Practice No. 2 of training camp 2018 was brighter than the first session, as Pitt was in the South Side sun Saturday morning for the second workout.
Per NCAA rules, the players can’t wear pads during the first two practices, so they’ve got shorts, jerseys and helmets. Starting with Sunday’s practice - the third day of camp - they can put on shoulder pads for two practices and then don the full pads Tuesday.
This is all part of the NCAA’s acclimation, and it has to be a frustrating time for the players (it certainly is for the coaches, who reserve a lot of judgment, particularly on the linemen, until they have full pads on). But Pat Narduzzi said before Saturday’s practice that the simple act of putting on a helmet can get the juices flowing for some players.
Among those who seemed to get fired up for the opportunity was Will Gragg, the redshirt junior tight end who joined Pitt this summer as a grad transfer from Arkansas. Narduzzi and company had watched Gragg’s film and saw him in summer conditioning workouts, but actually getting him on the field was eye-opening.
“The one thing that stood out about Will Gragg was just his route-running; I mean, the guy can push the field and it’s different from maybe some of the other guys,” Narduzzi said. “So I really think, off what I saw day one, that he’s going to really help us in the passing game.”
Getting another pass-catching option at tight end should be beneficial to the Panthers’ offense this season. The tight ends and H-backs combined to catch just 34 passes for 292 yards and one touchdown; for comparison, those two positions - which have enough overlap to combine their stats - put up 57 receptions for 748 yards and 15 touchdowns the previous season.
Granted, those 2016 stats were produced by Scott Orndoff and George Aston, while 2017’s numbers came from Matt Flanagan, Chris Clark and Tyler Sear. The return of Aston this season should help things, but the tight ends themselves have to produce this season.
Gragg should help in that regard. What will be interesting to watch is how much he is integrated into the vertical passing game. Narduzzi seemed to emphasize that, and it could be a unique element that hasn’t been present in a long time (since Dorin Dickerson in 2009?).
- When it comes to catching passes, Pitt obviously needs a few players to step up at receiver. Narduzzi wouldn’t name names on who he was expecting to be an impact player this season, but there are certainly plenty of candidates.
One thing that stood out to me on Saturday morning was that the receivers just don’t have a lot of size. Aaron Mathews is the tallest, of course, since he’s one of the tallest players on the team. And we’ve seen him getting first-team reps with Tre Tipton on the other end and Rafael Araujo-Lopes in the slot. But Mathews doesn’t have the speed to stretch the field, so his size maybe isn’t as effective as it could be.
Tipton is taller than short, but he’s still pretty slight and lacks the size/power combination that made Jester Weah so effective (Weah’s speed helped, too, of course). Maurice Ffrench looks like he has bulked up considerably this offseason, but he’s still not the tallest guy. Darian Street is built more or less like Tipton. Michael Smith has more bulk than Tipton or Street and is right around the same height.
So there are a lot of guys in the 5’11”-6’1” range, but not much outside of that. And unfortunately, that’s not something that will develop over the course of the season. Guys can become better route-runners and more sure-handed and break out as playmakers, but nobody’s going to emerge as a tall receiver; you’re either tall or you’re not, and right now, Pitt doesn’t have much in the former category.
That’s not the end of the world, but having some size would help.
- Speaking of players on offense, yes, Paris Ford took some snaps there again on Saturday. I’ll suspect we’ll see something like that every day in camp and people will talk about it every day in camp.
Why is Pitt being so open and showing this during the open media window when history would indicate it’s the kind of thing that would be kept very, very quiet? Probably because they already did it in the spring game, so it’s out there that Ford could play some snaps on offense.
We’ll see what comes of it.
- I do think Ford will be in the mix on special teams as a returner. Ford, Shocky Jacques-Louis, Rafael Araujo-Lopes and V’Lique Carter were catching punts on Saturday, and Jason Pinnock and Maurice Ffrench have also taken some reps catching kicks in the last two practices.
Envisioning those guys returning kicks and then also watching some other drills during Saturday’s practice, it occurred to me that this team does have some potential playmakers. Those players I mentioned as catching punts can be dynamic with the ball in their hands.
- Elsewhere on Saturday, the offensive line looked like it did Friday, with Stefano Millin, Connor Dintino, Jimmy Morrissey, Mike Herndon and Alex Bookser on the first team and Gabe Houy, Brandon Ford, Owen Drexel, Chase Brown and Bryce Hargrove (plus Jerry Drake) on the second team.
- Across the line, I grow more and more intrigued by Jaylen Twyman each day. As we’ve discussed how much he weighs - he’s listed at 300 pounds, which is the heaviest among the defensive tackles - I’ve noticed that the kid is really put together, rock solid from top to bottom. The offseason conditioning program seems to have been very good to him, and he should be on the list of players to watch this season.
