-- Pitt held its sixth practice of the spring on Friday afternoon, and it was the first time I have personally gotten a chance to see the team this year. Chris has been doing a fine job as always, but if I’m being repetitive here in today’s practice report, I do apologize. I’m going to make my general observations, and I’m sure some have been pointed out by Chris already, but so be it. As you know, we’re pretty limited in what we can see, so we’re talking about a lot of stretching, running, and drills against air. Every once in a while we see actual football, but today was not one of those days.
-- I think today’s practice was on the lighter because the first scrimmage of spring camp is tomorrow. They were in ‘shells’ and not full pads today, and it was a bit chilly this morning so it was another inside practice. Pitt will return to practice on Tuesday of next week, so the scrimmage will be a big talking point then and perhaps we’ll learn something about the team or who performed well.
-- From the way they rotated through drills, the quarterback rotation seemed to be: Nate Yarnell, Christian Veilleux, Eli Holstein, Ty Dieffenbach and Julian Dugger.
I don’t think that’s new or a surprise, but I do have some of my first impressions of the group. Eli Holstein was a lot shorter than I expected him to be, and maybe it is because the other quarterbacks are huge around him, but that caught my attention. The throwing hitch or weird motion is there, but it’s not as pronounced at field level the way it shows up on tape. He’s slinging a pretty solid football at field level, so I definitely get the four-star rating. Yarnell and Veilleux are about what you would expect them to look like. We just watched them play a full season a couple of months ago and we sort of understand their skill sets by now. Yarnell does have that walking around like a starter vibe to him, which he’s earned, but of course it’s something he will continue to need to prove as well. And not for nothing, Ty Diffenbach actully throws a heck of a ball.
-- I then watch some of the wide receivers working with the quarterbacks in a passing skeleton, and the first thing I noticed was the size difference between the returning guys and the newcomers. Kenny Johnson is noticeably bigger, stronger, faster than when I last saw him. You can tell he’s been a Division 1 football player for a year now in a good way, of course. Same thing with Daejon Reynolds and Konata Mumpfield, obviously. Those three look the part, then you see some of the other options and wonder about the Western Carolina guys, because they actually are as small as you would think. It’s going to be interesting who all works into the rotation, but my money is on the three incumbents being the best weapons in the passing game. Mumpfield is solid, Reynolds made some nice plays last year, and Johnson has a ton of potential. I think they all suffered through bad QB play last year, but there's some ability in that room.
-- Like a normal practice, we got to see some special teams. Caleb Junko was seemingly the first punter with Cam Guess behind him. Junko’s punts looked better than those from Guess, but obviously that needs to show up in the games more. Perhaps the whole operation will be better with Jacob Bronowski coaching the unit. Also of note, Kenny Johnson was the top option at punt returner today. I wonder if that will hold true in the season because Johnson will be a really big part of the offense.
-- I know Chris mentioned about the size from the defensive line and yea, I have to agree there. Not a ton of big, bulky guys up front overall, but a few guys have taken some leaps physically. Nahki Johnson looks like a monster and I think the D-Tackle thing is going to work out for him very well. I'm still surprised he hasn't broken through yet, because I really did like his HS tape and his first step jumped off the screen. Also at DE and given the recent injury news about Nate Temple, I am expecting Nate Matlack to have a big role. He looks the part and has played a ton of football in his career. There's really no reason he shouldn't step onto the field ready to roll.
-- Probably a dumb note, but for some reason both Rashad Battle and Tamarion Crumpley are both cornerback and both wear the same No. 15 jersey. I don't know why that hasn't been changes. Also with the DBs...Cruce Brookins is going to be a really good football player. Safety is one of the deepest sports on the team, but man, it'll be tough to keep him off the field. He really flies around and has the confidence going through this whole thing a second time.
-- There were a lot of recruits there, but I’ll try and sort through them to see who were the notable names. There was seemingly an entire football team there (Middletown HS in Delaware), and I’m sure Pitt is really only seriously recruiting one or two of those guys, so they sort of crowded the sideline and may have covered up some of the bigger names in town. We'll uncover a few of them and work on some interviews.
