Here are a few items from today's morning practice:
- I'm hearing some good things on Pitt's quarterbacks lately. Max Browne still seems to be the leader in the clubhouse and that's the expectation heading into the season, but things appear to be developing behind him.
I mentioned before that I thought Ben DiNucci was the top backup right now behind Browne with Thomas MacVittie splitting some of those second-team reps. Quite frankly, that was a bit of a surprise because, based on a number of things, I expected MacVittie to be the No. 2 quarterback.
Well, it looks like that's the case. From what I've heard, MacVittie is in line to be the backup, taking more of the second-team reps than DiNucci and getting the kind of work that a No. 2 gets. And it sounds like he's doing well with that work - maybe not well enough to unseat Browne, but well enough to lay the foundation for the future.
- I've also heard some favorable reviews of Kenny Pickett, with some people I trust saying his future looks pretty bright. So there could be some interesting competitions next year with Pickett and MacVittie.
- Either way, it seems like Pitt is finally stabilizing that position a little bit. They’ll need to do well again this year to really build it into something that can have some longevity, but the pieces are coming together.
- There are always positions in the spring that come with the caveat of “Wait until the summer and the new recruits get here.” Of course, we said that a lot last year about the defensive backs, and the corners ended up being all returning players all season save for a few unremarkable appearances by Damar Hamlin.
But the position that is getting a lot of the “Wait until summer” treatment this year is running back. There are two returning players in Qadree Ollison and Chawntez Moss (plus Darrin Hall, who is out with an injury) but the incoming freshmen, Todd Sibley and AJ Davis, are on everyone’s minds. Running backs coach Andre Powell acknowledged that on Tuesday, and it sounds like he’s looking forward to the arrivals of Sibley and Moss as much as anyone. He likes what he has in Ollison and Moss, but it seems like he’s excited to get those newcomers in.
- For the time being, Moss and Ollison are in a pretty tight race. Powell said Tuesday that Ollison had been ahead for most of spring but Moss caught up to him - and possibly passed him - on Tuesday. I still think the coaches are looking for more from Ollison than they have gotten in the last two-plus years.
- Something else I’ve been meaning to mention: I don’t know if you’ve ever been inside Pitt’s indoor practice facility - which the team shares with the Steelers - but to be as descriptive as I can, it is a big empty warehouse with a turf field.
That’s really it. There’s not much to it in terms of character or signs of life; just a big empty warehouse. And really, that’s fine if all you do is practice football in there, so for the Steelers, there’s not much need to do anything more.
But Pitt needs more. Pitt needs the building to be a little more interesting because it’s not just a practice field; it - like everything else - is a recruiting tool. So, to that end, they are upgrading the indoor facility. Nothing is changing structurally, but walls will soon be adorned with plenty of things to hammer home the point that Pitt practices there. The bulk of the decorations will be large banners commemorating Pitt’s various major award winners, as well as some larger hangings with Pitt logos and even some with Steelers logos.
Like I said, I don’t think the Steelers care about this one way or the other. But Pitt does, and so things will be improved a bit in the indoor. Which, quite frankly, is long overdue (much like the improvements to the office facilities were long overdue).
- I'm hearing some good things on Pitt's quarterbacks lately. Max Browne still seems to be the leader in the clubhouse and that's the expectation heading into the season, but things appear to be developing behind him.
I mentioned before that I thought Ben DiNucci was the top backup right now behind Browne with Thomas MacVittie splitting some of those second-team reps. Quite frankly, that was a bit of a surprise because, based on a number of things, I expected MacVittie to be the No. 2 quarterback.
Well, it looks like that's the case. From what I've heard, MacVittie is in line to be the backup, taking more of the second-team reps than DiNucci and getting the kind of work that a No. 2 gets. And it sounds like he's doing well with that work - maybe not well enough to unseat Browne, but well enough to lay the foundation for the future.
- I've also heard some favorable reviews of Kenny Pickett, with some people I trust saying his future looks pretty bright. So there could be some interesting competitions next year with Pickett and MacVittie.
- Either way, it seems like Pitt is finally stabilizing that position a little bit. They’ll need to do well again this year to really build it into something that can have some longevity, but the pieces are coming together.
- There are always positions in the spring that come with the caveat of “Wait until the summer and the new recruits get here.” Of course, we said that a lot last year about the defensive backs, and the corners ended up being all returning players all season save for a few unremarkable appearances by Damar Hamlin.
But the position that is getting a lot of the “Wait until summer” treatment this year is running back. There are two returning players in Qadree Ollison and Chawntez Moss (plus Darrin Hall, who is out with an injury) but the incoming freshmen, Todd Sibley and AJ Davis, are on everyone’s minds. Running backs coach Andre Powell acknowledged that on Tuesday, and it sounds like he’s looking forward to the arrivals of Sibley and Moss as much as anyone. He likes what he has in Ollison and Moss, but it seems like he’s excited to get those newcomers in.
- For the time being, Moss and Ollison are in a pretty tight race. Powell said Tuesday that Ollison had been ahead for most of spring but Moss caught up to him - and possibly passed him - on Tuesday. I still think the coaches are looking for more from Ollison than they have gotten in the last two-plus years.
- Something else I’ve been meaning to mention: I don’t know if you’ve ever been inside Pitt’s indoor practice facility - which the team shares with the Steelers - but to be as descriptive as I can, it is a big empty warehouse with a turf field.
That’s really it. There’s not much to it in terms of character or signs of life; just a big empty warehouse. And really, that’s fine if all you do is practice football in there, so for the Steelers, there’s not much need to do anything more.
But Pitt needs more. Pitt needs the building to be a little more interesting because it’s not just a practice field; it - like everything else - is a recruiting tool. So, to that end, they are upgrading the indoor facility. Nothing is changing structurally, but walls will soon be adorned with plenty of things to hammer home the point that Pitt practices there. The bulk of the decorations will be large banners commemorating Pitt’s various major award winners, as well as some larger hangings with Pitt logos and even some with Steelers logos.
Like I said, I don’t think the Steelers care about this one way or the other. But Pitt does, and so things will be improved a bit in the indoor. Which, quite frankly, is long overdue (much like the improvements to the office facilities were long overdue).
