As Pitt moves toward the end of week two of spring camp 2018, it occurs to me that I haven’t said too much about the new coaches. After observing them for the better part of two weeks, a few things stick out:
- Randy Bates seems to be embracing his role as defensive coordinator, having moved into that position after spending the bulk of his career as a linebackers coach (including the last 12 seasons at Northwestern). He’s all over the field during practice, moving from the defensive line to the linebackers and the defensive backs, stressing attention to details and making his presence felt while not overstepping the position coaches.
Pat Narduzzi is somewhat similar in how he moves during practice, going from drill to drill and position to position to look in and offer guidance when needed.
- Dave Borbely is a classic offensive line coach: right in the middle of the linemen, barking out commands that range from general motivation to specific, technical instructions.
- The new secondary coaches, Archie Collins and Cory Sanders, work in tandem, at least during the periods of practice that we get to watch. Sanders seems to focus more on the safeties, as his job title, with Collins working with the corners and the group as a whole.
Both guys are about what you would want coaching the defensive backs: younger, energetic coaches who, as Collins said in the first week of camp, look for “juice” from the players and have the attitude to bring it out.
- Interestingly, Pitt’s three coaching departures this offseason - defensive coordinator Josh Conklin, offensive line coach John Peterson and defensive backs coach Renaldo Hill - were probably the three quietest coaches on the staff. That’s not necessarily a bad thing; it’s just an observation. From what I’ve seen so far, Borbely is consistently louder than Peterson, Bates is consistently louder than Conklin and the same for the defensive backs coaches (although those guys aren’t quite as loud as Borbely and Bates).
- As we’ve said for awhile, time will tell on these new hires. Bates is obviously operating under the unique conditions of being Pat Narduzzi’s defensive coordinator, but the performance of the defense will still fall on him. The verdict on Borbely will be determined in a few years when the line is either successful with the current young players leading the way or struggling with those same players in prominent positions.
As for the secondary, Hill gets a lot of credit for the development of Dane Jackson; Collins will have to pick up that trend and keep Jackson improving while also getting the younger corners - probably Jason Pinnock - ready for a starting role this season.
- On offense, I haven’t really talked about the tight ends much yet. I think there’s a lot of potential in that group: they’re all big-bodied athletes with decent-to-good hands. There are just a few factors that make the position a question mark.
For one, there’s inexperience; not many in the group have seen the field for a considerable amount of time. That can lead to inconsistency, especially if Charles Reeves, who redshirted last season, and Tyler Sear, who played sparingly, are thrust into prominent roles.
The other is the question mark at quarterback. We all expect Kenny Pickett to be good, but it can take some time for him to get comfortable with the speed of the game. Tight ends should be safety nets and solid check-down options, especially for a young quarterback, but that’s only viable if the tight ends are consistent, which brings us back to the inexperience of the group.
When Scott Orndoff was Pitt’s second-leading receiver in 2016, everything was in perfect alignment: he was a senior with lots of experience and he had a quarterback who was also a senior with lots of experience. The result was 35 catches for 579 yards and five touchdowns. Last season, the tight ends combined for 34 catches, 282 yards and one touchdown (plus Nate Bossory’s trick-play TD at Virginia Tech).
And those numbers came with quarterback issues that should have made the tight end a higher priority in the passing game - again, as a safety net. But it didn’t happen. Maybe that’s on the quarterback and maybe that’s on the tight ends. Either way, I think both positions should be better this season.
- Not much else stood out on Thursday morning. The coaches seem to be sticking with the same groups on the offensive line, although I’m sure they rotate during team periods later in practice. Similarly, I think they’re continuing to experiment with the linebackers and safeties, trying different groups to see what works best.
I do get the impression that Jason Pinnock has pulled ahead as a top-two corner opposite Dane Jackson. What will be interesting this season is watching to see if the coaches use a rotation at cornerback; Damarri Mathis and Paris Ford have high upsides and Phillipie Motley is an upperclassman, so even if they don’t start, I could see one or two of those guys getting on the field in a regular spot.
