One of the more interesting developments in training camp has been the emergence of several fifth-year seniors who haven’t done a whole lot in the past.
- Like Nate Temple. Nobody had him on the bingo sheet for players who would get a lot of camp praise from the coaches, but now we’re heading through the final week of training camp and he’s penciled in as a starter at defensive end.
- Or Deandre Jules. Every time we talked about the need for a fourth defensive tackle to play in a rotation with Devin Danielson, David Green and Tyler Bentley, most of the conversation featured guys like Elliot Donald or Sean FitzSimmons or freshman Isaiah Neal. And while FitzSimmons, at a minimum from that group, will see playing time this year, it was Jules who swooped in from out of nowhere to seemingly earn a spot in the top four.
I can’t take credit for that line - swooped in from out of nowhere - because it was actually Jake Kradel who said it after today’s practice.
“We have three sixth-year guys inside - D. Green, Devin Danielson, Tyler Bentley - and then you have Jules. I mean, Jules came out of nowhere. I always knew he had potential and he was going to be good, but that dude is playing unreal football this camp. So I’m excited to see what he does.”
Players always praise each other; that’s nothing new. But there was some real sincerity in Kradel’s comments; when he says that Jules “came out of nowhere,” that’s notable to me since he’s basically confirming that Jules didn’t really make an impact in the past.
It seems like Jules has surprised a lot of people this year - players and coaches - and he should be in line for a lot of playing time.
- The other senior whose name has come up a decent amount in camp is Jason Collier. He’s a redshirt senior offensive lineman who never saw much playing time in recent years - 53 total offensive snaps in 2021 and 2022, according to Pro Football Focus - but Narduzzi said on Wednesday that Collier has had a “great camp.”
Collier looks like the top reserve at left guard behind Ryan Jacoby, so if a replacement is needed there or the coaches want to work some rotation on the line, Collier would appear to be at the top of the list to get on the field.
- All told, here are the seniors/redhsirt seniors/super seniors I see getting starting jobs this season:
QB Phil Jurkovec
RG Blake Zubovic
C Jake Kradel
LG Ryan Jacoby
LT Matt Goncalves
WR Bub Means
DE Dayon Hayes
DE Nate Temple
Both defensive tackle spots
LB Bangally Kamara
LB Shayne Simon
CB Marquis Williams
CB M.J. Devonshire
(I put both defensive tackle spots because while I don’t really know who will start, it’s a lock that they will be seniors.)
So Pitt will probably have at least 14 senior starters and possibly more if they start a fullback (Daniel Carter) or go to the depth at some positions (like Brandon George at linebacker).
I know that age and experience aren’t the most important qualities in a player, but I think we can all agree that it’s better to have experience than to not have it. And Pitt’s starting lineup this season will have a lot of it.
- On the flip side of that equation is Kenny Johnson, the freshman receiver who has been one of the team’s camp sensations. And I don’t think it’s just camp hype; watching Johnson on Wednesday, it’s clear that he’s physically ready to play and make plays.
But that’s nothing new. We’ve been saying that for a few weeks now. To me, the real question is just how far up the depth chart Johnson will climb. He’ll be a top-five receiver in the rotation, for sure, but could he climb to top-three? I’m starting to think that’s a possibility - not because of anything that was said about Johnson, but rather Narduzzi’s comments about another player on Wednesday:
Wide receiver Daejon Reynolds
“Daejon’s been, you know, quietly having a good camp. Just solid. Much better than he was in the spring. But every day he just gets a little bit better. He had a spring under his belt and he’s a big, physical receiver that’s done a nice job blocking down the field and he’ll go get the ball as well, so it will be fun to watch him this season.”
That’s not exactly emphatic praise. I do think that the word “quietly” seems to apply, since Reynolds really doesn’t seem to have a lot of buzz, either out of spring camp or training camp. And really, I think his profile from Florida was more of a possession receiver, based on his size and skill set. Narduzzi seemed to confirm that when he talked about Reynolds being “a big, physical receiver that’s done a nice job blocking down the field.” Admittedly, Narduzzi went on to say that Reynolds will “go get the ball as well,” but that comment wasn’t the first thing that came to mind for Narduzzi.
So Konata Mumpfield and Bub Means are the top two receivers, and we somewhat assumed Reynolds would fit in as No. 3. But with Narduzzi’s comments on Wednesday and the overall lack of strong reviews coming out of camp, maybe he’ll slot in further down the depth chart.
And if that happens, then Johnson seems like a natural to slide in as No. 3.
- Those were a few things that stood out to me in Wednesday's practice, and we'll have more end-of-camp wrap-up content over the next couple days.
