What QB wouldn’t have wanted to get the ball in Abanikanda’s hands as often we did?
Slovis offically in portal
- Thread starter ThePanthers
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Yes, it’s too bad on all fronts. Cig is not as bad as things looked here much of the season. And I don’t think Slovis is as bad as he looked much of it either. But together, they are a big whiff
Hard to think of Pitt QB in that category. Locally, a guy that seemed to have similar bum luck with constant injuries was Beau Bennett of the Penguins. And unfortunately James Conner with the Steelers.
Slovis just didn't seem like he connected with his team mates.
Good luck to him.
Pitt can't become the fall back for local kids who think that it is beneath them to play at Pitt coming out of high school. Jurkovich not only rejected us, but he talked bad about the coaches and their recruiting methods.
Good luck to him.
Pitt can't become the fall back for local kids who think that it is beneath them to play at Pitt coming out of high school. Jurkovich not only rejected us, but he talked bad about the coaches and their recruiting methods.
I dont, because when Narduzzi can control the OC this is what we get. We had Nathan Peterman for 2 years who was in the NFL. We threw 660 times and ran 1030 times. Then Whipple was here we threw more than we ran, everyone else under Narduzzi we ran more than we threw. One of those years we were top 10 and averaged over 40PPG. It wasnt when we ran the ball 60% of the time. We could bring in Caleb Williams and Narduzzi would make sure that Cignetti ran more than passed.
Maybe but you’ve got blocked P5 backups and G5 QBs who want to move up. Would be nice if we recruited a QB again someday though.
Yeah, I've pondered that myself. We took Petrishen back, but I don't think he was recruited all that hard by Narduzzi. But Devonshire and Jurkovec... yes. And supposedly there might be a few more coming home, too. Is that sending the greatest message? Are we basically telling them to go date other guys and we'll still be here for them if it doesn't work out? Certainly poses a question anyway. I get that you have to have thick skin and always be looking out for the best players you can get, but I don't think you want to want to encourage this to a point where the locals just see us as a safety net.
I think in past years i feel it send a bad message but the way recruiting is now,if there talented enough you take them
Jurkovec is coming to Pitt because Slovis is leaving. If Slovis had performed the way many thought he would, he would be staying and be the starter next year. Same situation happened when Jurkovec left ND, in reverse. Pickett was going to be the starter, so why would he come here? The idea that local kids see Pitt as a back-up in case things don't work out is irrelevant. They are going to make whatever decision they think is best, and Pitt is going to take them or not, based on whatever the staff thinks is best.
If they can play & there is a need at that position, I think you should always have that door open. No reason to be petty. It's a two way street. What about locals that are not developed yet, and they go to a MAC school and blow up and then want to return home?
You don't think an SEC coach has ever cited these examples to recruit against Pitt? I think you'd be mistaken. I guarantee Stoops used that pitch to Fearbry. "Hey, and if it doesn't work out, you can just do what MJ did." I think you'd want to avoid this becoming too much of a trend if you're Narduzzi.
I've thought of it in that direction as well. Though I don't know if I can think of a single example where Pitt football has done the Nelly Cummings thing with a local. I'm sure it's happened, but no one is coming to mind. Maybe Cephas.
That is a great recruiting pitch: "If you aren't good enough to play here, you can always go somewhere else."
I’d say this transfer after one season as anointed starter reflects poorly on the player, the coaches and the program. I suspect this offense was not what Slovis thought he would be running when he chose Pitt. And Slovis was not what the Pitt staff hoped it was getting. He appeared to be mentally soft.
This whole thing went from optimism and momentum after a record setting offensive year and an attractive destination for high level transfer QBs and receivers to throwing out both the baby and the bath water from 2021 and basically doing a hard reset of the offense and playbook. Now the program is back in a pretty disadvantageous position. Not what many of us were hoping to see for 2022.
This whole thing went from optimism and momentum after a record setting offensive year and an attractive destination for high level transfer QBs and receivers to throwing out both the baby and the bath water from 2021 and basically doing a hard reset of the offense and playbook. Now the program is back in a pretty disadvantageous position. Not what many of us were hoping to see for 2022.
Nope. I think they would have been better with an OC that ran an offense that wasn't out of the 1970's.
I was excited when Pitt brought in Slovis. I had watched several of his games while at USC and he looked like a good QB. Now, I will admit that I did not like the hire of cignetti from the beginning. Just didn't like the thought of going from a team that threw the ball all over the field to an offense that was going to be more conservative. What I saw this year, was not good. As you said, "A big whiff".
