Pitt was in the indoor facility for practice No. 2 of spring camp 2018. Here are some news and notes from the morning session:
- I kept an eye on the offensive line a good deal during the open practice window. It looks like the main group of five, for now, is what we said yesterday:
Jerry Drake at left tackle, Bryce Hargrove at left guard, Jimmy Morrissey at center, Mike Herndon at right guard and Alex Bookser at right tackle.
I also got a look at what seems to be the second team on Tuesday, and it was interesting for a few reasons. For starters, Tony Pilato was working at left tackle; that's the position he has played since he got to Pitt and it was the position I expected him to compete for this season (with the assumption that he would be the backup to Stefano Millin once the Kent State grad transfer arrived).
But in the spring prospectus, Pilato was listed as being in competition for one of the jobs at guard, which seemed like a curious move. But it seems he's still at tackle, at least in the drills I watched.
- Brandon Ford and Conor Dintino were next to Pilato at left guard and center, respectively; that's what I would expect. But the right side was interesting, with Chase Brown and Carter Warren lined up next to each other.
Those names aren't too surprising; what's a bit surprising is that Brown was at right guard and Warren was at right tackle. Again, both were listed at different positions in the prospectus (Brown at tackle and Warren at guard).
Of course, all of these things are flexible, especially in the spring. The coaches will try different players at different positions to see who fits where, and with guys like Bookser, Brown, Warren and even Hargrove, there is versatility in the positions they could play, so we'll see how it develops. But I thought that was interesting to see.
- Of the other linemen, it looks like Justin Morgan and Jake Kradel are guards, while Carson Van Lynn and Gabe Houy are tackles. Behind Morrissey and Dintino at center are Owen Drexel and walk-on JUCO transfer Devon Davis.
- On a non-OL topic, it's probably relevant to note the way practice is structured. The team opens with a walk-through period - that one is closed to the media. We get to enter the indoor facility for the next period, which is stretching. It's enthralling, I assure you, but there are one or two other things going on at that time.
While most of the team stretches at one end of the field, the specialists go to the other end. No, it's not too exciting to watch guys kick field goals "against air," as they say, but there are also punters and, perhaps most interestingly, punt returners fielding those punts.
To that end, the coaches have been having Rafael Araujo-Lopes, Maurice Ffrench, Paris Ford, Shocky Jacques-Louis and Jason Pinnock work on catching punts. Obviously they're not going to rotate all five of those guys at punt returner during the season, so it was even more interesting when we saw them work through actual punt coverage and punt return drills during a later period.
At that point, the coaches had just two players catching punts: Rafael Araujo-Lopes and Paris Ford. So those two might be the top options for PR at this point.
- Speaking of punts, Kirk Christodoulou is going to be the man there this year. That much is expected; also of an equal expectation is that a redshirt freshman is going to have some inconsistencies, and that seems to be the case. Christodoulou can, and often does, follow a quick, low punt with one that bounces off the rafters.
It goes without saying that he needs to more of the latter and less of the former.
- A couple of player observations: others have remarked on Charles Reeves, so I kept an eye on him during some running drills this morning, and he definitely moves well for someone his size. He could be a really good target for Kenny Pickett this season.
And as Pitt looks for receivers to step up, I'm still bullish on Michael Smith. He's got speed, for sure, and he might be the fastest receiver on the team. As with all redshirt freshmen, he needs to improve his consistency and show the coaches - and, more importantly, the quarterbacks - that he'll be in the right place at the right time, but the ceiling is pretty high for him.
- On the recruiting front, four-star safety Litchfield Ajavon is at practice this morning.
- Pat Narduzzi will address the media after practice later this morning, and we'll have videos, slideshows, articles and more.
- I kept an eye on the offensive line a good deal during the open practice window. It looks like the main group of five, for now, is what we said yesterday:
Jerry Drake at left tackle, Bryce Hargrove at left guard, Jimmy Morrissey at center, Mike Herndon at right guard and Alex Bookser at right tackle.
I also got a look at what seems to be the second team on Tuesday, and it was interesting for a few reasons. For starters, Tony Pilato was working at left tackle; that's the position he has played since he got to Pitt and it was the position I expected him to compete for this season (with the assumption that he would be the backup to Stefano Millin once the Kent State grad transfer arrived).
But in the spring prospectus, Pilato was listed as being in competition for one of the jobs at guard, which seemed like a curious move. But it seems he's still at tackle, at least in the drills I watched.
- Brandon Ford and Conor Dintino were next to Pilato at left guard and center, respectively; that's what I would expect. But the right side was interesting, with Chase Brown and Carter Warren lined up next to each other.
Those names aren't too surprising; what's a bit surprising is that Brown was at right guard and Warren was at right tackle. Again, both were listed at different positions in the prospectus (Brown at tackle and Warren at guard).
Of course, all of these things are flexible, especially in the spring. The coaches will try different players at different positions to see who fits where, and with guys like Bookser, Brown, Warren and even Hargrove, there is versatility in the positions they could play, so we'll see how it develops. But I thought that was interesting to see.
- Of the other linemen, it looks like Justin Morgan and Jake Kradel are guards, while Carson Van Lynn and Gabe Houy are tackles. Behind Morrissey and Dintino at center are Owen Drexel and walk-on JUCO transfer Devon Davis.
- On a non-OL topic, it's probably relevant to note the way practice is structured. The team opens with a walk-through period - that one is closed to the media. We get to enter the indoor facility for the next period, which is stretching. It's enthralling, I assure you, but there are one or two other things going on at that time.
While most of the team stretches at one end of the field, the specialists go to the other end. No, it's not too exciting to watch guys kick field goals "against air," as they say, but there are also punters and, perhaps most interestingly, punt returners fielding those punts.
To that end, the coaches have been having Rafael Araujo-Lopes, Maurice Ffrench, Paris Ford, Shocky Jacques-Louis and Jason Pinnock work on catching punts. Obviously they're not going to rotate all five of those guys at punt returner during the season, so it was even more interesting when we saw them work through actual punt coverage and punt return drills during a later period.
At that point, the coaches had just two players catching punts: Rafael Araujo-Lopes and Paris Ford. So those two might be the top options for PR at this point.
- Speaking of punts, Kirk Christodoulou is going to be the man there this year. That much is expected; also of an equal expectation is that a redshirt freshman is going to have some inconsistencies, and that seems to be the case. Christodoulou can, and often does, follow a quick, low punt with one that bounces off the rafters.
It goes without saying that he needs to more of the latter and less of the former.
- A couple of player observations: others have remarked on Charles Reeves, so I kept an eye on him during some running drills this morning, and he definitely moves well for someone his size. He could be a really good target for Kenny Pickett this season.
And as Pitt looks for receivers to step up, I'm still bullish on Michael Smith. He's got speed, for sure, and he might be the fastest receiver on the team. As with all redshirt freshmen, he needs to improve his consistency and show the coaches - and, more importantly, the quarterbacks - that he'll be in the right place at the right time, but the ceiling is pretty high for him.
- On the recruiting front, four-star safety Litchfield Ajavon is at practice this morning.
- Pat Narduzzi will address the media after practice later this morning, and we'll have videos, slideshows, articles and more.
