And that’s it. Training camp 2018 is over, concluding with Pitt’s final camp practice on Thursday morning. We’ll talk plenty over the next week about what we learned in camp - or at least what we gleaned from the limited media viewing window and conversations with the coaches and players - and then we’ll unlearn all of those things once we actually see the team in action during a game (and unlearn all of those things once we get to Week Two and the team plays Penn State).
But in the meantime, I asked Pat Narduzzi a pretty simple question prior to Thursday’s practice:
“Is there a position that you feel better about right now than you did a month ago?”
I didn’t know if I would get an answer to that question - or at least nothing specific - but Narduzzi did actually point to a specific position in his response.
“I think you still say that offensive line. I still feel it starts up front. I felt good about the D-line but I feel even better about the O-line as a whole, just what they’re doing, how they’re doing it, and we’ll find out on game day but - you may be disappointed, who knows, but right now I’m excited with where we are.”
Narduzzi went on to say that his optimism about the offensive line stems from his confidence in the starting five and the top two players behind them. We know the top five is and has been Stefano Millin (left tackle), Connor Dintino (left guard), Jimmy Morrissey (center), Mike Herndon (right guard) and Alex Bookser (right tackle), and the top two reserves are probably Jerry Drake at tackle and Bryce Hargrove at guard.
I think we all wondered about the line and how it would develop during camp; that group was among the two biggest question marks on the team entering training camp, and with some positive developments at receiver, the line is the single biggest question mark coming out of camp.
And despite Narduzzi’s endorsement, it’s still a question mark (even he allowed that “you may be disappointed”) but it certainly seems like the line has at least improved in camp. We’ll see how they actually do in games.
- I noticed this in the hallways of Pitt’s facility Thursday morning.
Sure enough, Narduzzi said that the team would be voting on captains Thursday night, and he said before practice that it’s not going to be an easy decision for the players.
“I thought about that and that’s coming tonight, and I have thought about this: like, wow, you can only have four walk out there,” Narduzzi said. “It’s not going to be an easy decision because there are some good leaders - you know, older guys and younger guys. I think we’ve done a good job developing leadership; it always can be better, everything can be better. But it’s not going to be an easy chore, that’s for sure.”
If I had to handicap the race, assuming they go with two offensive players and two defensive players, I would say that Quintin Wirginis is probably a pretty safe bet on defense and Alex Bookser would seem likely on offense. I could see Seun Idowu also getting the nod on defense, but I’m not sure who else they would go with on offense. Kenny Pickett would seem logical - you’d want your quarterback to be a captain, right? - but he’s also a sophomore; would the coaches go with a sophomore as a captain? Would they veto the votes of the players (assuming the players vote for Pickett)?
I think the captains have been announced at the annual kickoff luncheon in the past; that will take place Friday afternoon, so we should hear something in the next 24 hours.
- When I watch the linebackers work in practice, I’m still struck by the depth they have. We’ve talked about this before, but it stood out again on Thursday morning, particularly during a drill when they lined up to defend passes to the tight ends.
One thing that stood out was redshirt sophomore Chase Pine, who was working as a second-team middle linebacker. That’s notable, of course, since Pine was moved to defensive end last week to help the depth up front. The coaches allowed for the possibility that he could move back to linebacker, and while I don’t know if what we saw on Thursday is permanent (Elias Reynolds was limited, so that could have inspired the move), Pine could potentially float back and forth, although a permanent home would probably be ideal.
Next to Pine on the second team were Anthony McKee at Star linebacker and Saleem Brightwell at Money, although Brightwell is battling Zeise for the top job there and both will play a lot. Freshman Wendell Davis continues to impress at middle linebacker. And redshirt freshmen Kyle Nunn, Cam Bright and Albert Tucker all look like they can fill in some spots if need be in 2018 and fight for playing time next season.
- I’m still really intrigued by Therran Coleman and the role(s) he can play this season. He’s been practicing as a field safety behind Damar Hamlin, battling with Bricen Garner for second-team reps. But he’s big enough to play boundary safety and probably could even line up in different spots for the sub-packages Pitt could use this season.
- Narduzzi said Thursday morning that he would give the team’s health a “B+” which seems fair. They’ve had some guys on the sidelines, mostly during the last week or so, but overall the situation doesn’t look too grim. The coaches will spend the next week getting everyone as healthy as they can be while they work toward the season opener against Albany.
