields) as well as two freshmen (Biles and Lovelace) and a top young reserve (Louis) all making plays in training camp. That seems like a good thing, and it furthers my thought that the linebackers are shaping up to be pretty good this season. I know I talk a lot about Kamara, but I think the group as as whole has a bright future.
- Let’s talk about the offensive line.
I think we had a pretty solid handle on the situation with the line heading into training camp, but there have been a few things we’ve noticed.
One is Matt Goncalves. I’m on record saying he’s the best lineman on the team, both in terms of talent and experience, and while he spent all of last season at right tackle, I think the coaches are giving him a long look at left tackle. Pat Narduzzi kind of dismissed the notion on Thursday morning when I asked him about it, although if you look at the language he used, I think it’s pretty clear what’s happening.
Matt Goncalves played at right tackle pretty much all last year; are you looking at him more on the left this year?
Narduzzi: We like him at both. We’re just kind of playing around. We don’t know if he’ll be left or right. We like him at both. He’s played both in the past. So we’ll kind of see.
To me, those are the words of a coach who is getting closer and closer to the regular season and starting to get more and more anxious about details like that being made public. I can only imagine what Narduzzi thought when he saw that Rashad Battle’s current state - wheeling around on a knee scooter due to an apparent injury - showed up on TV during the ACC Network broadcast Wednesday night; either way, that news is out there now.
- Back to the line, though, I think Goncalves could find a home at left tackle, which would move Branson Taylor and Ryan Baer to a battle on the right side. Baer still has the flexibility to play guard or tackle, so I think he’ll be something of a swing player at those spots and step in where he’s needed.
- Narduzzi mentioned Jason Collier as well on Thursday, saying the redshirt senior guard has “had a good camp,” so I’ll probably move him onto my projected two-deep as the backup left guard behind Ryan Jacoby, who seems like a natural fit to step into the starting job left vacant by Marcus Minor.
- My guess is Terrence Moore will be the backup to Jake Kradel at center, although it seems like Jacoby and Trey Andersen have both been getting work snapping, so they’re options as well. Jackson Brown could find himself in the mix for a backup job on the right side, too, along with Terrence Enos.
- The main guys, of course, are Goncalves, Kradel and Zubovic. To me, you can mix and match some combination of Taylor, Jacoby and Baer and get a really solid starting five - which we’ve kind of said all summer, even if we assumed that mixing and matching would happen largely on the left side - but Goncalves, Kradel and Zubovic are the key guys. You need them to stay healthy to keep the offensive line moving in the right direction.
- Watching the offensive line on Thursday morning, I was impressed by the look of the players. It’s a big group and they have some really athletic guys (for 300-pound linemen). They can move well, and I think there’s every reason to expect that group to pick up where they left off.
- They’re certainly providing a good challenge for a relatively young group of defensive linemen. The tackles aren’t necessarily young, of course; Devin Danielson, David Green and Tyler Bentley are all seniors who have played a lot. Deandre Jules is a senior, too, and if the comments from Randy Bates on Wednesday are any indication, he’s going to get a shot to put together his best season yet.
“Deandre has lost a bunch of weight - he’s still a monster, size-wise - and he has figured it out. He’s really hard to block and he’s way more athletic now, he’s moving as good as he’s ever moved, and he’ll play a lot of ball for us.”
Jules could fill out the rotation at defensive tackle and make the Panthers four-strong there, which is where Charlie Partridge would like to have it. But Pitt’s defensive line coach is lucky in that there are some promising younger players like Elliot Donald and Sean FitzSimmons - not to mention freshman Isaiah Neal - who will be ready to step in when they’re needed. The main rotation will probably be Danielson, Green, Bentley and Jules, but I expect to see those younger tackles on the field a decent amount this season.
- Whatever happens, I’ll be pulling for the all-Western Pennsylvania defensive line of Dayon Hayes and Nahki Johnson at end and Danielson and Green at tackle. Throw in Stephon Hall and Donovan McMillon at safety and M.J. Devonshire at cornerback and you could legitimately have seven of the 11 defensive players on the field hailing from the local region.
I’ll have to check the record books, but I don’t know if even Dave Wannstedt put that many local kids on the field together.
- We haven’t updated the “TAKEAWAYS” count in awhile, so here’s the latest. By my count, 20 defensive players have at least one “TAKEAWAY” sticker on their helmet, indicating they recorded a turnover in a team drill during camp. Safety Stephon Hall leads the way with four stickers, while cornerback M.J. Devonshire and linebacker Kyle Louis have three each. Defensive tackle Devin Danielson, linebackers Shayne Simon and Aydin Henningham and safety Donovan McMillon have two each.
- I think the thing that’s most remarkable to me is the linebackers. I count nine linebackers with a “TAKEAWAY” sticker this camp, and while I’ll have to check my notes to confirm, that seems like more than in previous camps. Louis has three (we’ve talked about him pushing for a spot in the rotation) and Simon and Henningham have two; Bangally Kamara, Rasheem Biles, Brandon George, Braylan Lovelace, Solomon DeShields and Dylan Bennett have each recorded one.
So you’ve got the top four guys (Simon, George, Kamara and DeShields) as well as two freshmen (Biles and Lovelace) and a top young reserve (Louis) all making plays in training camp. That seems like a good thing, and it furthers my thought that the linebackers are shaping up to be pretty good this season. I know I talk a lot about Kamara, but I think the group as as whole has a bright future.
