Pitt held practice No. 10 in the South Side on Tuesday, and while the media window was again a short one, there were more than a few things to note.
- We're always on the lookout for position moves, and it looks like Pitt made one on the defensive line, as redshirt sophomore Justin Moody was taking some snaps at defensive end on Tuesday. He has spent the last two years working at defensive tackle after playing end in high school, and he looked like the kind of smaller, quicker three-technique defensive tackle that some coaching staffs like to use in the 4-3 defense.
But there's no question that defensive end continues to be Pitt's biggest hole, weakness and vulnerability. Returning starter Shakir Soto opened spring camp on the second team but worked his way back up to the first team after a week or two; last season he recorded 31 tackles - most among defensive ends - and one tackle for loss. Rori Blair, who started two games but played in 12 games, led the team with five sacks. The other two defensive ends who recorded statistics in 2014 - Luke Maclean and David Durham - are gone, so the total returning stats for Pitt's defensive end position this season are 45 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss and 5 sacks.
That's not a whole lot.
Ejuan Price will add some veteran help to the group, although he was bumped down to the second team when Soto moved up, and Shane Roy, Hez Trahan and incoming JUCO transfer Allen Edwards will have a chance to get on the field (although none of those three has played a snap in a college game).
So the move of Moody makes sense. Pitt's not particularly deep at defensive tackle, but Khaynin Mosley-Smith is back from injury, and his return gives the Panthers a pretty solid three-man rotation with Darryl Render and Tyrique Jarrett, based on how they have played this spring.
In fact, Jarrett is my sleeper pick for the Ed Conway Award on defense, which is presented to the most improved player each spring. I'm not sure who I am picking for offense - maybe Qadree Ollison or one of the offensive linemen, like Alex Bookser or Alex Officer - but Jarrett has gotten a lot of praise from the coaches for the way he stepped up when Mosley-Smith started the spring on the sidelines.
Mosley-Smith could probably play either interior position - defensive tackle or nose guard - so with Jarrett at the nose and Render at the three-technique DT spot, the coaches could probably get by on that rotation. And given the early look of Pitt's nickel package, where the nose comes off the field, Jarrett and/or Mosley-Smith would only need to play two downs, which should alleviate some of the conditioning issues those two have dealt with.
- One thing that keeps popping up in conversation with the players and coaches is that Pitt's offense is providing a tremendous challenge for Pitt's defense this spring. That's not to say that the defense can't compete; that unit has definitely competed and won the last scrimmage.
Instead, it's the whole notion of the defense having to prove itself every day against what should be one of the best offenses in the ACC. It's becoming more and more apparent that those expectations for the offense are well-founded, and the Panthers should be very tough to stop this season.
But beyond the obvious star power of James Conner and Tyler Boyd, beyond the talented offensive line and the experienced starting quarterback, head coach Pat Narduzzi said the offense is doing more to make life difficult for the defense.
"I really think our offense is challenging our defense, just with the things they're doing," Narduzzi said. "We're very multiple on offense right now. I don't know how much you'll see in the spring game; we'll probably dumb it down, but we're doing some very good stuff so I'm happy watching what we're doing offensively and defensively."
This is all very good for the defense. That unit needs to be challenged every day, and I think the combination of talented players and multiple offensive looks plus the way the coaches have stressed competition should help elevate this defense, at least a little.
And that's what we keep saying, right? The defense needs to just be a little better in order for this team to really have some success in 2015. Maybe the challenge of facing Pitt's offense will be the extra kick the defense needs.
- Speaking of defense, I talked to Reggie Mitchell for this week's Panther-Lair Show (which will air on Wednesday). He had some interesting comments about last year's defense and why things didn't end well for that unit in 2014. He said part of the problem was that too many players - he said it was all of them, actually - didn't have the right mindset, the right attitude, last season. He said too many players - again, all of them - waited for someone else to make a play when the games got close at the end, and the result was that no one made a play.
I thought those were some pretty open and candid remarks. We've talked a lot about schematic issues and poor coaching and technique as big issues with the 2014 defense - and I think a lot of those things will improve this season under this coaching staff - but maybe the mindset needs to change as much as anything.
Narduzzi seems to think so.
"There are ups and downs, and we have to teach our kids to fight through the smoke at times," he said. "There are going to be ups and downs in every practice, every game; it's how you react off those ups and downs that makes a man out of you."
