Pitt was back in the South Side on Thursday for the second practice of Week Two.
With a rare-for-spring three practices in a row coming up, the coaches had the players in shorts and shoulder pads on Thursday, although my guess is they’ll go down to shorts and shells on Friday in advance of a full-blown scrimmage at Acrisure Stadium on Saturday.
Well, Pat Narduzzi said the team will be scrimmaging at the stadium on Saturday; the last time I looked, the weather forecast for Saturday has a good bit of rain in it, so I wouldn’t be surprised if those plans change. Either way, the team will be scrimmaging, so they’ll likely take it a little easy on Friday.
- Today, though, the players were getting after it. I’ve talked about a few defensive positions so far in spring camp, and some of these points will likely get repeated over the next couple weeks. But I think this defense should be pretty physical.
They’ve got speed, to be sure. The general trend of smaller-but-faster - an over-simplification but not an inaccurate one - applies to most of Pitt’s defense, but that doesn’t mean they don’t hit.
I mentioned the safeties on Tuesday. The top guys have size equal to or surpassing that of Brandon Hill, who was Pitt’s most physical safety last season, and I think they can match his physicality.
- The cornerbacks don’t hit the bags as hard as some of the other positions, but you can’t not be physical and play cornerback in this defense, and guys like Marquis Williams, A.J. Woods and M.J. Devonshire have shown a propensity for playing that way.
- The defensive line is bigger than I implied last week, but it’s still not a huge group. They can hit, though; it’s a fast, physical line with a few veterans who know what it’s like to be on the field and a bunch of young and/or inexperienced guys who have more energy than they know what to do with.
Even some of the older players, like Deandre Jules, haven’t played all that much, and I think you can see in practice how they’re rather anxious to be in the upper end of the rotation.
And then there’s a guy like Sean FitzSimmons. When you watch him work through drills, you can sense how violent he’s capable of being on the field. He’s not yet as explosive as some of the more productive defensive tackles who came before him, but he’s got quite a motor, he’s really physical and he’s going to be a handful for offensive guards and centers.
- I often talk about the older defensive tackles and how they haven’t been too productive in their careers, but I think David Green might have the best chance of any of them to put up some numbers this year.
- When it comes to size, it’s tough not to be impressed by Bam Brima. The guy just looks the part. I think it took him some time to build up his weight - he was really thin when he got to Pitt in the summer of 2019 - but he’s currently listed at 270 pounds, and even at that number, he looks light.
Even so, he really passes the eye test. He looks long, athletic and explosive, and he attacks drills with a fair amount of violence. Dayon Hayes should be the leader of the defensive ends and I think Sam Okunlola can open some eyes, but Brima might be my pick for breakout player at that position this season.
- There’s no question about size with the linebackers. I remember saying last August that Bangally Kamara and Solomon DeShields were built like NFL players; they look even bigger now. It really is impressive seeing those guys in person. Their athleticism is not in question; you could see it with Kamara playing safety and DeShields playing receiver in high school. Now they’ve got the necessary size to go with that athleticism, and if the knowledge piece is on point from the experience they gained last season, the sky really is the limit.
Kamara played 640 snaps on defense in 2022 and DeShields was on the field for 258, according to Pro Football Focus, and I think that experience is of huge value. Coaches say it all the time: when a player knows what he’s doing, he can think less and play faster.
The prospect of Kamara and DeShields playing faster should be pretty scary for opposing offenses.
- On Tuesday, I listed the defensive players who had earned “TAKEAWAY” tape on their helmets for - we can only presume - forcing turnovers in live situations. Donovan McMillon, Tamarion Crumpley, Noah Biglow and Dante Caputo had them on Tuesday, which would seem to indicate that they forced turnovers in Saturday’s practice.
Today, there were a couple new “TAKEAWAY” tapes on display. A.J. Woods had one and Biglow had a second one, so it seems the redshirt sophomore cornerback from Florida has been making a few plays.
So far, no “TAKEAWAY” tapes for the linebackers for defensive linemen.
- Let’s talk offense for a second, since I didn’t really say anything about the quarterbacks on Tuesday.
There are a few eyeball observations you can make about the group of Phil Jurkovec, Christian Veilleux, Nate Yarnell and Ty Dieffenbach. For starters, they’re all big. Bigger than last year’s quarterbacks, by quite a bit.
The second thing you notice is the athleticism. Not only is group taller than last year’s quarterbacks, but they’re also more athletic. That’s not always something that is readily apparent during the types of drills we’re watching during the open practice window, but I think you can see it from the way they run around, and it’s definitely been one of the top reviews I’ve heard from talking to different people who watch practice.
If nothing else, these guys should be able to extend plays a bit more than what Pitt had available last season. It varies from player to player, but on the whole, these guys can move a bit. Enough to have the quarterback run game be a designed and intentional threat? Maybe, maybe not. But enough to move around, both in and out of the pocket? Yes, I think so.