Per NCAA rules, the players can’t wear pads during the first two practices, so they’ve got shorts, jerseys and helmets. Starting with Sunday’s practice - the third day of camp - they can put on shoulder pads for two practices and then don the full pads Tuesday.
This is all part of the NCAA’s acclimation, and it has to be a frustrating time for the players (it certainly is for the coaches, who reserve a lot of judgment, particularly on the linemen, until they have full pads on). But Pat Narduzzi said before Saturday’s practice that the simple act of putting on a helmet can get the juices flowing for some players.
Among those who seemed to get fired up for the opportunity was Will Gragg, the redshirt junior tight end who joined Pitt this summer as a grad transfer from Arkansas. Narduzzi and company had watched Gragg’s film and saw him in summer conditioning workouts, but actually getting him on the field was eye-opening.
“The one thing that stood out about Will Gragg was just his route-running; I mean, the guy can push the field and it’s different from maybe some of the other guys,” Narduzzi said. “So I really think, off what I saw day one, that he’s going to really help us in the passing game.”
Getting another pass-catching option at tight end should be beneficial to the Panthers’ offense this season. The tight ends and H-backs combined to catch just 34 passes for 292 yards and one touchdown; for comparison, those two positions - which have enough overlap to combine their stats - put up 57 receptions for 748 yards and 15 touchdowns the previous season.
Granted, those 2016 stats were produced by Scott Orndoff and George Aston, while 2017’s numbers came from Matt Flanagan, Chris Clark and Tyler Sear. The return of Aston this season should help things, but the tight ends themselves have to produce this season.
Gragg should help in that regard. What will be interesting to watch is how much he is integrated into the vertical passing game. Narduzzi seemed to emphasize that, and it could be a unique element that hasn’t been present in a long time (since Dorin Dickerson in 2009?).
- When it comes to catching passes, Pitt obviously needs a few players to step up at receiver. Narduzzi wouldn’t name names on who he was expecting to be an impact player this season, but there are certainly plenty of candidates.
One thing that stood out to me on Saturday morning was that the receivers just don’t have a lot of size. Aaron Mathews is the tallest, of course, since he’s one of the tallest players on the team. And we’ve seen him getting first-team reps with Tre Tipton on the other end and Rafael Araujo-Lopes in the slot. But Mathews doesn’t have the speed to stretch the field, so his size maybe isn’t as effective as it could be.
Tipton is taller than short, but he’s still pretty slight and lacks the size/power combination that made Jester Weah so effective (Weah’s speed helped, too, of course). Maurice Ffrench looks like he has bulked up considerably this offseason, but he’s still not the tallest guy. Darian Street is built more or less like Tipton. Michael Smith has more bulk than Tipton or Street and is right around the same height.
So there are a lot of guys in the 5’11”-6’1” range, but not much outside of that. And unfortunately, that’s not something that will develop over the course of the season. Guys can become better route-runners and more sure-handed and break out as playmakers, but nobody’s going to emerge as a tall receiver; you’re either tall or you’re not, and right now, Pitt doesn’t have much in the former category.
That’s not the end of the world, but having some size would help.
- Speaking of players on offense, yes, Paris Ford took some snaps there again on Saturday. I’ll suspect we’ll see something like that every day in camp and people will talk about it every day in camp.
Why is Pitt being so open and showing this during the open media window when history would indicate it’s the kind of thing that would be kept very, very quiet? Probably because they already did it in the spring game, so it’s out there that Ford could play some snaps on offense.
We’ll see what comes of it.
- I do think Ford will be in the mix on special teams as a returner. Ford, Shocky Jacques-Louis, Rafael Araujo-Lopes and V’Lique Carter were catching punts on Saturday, and Jason Pinnock and Maurice Ffrench have also taken some reps catching kicks in the last two practices.
Envisioning those guys returning kicks and then also watching some other drills during Saturday’s practice, it occurred to me that this team does have some potential playmakers. Those players I mentioned as catching punts can be dynamic with the ball in their hands.
- Elsewhere on Saturday, the offensive line looked like it did Friday, with Stefano Millin, Connor Dintino, Jimmy Morrissey, Mike Herndon and Alex Bookser on the first team and Gabe Houy, Brandon Ford, Owen Drexel, Chase Brown and Bryce Hargrove (plus Jerry Drake) on the second team.
- Across the line, I grow more and more intrigued by Jaylen Twyman each day. As we’ve discussed how much he weighs - he’s listed at 300 pounds, which is the heaviest among the defensive tackles - I’ve noticed that the kid is really put together, rock solid from top to bottom. The offseason conditioning program seems to have been very good to him, and he should be on the list of players to watch this season.