Of course, the question is whether or not the players are absorbing that mentality, and even the head coach doesn't know the answer to that one.
"They're coming out and battling, but we won't find out until game day comes."
On a more timely level, though, I think there's the question of whether the players are convinced that their attitude now, in April, with real games just under five months away, will have a tangible impact when those games start. Because we've all heard a lot of talk in the past - usually related to strength and conditioning programs - about how the work being done in the offseason is going to impact the regular season, and when we see a team have success, we hear how the offseason work impacted things.
But I can't say I've ever felt entirely convinced about a tangible connection, one that made a significant positive impact. Good talent, good coaching and good execution win football games; everything else operates outside that sphere.
Then again, my opinion doesn't matter. What matters is that the players are convinced about the importance of the intensity of spring practices, that the players believe their work right now will help them against Georgia Tech or North Carolina.
Are they convinced? Have they bought in?
"Oh, I think so. I think so," Narduzzi said. "Kids are smart; they're a lot smarter than we give them credit for. They knew the winter conditioning was going to make them better. They knew the Fourth-Quarter Program was going to make them better. And they know the weight room is making them better."
For his part, Mitchell said he already feels like things are different, and different in a way that will positively impact the season.
- In other depth chart news, Mitchell continues to work on the first team at free safety next to Jevonte Pitts, who has been on and off the first-team defense throughout the spring but has been on the top unit for the last week while Pat Amara has been on the sidelines with an undisclosed injury.
For whatever it's worth, there doesn't seem to be a lot of concern about Amara's situation. I don't think he will return this spring; we'll see after that.
- Brian O'Neill did return to practice Tuesday after suffering a hand injury that kept him out of the last few weeks of practices.
- Other than Moody, there wasn't a lot of movement on the two-deep Tuesday. Mike Caprara and Nicholas Grigsby continue to work at the first-team outside linebacker spots, while Quintin Wirginis backs up Matt Galambos in the middle. With Amara out, redshirt freshman walk-on Oluwaseun Idowu has been the backup strong safety behind Jevonte Pitts.
- Pitt will be back on the practice field Thursday and Saturday to close out this week, and then hold two practices in the South Side next week - Tuesday and Thursday - around the midweek draft for the spring game, which will be held Saturday, April 18.
This post was edited on 4/8 12:33 AM by Chris Peak
- We're always on the lookout for position moves, and it looks like Pitt made one on the defensive line, as redshirt sophomore Justin Moody was taking some snaps at defensive end on Tuesday. He has spent the last two years working at defensive tackle after playing end in high school, and he looked like the kind of smaller, quicker three-technique defensive tackle that some coaching staffs like to use in the 4-3 defense.
But there's no question that defensive end continues to be Pitt's biggest hole, weakness and vulnerability. Returning starter Shakir Soto opened spring camp on the second team but worked his way back up to the first team after a week or two; last season he recorded 31 tackles - most among defensive ends - and one tackle for loss. Rori Blair, who started two games but played in 12 games, led the team with five sacks. The other two defensive ends who recorded statistics in 2014 - Luke Maclean and David Durham - are gone, so the total returning stats for Pitt's defensive end position this season are 45 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss and 5 sacks.
That's not a whole lot.
Ejuan Price will add some veteran help to the group, although he was bumped down to the second team when Soto moved up, and Shane Roy, Hez Trahan and incoming JUCO transfer Allen Edwards will have a chance to get on the field (although none of those three has played a snap in a college game).
So the move of Moody makes sense. Pitt's not particularly deep at defensive tackle, but Khaynin Mosley-Smith is back from injury, and his return gives the Panthers a pretty solid three-man rotation with Darryl Render and Tyrique Jarrett, based on how they have played this spring.
In fact, Jarrett is my sleeper pick for the Ed Conway Award on defense, which is presented to the most improved player each spring. I'm not sure who I am picking for offense - maybe Qadree Ollison or one of the offensive linemen, like Alex Bookser or Alex Officer - but Jarrett has gotten a lot of praise from the coaches for the way he stepped up when Mosley-Smith started the spring on the sidelines.
Mosley-Smith could probably play either interior position - defensive tackle or nose guard - so with Jarrett at the nose and Render at the three-technique DT spot, the coaches could probably get by on that rotation. And given the early look of Pitt's nickel package, where the nose comes off the field, Jarrett and/or Mosley-Smith would only need to play two downs, which should alleviate some of the conditioning issues those two have dealt with.
