Pitt's team meeting ended and someone approached redshirt freshman running back Qadree Ollison with the words that almost never end well:
“Coach wants to see you.” Puzzled but sure of himself — “I didn't do anything bad,” he said — Ollison walked into coach Pat Narduzzi's office and got the good news:
He is the ACC Offensive Rookie of the Year.
As Ollison left the office with a smile that appeared permanent, strong safety Jordan Whitehead passed him and went inside.
More good news:
Whitehead is the ACC Overall and Defensive Rookie of the Year. This marks the first year one school swept all three awards since the ACC began honoring first-year players on both sides of the ball in 2007. Ollison was second to Whitehead, 19-9, in the overall voting.
Ollison and Whitehead became the third and fourth Pitt players honored with player of the year honors in the school's first three years in the ACC. Aaron Donald was Defensive Player of the Year in 2013 and James Conner was Overall and Offensive Player of the Year last season.
The difference:
Donald and Conner, who was injured this season, never played another meaningful snap for Pitt (although Conner does have two more years of eligibility). Ollison and Whitehead return next year with tangible hope that the program is headed in the right direction. Just the day before, eight Pitt players were chosen to the ACC first-, second-, third- or honorable-mention teams, and at least five are returning next season.
“It shows you the young players here aren't afraid to step up and make big plays,” Ollison said. After he was redshirted last season, Ollison was thrust into a prominent role when Conner was lost for the season with a knee injury in the opener against Youngstown State. Third team at the time, Ollison responded by rushing for 1,048 yards, becoming the fifth Pitt freshman to hit four digits. “I was forced to grow up faster than I thought I would have to,” Ollison, 19, said. “I was forced to become, essentially, the leader of the running backs room.” He's young, but he said he put no limits on what he might accomplish. “I never like to downplay my ability and tell myself I can't do something,” he said. “Anything can happen, really.”
Ollison even felt confident a year ago when former coach Paul Chryst, who had recruited him, left for Wisconsin. “We never had doubts, ‘Oh, we lost our head coach, and the next season is going to go down the drain,' ” he said. “The coach only does so much. He does a lot, but at the end of the day, we always have faith in our ability.
Whitehead, 18, is the first ACC defensive player named overall rookie of the year since before he was born (North Carolina cornerback Dre' Bly in 1996). He leads the team in tackles with 99 (second all-time for a Pitt first-year player), and he also scored two touchdowns at tailback. Although he was clearly the most talented safety on the team, he said the transition from high school at Central Valley wasn't immediately smooth. “I'm not going to lie — there were a lot of different coverages and different plays,” he said. “And coming in every morning and working is an adjustment from high school.” But he caught up by doing something that probably comes natural to him: Running fast. “Going 100 percent every play made the game slow down,” he said.
Note: Narduzzi and Florida State's Jimbo Fisher each received one vote in coach of the year balloting. Clemson's Dabo Swinney edged North Carolina's Larry Fedora, 27-21.
Freshman wonders
Jordan Whitehead's and Qadree Ollison's statistics:
Whitehead
Tackles 99
Sacks .5
Interceptions 1
Rushing yards 79
Touchdowns 2
Ollison
Rushing yards 1,048
Attempts 204
Average 5.1
Touchdowns 10
Source: ESPN.com
Jerry DiPaola is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. Reach him at jdipaola@tribweb.com or via Twitter @JDiPaola_Trib.
“Coach wants to see you.” Puzzled but sure of himself — “I didn't do anything bad,” he said — Ollison walked into coach Pat Narduzzi's office and got the good news:
He is the ACC Offensive Rookie of the Year.
As Ollison left the office with a smile that appeared permanent, strong safety Jordan Whitehead passed him and went inside.
More good news:
Whitehead is the ACC Overall and Defensive Rookie of the Year. This marks the first year one school swept all three awards since the ACC began honoring first-year players on both sides of the ball in 2007. Ollison was second to Whitehead, 19-9, in the overall voting.
Ollison and Whitehead became the third and fourth Pitt players honored with player of the year honors in the school's first three years in the ACC. Aaron Donald was Defensive Player of the Year in 2013 and James Conner was Overall and Offensive Player of the Year last season.
The difference:
Donald and Conner, who was injured this season, never played another meaningful snap for Pitt (although Conner does have two more years of eligibility). Ollison and Whitehead return next year with tangible hope that the program is headed in the right direction. Just the day before, eight Pitt players were chosen to the ACC first-, second-, third- or honorable-mention teams, and at least five are returning next season.
“It shows you the young players here aren't afraid to step up and make big plays,” Ollison said. After he was redshirted last season, Ollison was thrust into a prominent role when Conner was lost for the season with a knee injury in the opener against Youngstown State. Third team at the time, Ollison responded by rushing for 1,048 yards, becoming the fifth Pitt freshman to hit four digits. “I was forced to grow up faster than I thought I would have to,” Ollison, 19, said. “I was forced to become, essentially, the leader of the running backs room.” He's young, but he said he put no limits on what he might accomplish. “I never like to downplay my ability and tell myself I can't do something,” he said. “Anything can happen, really.”
Ollison even felt confident a year ago when former coach Paul Chryst, who had recruited him, left for Wisconsin. “We never had doubts, ‘Oh, we lost our head coach, and the next season is going to go down the drain,' ” he said. “The coach only does so much. He does a lot, but at the end of the day, we always have faith in our ability.
Whitehead, 18, is the first ACC defensive player named overall rookie of the year since before he was born (North Carolina cornerback Dre' Bly in 1996). He leads the team in tackles with 99 (second all-time for a Pitt first-year player), and he also scored two touchdowns at tailback. Although he was clearly the most talented safety on the team, he said the transition from high school at Central Valley wasn't immediately smooth. “I'm not going to lie — there were a lot of different coverages and different plays,” he said. “And coming in every morning and working is an adjustment from high school.” But he caught up by doing something that probably comes natural to him: Running fast. “Going 100 percent every play made the game slow down,” he said.
Note: Narduzzi and Florida State's Jimbo Fisher each received one vote in coach of the year balloting. Clemson's Dabo Swinney edged North Carolina's Larry Fedora, 27-21.
Freshman wonders
Jordan Whitehead's and Qadree Ollison's statistics:
Whitehead
Tackles 99
Sacks .5
Interceptions 1
Rushing yards 79
Touchdowns 2
Ollison
Rushing yards 1,048
Attempts 204
Average 5.1
Touchdowns 10
Source: ESPN.com
Jerry DiPaola is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. Reach him at jdipaola@tribweb.com or via Twitter @JDiPaola_Trib.