- Like Nate Temple. Nobody had him on the bingo sheet for players who would get a lot of camp praise from the coaches, but now we’re heading through the final week of training camp and he’s penciled in as a starter at defensive end.
- Or Deandre Jules. Every time we talked about the need for a fourth defensive tackle to play in a rotation with Devin Danielson, David Green and Tyler Bentley, most of the conversation featured guys like Elliot Donald or Sean FitzSimmons or freshman Isaiah Neal. And while FitzSimmons, at a minimum from that group, will see playing time this year, it was Jules who swooped in from out of nowhere to seemingly earn a spot in the top four.
I can’t take credit for that line - swooped in from out of nowhere - because it was actually Jake Kradel who said it after today’s practice.
“We have three sixth-year guys inside - D. Green, Devin Danielson, Tyler Bentley - and then you have Jules. I mean, Jules came out of nowhere. I always knew he had potential and he was going to be good, but that dude is playing unreal football this camp. So I’m excited to see what he does.”
Players always praise each other; that’s nothing new. But there was some real sincerity in Kradel’s comments; when he says that Jules “came out of nowhere,” that’s notable to me since he’s basically confirming that Jules didn’t really make an impact in the past.
It seems like Jules has surprised a lot of people this year - players and coaches - and he should be in line for a lot of playing time.
- The other senior whose name has come up a decent amount in camp is Jason Collier. He’s a redshirt senior offensive lineman who never saw much playing time in recent years - 53 total offensive snaps in 2021 and 2022, according to Pro Football Focus - but Narduzzi said on Wednesday that Collier has had a “great camp.”
Collier looks like the top reserve at left guard behind Ryan Jacoby, so if a replacement is needed there or the coaches want to work some rotation on the line, Collier would appear to be at the top of the list to get on the field.
- All told, here are the seniors/redhsirt seniors/super seniors I see getting starting jobs this season:
QB Phil Jurkovec
RG Blake Zubovic
C Jake Kradel
LG Ryan Jacoby
LT Matt Goncalves
WR Bub Means
DE Dayon Hayes
DE Nate Temple
Both defensive tackle spots
LB Bangally Kamara
LB Shayne Simon
CB Marquis Williams
CB M.J. Devonshire
(I put both defensive tackle spots because while I don’t really know who will start, it’s a lock that they will be seniors.)
So Pitt will probably have at least 14 senior starters and possibly more if they start a fullback (Daniel Carter) or go to the depth at some positions (like Brandon George at linebacker).
I know that age and experience aren’t the most important qualities in a player, but I think we can all agree that it’s better to have experience than to not have it. And Pitt’s starting lineup this season will have a lot of it.
- On the flip side of that equation is Kenny Johnson, the freshman receiver who has been one of the team’s camp sensations. And I don’t think it’s just camp hype; watching Johnson on Wednesday, it’s clear that he’s physically ready to play and make plays.
But that’s nothing new. We’ve been saying that for a few weeks now. To me, the real question is just how far up the depth chart Johnson will climb. He’ll be a top-five receiver in the rotation, for sure, but could he climb to top-three? I’m starting to think that’s a possibility - not because of anything that was said about Johnson, but rather Narduzzi’s comments about another player on Wednesday:
Wide receiver Daejon Reynolds
“Daejon’s been, you know, quietly having a good camp. Just solid. Much better than he was in the spring. But every day he just gets a little bit better. He had a spring under his belt and he’s a big, physical receiver that’s done a nice job blocking down the field and he’ll go get the ball as well, so it will be fun to watch him this season.”
That’s not exactly emphatic praise. I do think that the word “quietly” seems to apply, since Reynolds really doesn’t seem to have a lot of buzz, either out of spring camp or training camp. And really, I think his profile from Florida was more of a possession receiver, based on his size and skill set. Narduzzi seemed to confirm that when he talked about Reynolds being “a big, physical receiver that’s done a nice job blocking down the field.” Admittedly, Narduzzi went on to say that Reynolds will “go get the ball as well,” but that comment wasn’t the first thing that came to mind for Narduzzi.
So Konata Mumpfield and Bub Means are the top two receivers, and we somewhat assumed Reynolds would fit in as No. 3. But with Narduzzi’s comments on Wednesday and the overall lack of strong reviews coming out of camp, maybe he’ll slot in further down the depth chart.
And if that happens, then Johnson seems like a natural to slide in as No. 3.
- Those were a few things that stood out to me in Wednesday's practice, and we'll have more end-of-camp wrap-up content over the next couple days.