- One thing that keeps popping up in conversation with the players and coaches is that Pitt's offense is providing a tremendous challenge for Pitt's defense this spring. That's not to say that the defense can't compete; that unit has definitely competed and won the last scrimmage.
Instead, it's the whole notion of the defense having to prove itself every day against what should be one of the best offenses in the ACC. It's becoming more and more apparent that those expectations for the offense are well-founded, and the Panthers should be very tough to stop this season.
But beyond the obvious star power of James Conner and Tyler Boyd, beyond the talented offensive line and the experienced starting quarterback, head coach Pat Narduzzi said the offense is doing more to make life difficult for the defense.
"I really think our offense is challenging our defense, just with the things they're doing," Narduzzi said. "We're very multiple on offense right now. I don't know how much you'll see in the spring game; we'll probably dumb it down, but we're doing some very good stuff so I'm happy watching what we're doing offensively and defensively."
This is all very good for the defense. That unit needs to be challenged every day, and I think the combination of talented players and multiple offensive looks plus the way the coaches have stressed competition should help elevate this defense, at least a little.
And that's what we keep saying, right? The defense needs to just be a little better in order for this team to really have some success in 2015. Maybe the challenge of facing Pitt's offense will be the extra kick the defense needs.
- Speaking of defense, I talked to Reggie Mitchell for this week's Panther-Lair Show (which will air on Wednesday). He had some interesting comments about last year's defense and why things didn't end well for that unit in 2014. He said part of the problem was that too many players - he said it was all of them, actually - didn't have the right mindset, the right attitude, last season. He said too many players - again, all of them - waited for someone else to make a play when the games got close at the end, and the result was that no one made a play.
I thought those were some pretty open and candid remarks. We've talked a lot about schematic issues and poor coaching and technique as big issues with the 2014 defense - and I think a lot of those things will improve this season under this coaching staff - but maybe the mindset needs to change as much as anything.
Narduzzi seems to think so.
"There are ups and downs, and we have to teach our kids to fight through the smoke at times," he said. "There are going to be ups and downs in every practice, every game; it's how you react off those ups and downs that makes a man out of you."
Of course, the question is whether or not the players are absorbing that mentality, and even the head coach doesn't know the answer to that one.
"They're coming out and battling, but we won't find out until game day comes."
On a more timely level, though, I think there's the question of whether the players are convinced that their attitude now, in April, with real games just under five months away, will have a tangible impact when those games start. Because we've all heard a lot of talk in the past - usually related to strength and conditioning programs - about how the work being done in the offseason is going to impact the regular season, and when we see a team have success, we hear how the offseason work impacted things.
But I can't say I've ever felt entirely convinced about a tangible connection, one that made a significant positive impact. Good talent, good coaching and good execution win football games; everything else operates outside that sphere.
Then again, my opinion doesn't matter. What matters is that the players are convinced about the importance of the intensity of spring practices, that the players believe their work right now will help them against Georgia Tech or North Carolina.
Are they convinced? Have they bought in?
"Oh, I think so. I think so," Narduzzi said. "Kids are smart; they're a lot smarter than we give them credit for. They knew the winter conditioning was going to make them better. They knew the Fourth-Quarter Program was going to make them better. And they know the weight room is making them better."
For his part, Mitchell said he already feels like things are different, and different in a way that will positively impact the season.
- In other depth chart news, Mitchell continues to work on the first team at free safety next to Jevonte Pitts, who has been on and off the first-team defense throughout the spring but has been on the top unit for the last week while Pat Amara has been on the sidelines with an undisclosed injury.
For whatever it's worth, there doesn't seem to be a lot of concern about Amara's situation. I don't think he will return this spring; we'll see after that.
- Brian O'Neill did return to practice Tuesday after suffering a hand injury that kept him out of the last few weeks of practices.
- Other than Moody, there wasn't a lot of movement on the two-deep Tuesday. Mike Caprara and Nicholas Grigsby continue to work at the first-team outside linebacker spots, while Quintin Wirginis backs up Matt Galambos in the middle. With Amara out, redshirt freshman walk-on Oluwaseun Idowu has been the backup strong safety behind Jevonte Pitts.
- Pitt will be back on the practice field Thursday and Saturday to close out this week, and then hold two practices in the South Side next week - Tuesday and Thursday - around the midweek draft for the spring game, which will be held Saturday, April 18.
This post was edited on 4/8 12:33 AM by Chris Peak