- Camp officially ended on Thursday. The team will be off until the start of next week, when they’ll dive into game prep for the Great Danes, who come to Heinz Field on Saturday, Sept. 1.
But in the meantime, I asked Pat Narduzzi a pretty simple question prior to Thursday’s practice:
“Is there a position that you feel better about right now than you did a month ago?”
I didn’t know if I would get an answer to that question - or at least nothing specific - but Narduzzi did actually point to a specific position in his response.
“I think you still say that offensive line. I still feel it starts up front. I felt good about the D-line but I feel even better about the O-line as a whole, just what they’re doing, how they’re doing it, and we’ll find out on game day but - you may be disappointed, who knows, but right now I’m excited with where we are.”
Narduzzi went on to say that his optimism about the offensive line stems from his confidence in the starting five and the top two players behind them. We know the top five is and has been Stefano Millin (left tackle), Connor Dintino (left guard), Jimmy Morrissey (center), Mike Herndon (right guard) and Alex Bookser (right tackle), and the top two reserves are probably Jerry Drake at tackle and Bryce Hargrove at guard.
I think we all wondered about the line and how it would develop during camp; that group was among the two biggest question marks on the team entering training camp, and with some positive developments at receiver, the line is the single biggest question mark coming out of camp.
And despite Narduzzi’s endorsement, it’s still a question mark (even he allowed that “you may be disappointed”) but it certainly seems like the line has at least improved in camp. We’ll see how they actually do in games.
- I noticed this in the hallways of Pitt’s facility Thursday morning.
Sure enough, Narduzzi said that the team would be voting on captains Thursday night, and he said before practice that it’s not going to be an easy decision for the players.
“I thought about that and that’s coming tonight, and I have thought about this: like, wow, you can only have four walk out there,” Narduzzi said. “It’s not going to be an easy decision because there are some good leaders - you know, older guys and younger guys. I think we’ve done a good job developing leadership; it always can be better, everything can be better. But it’s not going to be an easy chore, that’s for sure.”
If I had to handicap the race, assuming they go with two offensive players and two defensive players, I would say that Quintin Wirginis is probably a pretty safe bet on defense and Alex Bookser would seem likely on offense. I could see Seun Idowu also getting the nod on defense, but I’m not sure who else they would go with on offense. Kenny Pickett would seem logical - you’d want your quarterback to be a captain, right? - but he’s also a sophomore; would the coaches go with a sophomore as a captain? Would they veto the votes of the players (assuming the players vote for Pickett)?
I think the captains have been announced at the annual kickoff luncheon in the past; that will take place Friday afternoon, so we should hear something in the next 24 hours.
- When I watch the linebackers work in practice, I’m still struck by the depth they have. We’ve talked about this before, but it stood out again on Thursday morning, particularly during a drill when they lined up to defend passes to the tight ends.
One thing that stood out was redshirt sophomore Chase Pine, who was working as a second-team middle linebacker. That’s notable, of course, since Pine was moved to defensive end last week to help the depth up front. The coaches allowed for the possibility that he could move back to linebacker, and while I don’t know if what we saw on Thursday is permanent (Elias Reynolds was limited, so that could have inspired the move), Pine could potentially float back and forth, although a permanent home would probably be ideal.
Next to Pine on the second team were Anthony McKee at Star linebacker and Saleem Brightwell at Money, although Brightwell is battling Zeise for the top job there and both will play a lot. Freshman Wendell Davis continues to impress at middle linebacker. And redshirt freshmen Kyle Nunn, Cam Bright and Albert Tucker all look like they can fill in some spots if need be in 2018 and fight for playing time next season.
- I’m still really intrigued by Therran Coleman and the role(s) he can play this season. He’s been practicing as a field safety behind Damar Hamlin, battling with Bricen Garner for second-team reps. But he’s big enough to play boundary safety and probably could even line up in different spots for the sub-packages Pitt could use this season.
- Narduzzi said Thursday morning that he would give the team’s health a “B+” which seems fair. They’ve had some guys on the sidelines, mostly during the last week or so, but overall the situation doesn’t look too grim. The coaches will spend the next week getting everyone as healthy as they can be while they work toward the season opener against Albany.
- Camp officially ended on Thursday. The team will be off until the start of next week, when they’ll dive into game prep for the Great Danes, who come to Heinz Field on Saturday, Sept. 1.