- One recruit was at practice Thursday morning: Shady Side Academy athlete Dino Tomlin.
- Randy Bates seems to be embracing his role as defensive coordinator, having moved into that position after spending the bulk of his career as a linebackers coach (including the last 12 seasons at Northwestern). He’s all over the field during practice, moving from the defensive line to the linebackers and the defensive backs, stressing attention to details and making his presence felt while not overstepping the position coaches.
Pat Narduzzi is somewhat similar in how he moves during practice, going from drill to drill and position to position to look in and offer guidance when needed.
- Dave Borbely is a classic offensive line coach: right in the middle of the linemen, barking out commands that range from general motivation to specific, technical instructions.
- The new secondary coaches, Archie Collins and Cory Sanders, work in tandem, at least during the periods of practice that we get to watch. Sanders seems to focus more on the safeties, as his job title, with Collins working with the corners and the group as a whole.
Both guys are about what you would want coaching the defensive backs: younger, energetic coaches who, as Collins said in the first week of camp, look for “juice” from the players and have the attitude to bring it out.
- Interestingly, Pitt’s three coaching departures this offseason - defensive coordinator Josh Conklin, offensive line coach John Peterson and defensive backs coach Renaldo Hill - were probably the three quietest coaches on the staff. That’s not necessarily a bad thing; it’s just an observation. From what I’ve seen so far, Borbely is consistently louder than Peterson, Bates is consistently louder than Conklin and the same for the defensive backs coaches (although those guys aren’t quite as loud as Borbely and Bates).
- As we’ve said for awhile, time will tell on these new hires. Bates is obviously operating under the unique conditions of being Pat Narduzzi’s defensive coordinator, but the performance of the defense will still fall on him. The verdict on Borbely will be determined in a few years when the line is either successful with the current young players leading the way or struggling with those same players in prominent positions.
As for the secondary, Hill gets a lot of credit for the development of Dane Jackson; Collins will have to pick up that trend and keep Jackson improving while also getting the younger corners - probably Jason Pinnock - ready for a starting role this season.
- On offense, I haven’t really talked about the tight ends much yet. I think there’s a lot of potential in that group: they’re all big-bodied athletes with decent-to-good hands. There are just a few factors that make the position a question mark.
For one, there’s inexperience; not many in the group have seen the field for a considerable amount of time. That can lead to inconsistency, especially if Charles Reeves, who redshirted last season, and Tyler Sear, who played sparingly, are thrust into prominent roles.
The other is the question mark at quarterback. We all expect Kenny Pickett to be good, but it can take some time for him to get comfortable with the speed of the game. Tight ends should be safety nets and solid check-down options, especially for a young quarterback, but that’s only viable if the tight ends are consistent, which brings us back to the inexperience of the group.
When Scott Orndoff was Pitt’s second-leading receiver in 2016, everything was in perfect alignment: he was a senior with lots of experience and he had a quarterback who was also a senior with lots of experience. The result was 35 catches for 579 yards and five touchdowns. Last season, the tight ends combined for 34 catches, 282 yards and one touchdown (plus Nate Bossory’s trick-play TD at Virginia Tech).
And those numbers came with quarterback issues that should have made the tight end a higher priority in the passing game - again, as a safety net. But it didn’t happen. Maybe that’s on the quarterback and maybe that’s on the tight ends. Either way, I think both positions should be better this season.
- Not much else stood out on Thursday morning. The coaches seem to be sticking with the same groups on the offensive line, although I’m sure they rotate during team periods later in practice. Similarly, I think they’re continuing to experiment with the linebackers and safeties, trying different groups to see what works best.
I do get the impression that Jason Pinnock has pulled ahead as a top-two corner opposite Dane Jackson. What will be interesting this season is watching to see if the coaches use a rotation at cornerback; Damarri Mathis and Paris Ford have high upsides and Phillipie Motley is an upperclassman, so even if they don’t start, I could see one or two of those guys getting on the field in a regular spot.
- One recruit was at practice Thursday morning: Shady Side Academy athlete Dino Tomlin.