-- Always have to give a shout to Coach Junk. He’s retired, but he can’t stay away and he was posted up watching practice like always. A lot of new faces around Pitt football, but that’s a constant.
We’ll have some interviews, transcripts, articles, and some recruiting articles to come later in the day and throughout the weekend, so stay tuned as always.
-- I think today’s practice was on the lighter because the first scrimmage of spring camp is tomorrow. They were in ‘shells’ and not full pads today, and it was a bit chilly this morning so it was another inside practice. Pitt will return to practice on Tuesday of next week, so the scrimmage will be a big talking point then and perhaps we’ll learn something about the team or who performed well.
-- From the way they rotated through drills, the quarterback rotation seemed to be: Nate Yarnell, Christian Veilleux, Eli Holstein, Ty Dieffenbach and Julian Dugger.
I don’t think that’s new or a surprise, but I do have some of my first impressions of the group. Eli Holstein was a lot shorter than I expected him to be, and maybe it is because the other quarterbacks are huge around him, but that caught my attention. The throwing hitch or weird motion is there, but it’s not as pronounced at field level the way it shows up on tape. He’s slinging a pretty solid football at field level, so I definitely get the four-star rating. Yarnell and Veilleux are about what you would expect them to look like. We just watched them play a full season a couple of months ago and we sort of understand their skill sets by now. Yarnell does have that walking around like a starter vibe to him, which he’s earned, but of course it’s something he will continue to need to prove as well. And not for nothing, Ty Diffenbach actully throws a heck of a ball.
-- I then watch some of the wide receivers working with the quarterbacks in a passing skeleton, and the first thing I noticed was the size difference between the returning guys and the newcomers. Kenny Johnson is noticeably bigger, stronger, faster than when I last saw him. You can tell he’s been a Division 1 football player for a year now in a good way, of course. Same thing with Daejon Reynolds and Konata Mumpfield, obviously. Those three look the part, then you see some of the other options and wonder about the Western Carolina guys, because they actually are as small as you would think. It’s going to be interesting who all works into the rotation, but my money is on the three incumbents being the best weapons in the passing game. Mumpfield is solid, Reynolds made some nice plays last year, and Johnson has a ton of potential. I think they all suffered through bad QB play last year, but there's some ability in that room.
-- Like a normal practice, we got to see some special teams. Caleb Junko was seemingly the first punter with Cam Guess behind him. Junko’s punts looked better than those from Guess, but obviously that needs to show up in the games more. Perhaps the whole operation will be better with Jacob Bronowski coaching the unit. Also of note, Kenny Johnson was the top option at punt returner today. I wonder if that will hold true in the season because Johnson will be a really big part of the offense.
-- I know Chris mentioned about the size from the defensive line and yea, I have to agree there. Not a ton of big, bulky guys up front overall, but a few guys have taken some leaps physically. Nahki Johnson looks like a monster and I think the D-Tackle thing is going to work out for him very well. I'm still surprised he hasn't broken through yet, because I really did like his HS tape and his first step jumped off the screen. Also at DE and given the recent injury news about Nate Temple, I am expecting Nate Matlack to have a big role. He looks the part and has played a ton of football in his career. There's really no reason he shouldn't step onto the field ready to roll.
-- Probably a dumb note, but for some reason both Rashad Battle and Tamarion Crumpley are both cornerback and both wear the same No. 15 jersey. I don't know why that hasn't been changes. Also with the DBs...Cruce Brookins is going to be a really good football player. Safety is one of the deepest sports on the team, but man, it'll be tough to keep him off the field. He really flies around and has the confidence going through this whole thing a second time.
-- There were a lot of recruits there, but I’ll try and sort through them to see who were the notable names. There was seemingly an entire football team there (Middletown HS in Delaware), and I’m sure Pitt is really only seriously recruiting one or two of those guys, so they sort of crowded the sideline and may have covered up some of the bigger names in town. We'll uncover a few of them and work on some interviews.
-- Always have to give a shout to Coach Junk. He’s retired, but he can’t stay away and he was posted up watching practice like always. A lot of new faces around Pitt football, but that’s a constant.
We’ll have some interviews, transcripts, articles, and some recruiting articles to come later in the day and throughout the weekend, so stay tuned as always.
