Well good morning, everybody.
Just got a chance to check out one of Pitt's 5:30 a.m. workout sessions that James Conner talked about on the radio the other day. It wasn't quite "football business" -- no passing or receiving drills, or anything involving use of a football, actually -- but intensity still seemed to be at a good level as the players went through their conditioning drills under new coach Pat Narduzzi. Here are some thoughts, observations and tidbits from the half-hour we were allowed to watch:
* As the players strolled into the training complex to the soothing sounds of Bon Jovi, Steppenwolf and Metallica, to name a few, it's no surprise the way Conner stood out among the others. He just has that look about him entering his junior season as a team leader who truly commands the field, even in a situation such as this. You always hear the rah-rah stuff about how he takes responsibility as a leader and how other players look to him, but when it's long before the crack of dawn on a Friday in February, you can really see those platitudes come to life.
* Conner was also one of several upperclassmen who seemed to be more or less the leaders of their position groups. Guys like Tyler Boyd, Chad Voytik, J.P. Holtz, Artie Rowell, KK Mosley-Smith, Darryl Render and Lafayette Pitts were always the first ones to go through calisthenic lines, demonstrate drills and things of that nature.
* From the coaching side of things, new strength and conditioning coach Dave Andrews was pretty much the man in charge early on, leading the stretches and warmup routines. But even with Andrews leading things, Narduzzi wasn't just standing around watching; after greeting the media, he was walking through the lines of players clapping, yelling, etc. Narduzzi was certainly chipper -- not that he could be anything less to set the tone for the rest of the team.
* After the players were sufficiently warmed up, Narduzzi gathered them for a few minutes to huddle up, then they broke into the most interesting portion of the morning: Some sort of offense vs. defense, 1-on-1 tug-of-war battles presided over by Narduzzi:
In the first go around, receiver Dontez Ford took down Pitts to notch a win for the offense and a set of up-downs for the defense.
Then, the offense won the second one, too...
And the last man up for the defense was Mosley-Smith. There didn't seem to be too many offensive guys itching to take on the 310-pound senior, but eventually redshirt freshman Alex Bookser stepped up. After an initial slip by Bookser, the young O-lineman won the battle against Mosley-Smith, lifting the offense to a tug-of-war sweep and leading to more groans and up-downs from the D.
* The tug of war certainly seemed to be more of a fun drill than anything too serious, but it was clear the offense took a lot of pride in winning it, especially Conner, who was celebrating like he just scored a fourth-quarter touchdown after Booker prevailed.
* From then on, the proceedings were considerably more businesslike. Agility drills, strength training, etc. Each position group participated in every drill, rotating every few minutes and sprinting to the next station when they were done.
I think that's pretty much it as far as relevant notes from the open portion of the workout. Narduzzi, Andrews and some players are expected to talk after they finish up and it'll be interesting to hear some of the strategy behind these very early sessions and what the team might be getting out of it.
Just got a chance to check out one of Pitt's 5:30 a.m. workout sessions that James Conner talked about on the radio the other day. It wasn't quite "football business" -- no passing or receiving drills, or anything involving use of a football, actually -- but intensity still seemed to be at a good level as the players went through their conditioning drills under new coach Pat Narduzzi. Here are some thoughts, observations and tidbits from the half-hour we were allowed to watch:
* As the players strolled into the training complex to the soothing sounds of Bon Jovi, Steppenwolf and Metallica, to name a few, it's no surprise the way Conner stood out among the others. He just has that look about him entering his junior season as a team leader who truly commands the field, even in a situation such as this. You always hear the rah-rah stuff about how he takes responsibility as a leader and how other players look to him, but when it's long before the crack of dawn on a Friday in February, you can really see those platitudes come to life.
* Conner was also one of several upperclassmen who seemed to be more or less the leaders of their position groups. Guys like Tyler Boyd, Chad Voytik, J.P. Holtz, Artie Rowell, KK Mosley-Smith, Darryl Render and Lafayette Pitts were always the first ones to go through calisthenic lines, demonstrate drills and things of that nature.
* From the coaching side of things, new strength and conditioning coach Dave Andrews was pretty much the man in charge early on, leading the stretches and warmup routines. But even with Andrews leading things, Narduzzi wasn't just standing around watching; after greeting the media, he was walking through the lines of players clapping, yelling, etc. Narduzzi was certainly chipper -- not that he could be anything less to set the tone for the rest of the team.
* After the players were sufficiently warmed up, Narduzzi gathered them for a few minutes to huddle up, then they broke into the most interesting portion of the morning: Some sort of offense vs. defense, 1-on-1 tug-of-war battles presided over by Narduzzi:
In the first go around, receiver Dontez Ford took down Pitts to notch a win for the offense and a set of up-downs for the defense.
Then, the offense won the second one, too...
And the last man up for the defense was Mosley-Smith. There didn't seem to be too many offensive guys itching to take on the 310-pound senior, but eventually redshirt freshman Alex Bookser stepped up. After an initial slip by Bookser, the young O-lineman won the battle against Mosley-Smith, lifting the offense to a tug-of-war sweep and leading to more groans and up-downs from the D.
* The tug of war certainly seemed to be more of a fun drill than anything too serious, but it was clear the offense took a lot of pride in winning it, especially Conner, who was celebrating like he just scored a fourth-quarter touchdown after Booker prevailed.
* From then on, the proceedings were considerably more businesslike. Agility drills, strength training, etc. Each position group participated in every drill, rotating every few minutes and sprinting to the next station when they were done.
I think that's pretty much it as far as relevant notes from the open portion of the workout. Narduzzi, Andrews and some players are expected to talk after they finish up and it'll be interesting to hear some of the strategy behind these very early sessions and what the team might be getting out of it.