I'd like to see cignetti go, but I am pretty sure that Narduzzi keeps him.
I really don't think the transfer after one season thing matters at all. It's basically the same thing Utah did with Charlie Brewer, except the Utes program didn't even give Brewer half a season.
Plug and play at Pitt was never going to be sustainable, especially in today's era. People don't want to hear it, but if Kenny Pickett had been a sophomore last year when he blew up, he would have been out the door for a big NIL payday as well.
I don't care about Cignetti one way or the other, but Narduzzi is absolutely correct about trying to get the offense more physical and balanced.
As I said in another post, Pitt is never going to be a plug and play school where they constantly churn out elite talent at QB & WR. That was never going to happen. However, they can be recruit and develop lineman and play winning football in the trenches as a staple of the program. UGA is dominating the SEC and they started last year with a failed transfer (JT Daniels) and won a Natty with former walk-on. Meanwhile, Saban has lost this element in his program, and he is relegated to shaking a bunch of money at Drake Maye to attempt to stay relevant. (all while the media was licking his ass for adopting "modern football") While Kirby Smart is out winning championships, Saban is politicking on FOX about his "good losses" to Tennessee and LSU. He looked pathetic and you could 100% tell he knew he was peddling bullshit.
Michigan & Clemson are other examples. They are still winning at a fairly big clip, despite getting adequate play at QB. (not even that in the case of Clemson)
Perhaps what you saw this year wasn't good, even though PItt went 8-4, but what you saw last year was unsustainable. This is absolutely the correct philosophical move if Pitt wants to remain near the top of the ACC.
As for Cignetti, he has to improve the passing game from where it was this year. What we saw this year won't cut it. The play calling at times also left a lot to be desired in my opinion, but that could have been affected by a lack of confidence in what he was working with. Give it time to develop and succeed. If not, he won't be around for long either.
The offense looked like shit at times and fumbled away 2 games vs GaTech and Louisville. Pitt still went 8-4 and we're all kind of bummed about it. Says a lot about the overall improvement in the program.
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As I wrote in the Jurkovec thread, Cig has His Man now, so it’s cards on the table time for him.
Of course offense is more than the QB and OC, and we need some WR and possibly TE upgrades… but with these two lovebirds back together again, we now have as much as right as any fanbase can have to expect excellence right out the gate next season. No “they are getting used to each other, we have to iron out the wrinkles this season, the QB has to learn the system, etc” excuses.
This is truly the biggest challenge in this crazy era of school hopping by coaches and players, instant eligibility, and one year Band aids…make the magic happen Day 1, because there’s really only 90 days total. Then the deck gets reshuffled.
They will desperately need instant competence too this coming season, with this tough OOC schedule … and perhaps that is the true basis behind this move.
I do have to gave to laugh at all of the people who are excited about jurkovec coming to Pitt because "he knows cignetti's offense". What exactly does that mean??? Is cignetti's offense that so hard to learn that an experienced Power 5 starting QB, am experienced OL and a group of experienced WR/TE's are unable to pick it up quickly? If so, perhaps the players weren't the issue and the OC was. Look, I hope the guy comes in here and becomes a 1st round draft pick. That being said, the reality of it is the odds of him coming in here and reuniting with cignetti and becoming something special are not in his favor.
Pitt always seems to have to do things the hard way. It gets very frustrating to be a Pitt fan sometimes.
Yeah. The biggest selling point on PJ is he already has an understanding of FCJ’s offense.
But that should be reason to dump the offense.
The biggest selling point is that he's one of the most talented QBs in the portal.
He's only around for one year, so of course the familiarity with the offense is a big plus.
Slovis just didn't seem like he connected with his team mates... To some extent in that he did ok with guys numbered 50 thru 79 . However, you are correct, he had trouble connecting with the rest of the guys..
From where I sit the main (not only) issue was that the QB was used to having all day to throw on every play and NFL caliber receivers. He had neither and had next to no mobility so he got crushed early, and when he did get a good throw off, it was frequently dropped, and he got massively skittish and ineffective through much of the rest of the season (particularly the middle). Therefore the offense had to become ultra-run-heavy as a result.
It may well be that similar issues emerge next season and it will be similarly dysfunctional; but recent history did show that when these two (Cig and Jurk) last shared a season, more positive things happened. Given this, my point is that they should perform similarly next season and that Cig no longer has any excuses.