And the third thing that stands out is that they all throw really well. I said this last week and Frank Cignetti mentioned it as well, but there is some real arm talent in this group. That’s particularly true with Jurkovec and Veilleux. Those guys look like quarterbacks who have had a lot of training in their mechanics, throwing motion and arm strength.
- The one slight concern, from what I’ve heard in the early reviews, is accuracy. Some of that might be timing, as Jurkovec and Veilleux - and Dieffenbach, for that matter - are working with all of the receivers for the first time. No matter the cause, it’s obviously something they have to work on.
Jurkovec and Veilleux have a lot of the skills as you write them on paper: arm strength, size, athleticism. But they’ve got to put the ball in the right spot.
That seems obvious, but I think it’s especially relevant with this group of receivers. I am developing some thoughts on that position group - probably for tomorrow’s writeup - but one thing I think I can say at this point is that there isn’t necessarily a huge catch radius for these guys. That’s not to say the ball has to be perfectly placed every time, but I think as you look at Konata Mumpfield, Bub Means and Daejon Reynolds - the top three receivers - none of them necessarily stand out as having a ton of range. So the ball had better be in the right spot.
- On Thursday, I did see Veilleux and Mumpfield connect on a really nice play in back of the end zone. Veilleux put the ball high and Mumpfield made a good “rangy” catch, slightly disproving my earlier point.
- Means, Mumpfield and Reynolds all made some nice catches on corner routes in the end zone, too, as did some of the younger receivers - Myles Alston, in particular, made a standout catch that I saw.
- There were a few interesting recruits at practice on Thursday.
Smith is an intriguing running back prospect who went to Pitt Thursday on his way to Penn State for a Friday visit. He doesn’t have an offer from Pitt; I imagine he’ll get one before he leaves. He told me he’s enjoying his visit.
Williams is also from Catholic Memorial but he is reclassifying to the class of 2024 and will attend St. Thomas More in Connecticut.
Also at practice was Todd Hill. You might remember him from Steel Valley’s PIAA championship - he played with Paris Ford - before he went to Duquesne, where he was a first-team All-NEC performer as the Dukes’ leading tackler last season, recording 61 tackles, 22 tackles for loss and 11.5 sacks. He went into the transfer portal this month; we’ll see what kind of interest there is in Pitt, but he was at practice today.
- Pitt will be back for practice on Friday before Saturday’s scrimmage. We'll have photos, videos, interviews and more later today.
With a rare-for-spring three practices in a row coming up, the coaches had the players in shorts and shoulder pads on Thursday, although my guess is they’ll go down to shorts and shells on Friday in advance of a full-blown scrimmage at Acrisure Stadium on Saturday.
Well, Pat Narduzzi said the team will be scrimmaging at the stadium on Saturday; the last time I looked, the weather forecast for Saturday has a good bit of rain in it, so I wouldn’t be surprised if those plans change. Either way, the team will be scrimmaging, so they’ll likely take it a little easy on Friday.
- Today, though, the players were getting after it. I’ve talked about a few defensive positions so far in spring camp, and some of these points will likely get repeated over the next couple weeks. But I think this defense should be pretty physical.
They’ve got speed, to be sure. The general trend of smaller-but-faster - an over-simplification but not an inaccurate one - applies to most of Pitt’s defense, but that doesn’t mean they don’t hit.
I mentioned the safeties on Tuesday. The top guys have size equal to or surpassing that of Brandon Hill, who was Pitt’s most physical safety last season, and I think they can match his physicality.
- The cornerbacks don’t hit the bags as hard as some of the other positions, but you can’t not be physical and play cornerback in this defense, and guys like Marquis Williams, A.J. Woods and M.J. Devonshire have shown a propensity for playing that way.
- The defensive line is bigger than I implied last week, but it’s still not a huge group. They can hit, though; it’s a fast, physical line with a few veterans who know what it’s like to be on the field and a bunch of young and/or inexperienced guys who have more energy than they know what to do with.
Even some of the older players, like Deandre Jules, haven’t played all that much, and I think you can see in practice how they’re rather anxious to be in the upper end of the rotation.
And then there’s a guy like Sean FitzSimmons. When you watch him work through drills, you can sense how violent he’s capable of being on the field. He’s not yet as explosive as some of the more productive defensive tackles who came before him, but he’s got quite a motor, he’s really physical and he’s going to be a handful for offensive guards and centers.
- I often talk about the older defensive tackles and how they haven’t been too productive in their careers, but I think David Green might have the best chance of any of them to put up some numbers this year.
- When it comes to size, it’s tough not to be impressed by Bam Brima. The guy just looks the part. I think it took him some time to build up his weight - he was really thin when he got to Pitt in the summer of 2019 - but he’s currently listed at 270 pounds, and even at that number, he looks light.
Even so, he really passes the eye test. He looks long, athletic and explosive, and he attacks drills with a fair amount of violence. Dayon Hayes should be the leader of the defensive ends and I think Sam Okunlola can open some eyes, but Brima might be my pick for breakout player at that position this season.
- There’s no question about size with the linebackers. I remember saying last August that Bangally Kamara and Solomon DeShields were built like NFL players; they look even bigger now. It really is impressive seeing those guys in person. Their athleticism is not in question; you could see it with Kamara playing safety and DeShields playing receiver in high school. Now they’ve got the necessary size to go with that athleticism, and if the knowledge piece is on point from the experience they gained last season, the sky really is the limit.
Kamara played 640 snaps on defense in 2022 and DeShields was on the field for 258, according to Pro Football Focus, and I think that experience is of huge value. Coaches say it all the time: when a player knows what he’s doing, he can think less and play faster.
The prospect of Kamara and DeShields playing faster should be pretty scary for opposing offenses.
- On Tuesday, I listed the defensive players who had earned “TAKEAWAY” tape on their helmets for - we can only presume - forcing turnovers in live situations. Donovan McMillon, Tamarion Crumpley, Noah Biglow and Dante Caputo had them on Tuesday, which would seem to indicate that they forced turnovers in Saturday’s practice.
Today, there were a couple new “TAKEAWAY” tapes on display. A.J. Woods had one and Biglow had a second one, so it seems the redshirt sophomore cornerback from Florida has been making a few plays.
So far, no “TAKEAWAY” tapes for the linebackers for defensive linemen.
- Let’s talk offense for a second, since I didn’t really say anything about the quarterbacks on Tuesday.
There are a few eyeball observations you can make about the group of Phil Jurkovec, Christian Veilleux, Nate Yarnell and Ty Dieffenbach. For starters, they’re all big. Bigger than last year’s quarterbacks, by quite a bit.
The second thing you notice is the athleticism. Not only is group taller than last year’s quarterbacks, but they’re also more athletic. That’s not always something that is readily apparent during the types of drills we’re watching during the open practice window, but I think you can see it from the way they run around, and it’s definitely been one of the top reviews I’ve heard from talking to different people who watch practice.
If nothing else, these guys should be able to extend plays a bit more than what Pitt had available last season. It varies from player to player, but on the whole, these guys can move a bit. Enough to have the quarterback run game be a designed and intentional threat? Maybe, maybe not. But enough to move around, both in and out of the pocket? Yes, I think so.
And the third thing that stands out is that they all throw really well. I said this last week and Frank Cignetti mentioned it as well, but there is some real arm talent in this group. That’s particularly true with Jurkovec and Veilleux. Those guys look like quarterbacks who have had a lot of training in their mechanics, throwing motion and arm strength.
- The one slight concern, from what I’ve heard in the early reviews, is accuracy. Some of that might be timing, as Jurkovec and Veilleux - and Dieffenbach, for that matter - are working with all of the receivers for the first time. No matter the cause, it’s obviously something they have to work on.
Jurkovec and Veilleux have a lot of the skills as you write them on paper: arm strength, size, athleticism. But they’ve got to put the ball in the right spot.
That seems obvious, but I think it’s especially relevant with this group of receivers. I am developing some thoughts on that position group - probably for tomorrow’s writeup - but one thing I think I can say at this point is that there isn’t necessarily a huge catch radius for these guys. That’s not to say the ball has to be perfectly placed every time, but I think as you look at Konata Mumpfield, Bub Means and Daejon Reynolds - the top three receivers - none of them necessarily stand out as having a ton of range. So the ball had better be in the right spot.
- On Thursday, I did see Veilleux and Mumpfield connect on a really nice play in back of the end zone. Veilleux put the ball high and Mumpfield made a good “rangy” catch, slightly disproving my earlier point.
- Means, Mumpfield and Reynolds all made some nice catches on corner routes in the end zone, too, as did some of the younger receivers - Myles Alston, in particular, made a standout catch that I saw.
- There were a few interesting recruits at practice on Thursday.
Smith is an intriguing running back prospect who went to Pitt Thursday on his way to Penn State for a Friday visit. He doesn’t have an offer from Pitt; I imagine he’ll get one before he leaves. He told me he’s enjoying his visit.
Williams is also from Catholic Memorial but he is reclassifying to the class of 2024 and will attend St. Thomas More in Connecticut.
Also at practice was Todd Hill. You might remember him from Steel Valley’s PIAA championship - he played with Paris Ford - before he went to Duquesne, where he was a first-team All-NEC performer as the Dukes’ leading tackler last season, recording 61 tackles, 22 tackles for loss and 11.5 sacks. He went into the transfer portal this month; we’ll see what kind of interest there is in Pitt, but he was at practice today.
- Pitt will be back for practice on Friday before Saturday’s scrimmage. We'll have photos, videos, interviews and more later today.
