Training camp starts today, but we've got more preview content for you, with a look at freshmen who (I think) will play plus one sentence on every position.
Here's everything we've written so far.
Five overall thoughts on the team
Five stats on the offense, four on the defense and a though on stopping the run
The top impact transfers
Top position battles, top candidates to win those battles and top first-year starters
Freshmen who will play
Last year, only five freshmen got on the field enough to burn their redshirts:
WR Kenny Johnson
OL BJ Williams
LB Jordan Bass
LB Rasheem Biles
LB Braylan Lovelace
The year before that - 2022 - the only freshman who didn’t redshirt was punter Sam Vander Haar. And the only freshmen in 2021 who didn’t redshirt were Rodney Hammond, Gavin Bartholomew and P.J. O’Brien.
So over the last three years, only eight freshmen have played enough to avoid a redshirt, which means expectations should probably be tempered for this year.
At the same time, given the state of things in college football, there’s really no reason to hold players who can help you, even if it’s just on special teams. That was largely the case last year with the three linebackers: Bass, Biles and Lovelace combined to play less than 300 snaps on defense.
It was 282, to be exact, which isn’t a small number but also not a ton of work on defense. But again, there was no reason to hold those guys for a redshirt if the coaches believed they could contribute.
So who could get the call from Pitt’s current 21-man freshman class? Here are my picks (in no particular order):
Juelz Goff - I am getting bullish on Desmond Reid and Rodney Hammond will obviously get a lot of work, but I could see three backs getting a decent-sized workload, and Goff seems like as good an option as any.
Sincere Edwards - It’s not common for freshman defensive ends to burn their redshirts (Dayon Hayes in 2020 was the last freshman defensive end at Pitt to not take a redshirt). But we all know Pitt has a lot of questions at defensive end and Edwards has two built-in advantages for playing time:
1. He enrolled in January, so he had an extra six months to grow and develop and learn the defense.
2. He’s really good.
Cameron Lindsey - I am quite high on Pitt’s linebackers this year and I’m not sure if a freshman like Lindsey will crack the rotation on defense. But he should be able to help on special teams, and I think he’ll play more than four games.
Francis Brewu - I don’t think Brewu will play enough to avoid a redshirt, but similar to Edwards, he’s at a position where Pitt needs players and he’s got the advantage of having enrolled early. He also looks like he’s physically ready to line up, so that will help.
That’s all that really jumps out to me at this point. I could see one or both of the other linebackers - Davin Brewton and Jeremiah Marcelin - getting similar roles to what I described for Lindsey. But I don’t see a lot of opportunities for guys to get on the field, unless they’re either helping on special teams or there are injury situations.
One sentence on each position
Quarterback: Nate Yarnell needs to be what he has been every time he has gotten on the field: an efficient passer who gets the ball to his receivers and avoids turnovers.
Running back: Rodney Hammond can handle a bigger workload than he has gotten in his career, but Western Carolina transfer Desmond Reid is going to touch the ball a lot.
Wide receiver: Pitt has a lot of guys who seem like decent receivers, but the Panthers need one or two playmakers to emerge and stretch the field.
Tight end: Just get the ball to Gavin Bartholomew.
Offensive line: The starting five - and maybe even top six - looks pretty solid, but if the offensive line runs into injury issues, the depth feels questionable.
Defensive end: Pitt had the second-fewest sacks of the Narduzzi era last year, and now the Panthers will look for pass-rushing production from a group of ends who are almost all entirely unproven.
Defensive tackle: After years of relying on the same basic core of tackles, Pitt will look to a converted end, two transfers, a couple upperclassmen who haven’t produced and maybe a freshman or two to man the interior of the line.
Linebacker: After a couple strong recruiting classes at linebacker, this season’s defense will feature young but promising players in the middle, and it could be Narduzzi’s best group yet.
Cornerback: Everybody who played any significant amount of snaps at corner the last two seasons is gone, but we’ve touted the recruiting there for a few years; it will need to show itself in 2024.
Safety: The strongest position on the team, with two returning starters, an experienced and productive veteran reserve and two of the most promising young players on the roster.
Here's everything we've written so far.
Five overall thoughts on the team
Five stats on the offense, four on the defense and a though on stopping the run
The top impact transfers
Top position battles, top candidates to win those battles and top first-year starters
Freshmen who will play
Last year, only five freshmen got on the field enough to burn their redshirts:
WR Kenny Johnson
OL BJ Williams
LB Jordan Bass
LB Rasheem Biles
LB Braylan Lovelace
The year before that - 2022 - the only freshman who didn’t redshirt was punter Sam Vander Haar. And the only freshmen in 2021 who didn’t redshirt were Rodney Hammond, Gavin Bartholomew and P.J. O’Brien.
So over the last three years, only eight freshmen have played enough to avoid a redshirt, which means expectations should probably be tempered for this year.
At the same time, given the state of things in college football, there’s really no reason to hold players who can help you, even if it’s just on special teams. That was largely the case last year with the three linebackers: Bass, Biles and Lovelace combined to play less than 300 snaps on defense.
It was 282, to be exact, which isn’t a small number but also not a ton of work on defense. But again, there was no reason to hold those guys for a redshirt if the coaches believed they could contribute.
So who could get the call from Pitt’s current 21-man freshman class? Here are my picks (in no particular order):
Juelz Goff - I am getting bullish on Desmond Reid and Rodney Hammond will obviously get a lot of work, but I could see three backs getting a decent-sized workload, and Goff seems like as good an option as any.
Sincere Edwards - It’s not common for freshman defensive ends to burn their redshirts (Dayon Hayes in 2020 was the last freshman defensive end at Pitt to not take a redshirt). But we all know Pitt has a lot of questions at defensive end and Edwards has two built-in advantages for playing time:
1. He enrolled in January, so he had an extra six months to grow and develop and learn the defense.
2. He’s really good.
Cameron Lindsey - I am quite high on Pitt’s linebackers this year and I’m not sure if a freshman like Lindsey will crack the rotation on defense. But he should be able to help on special teams, and I think he’ll play more than four games.
Francis Brewu - I don’t think Brewu will play enough to avoid a redshirt, but similar to Edwards, he’s at a position where Pitt needs players and he’s got the advantage of having enrolled early. He also looks like he’s physically ready to line up, so that will help.
That’s all that really jumps out to me at this point. I could see one or both of the other linebackers - Davin Brewton and Jeremiah Marcelin - getting similar roles to what I described for Lindsey. But I don’t see a lot of opportunities for guys to get on the field, unless they’re either helping on special teams or there are injury situations.
One sentence on each position
Quarterback: Nate Yarnell needs to be what he has been every time he has gotten on the field: an efficient passer who gets the ball to his receivers and avoids turnovers.
Running back: Rodney Hammond can handle a bigger workload than he has gotten in his career, but Western Carolina transfer Desmond Reid is going to touch the ball a lot.
Wide receiver: Pitt has a lot of guys who seem like decent receivers, but the Panthers need one or two playmakers to emerge and stretch the field.
Tight end: Just get the ball to Gavin Bartholomew.
Offensive line: The starting five - and maybe even top six - looks pretty solid, but if the offensive line runs into injury issues, the depth feels questionable.
Defensive end: Pitt had the second-fewest sacks of the Narduzzi era last year, and now the Panthers will look for pass-rushing production from a group of ends who are almost all entirely unproven.
Defensive tackle: After years of relying on the same basic core of tackles, Pitt will look to a converted end, two transfers, a couple upperclassmen who haven’t produced and maybe a freshman or two to man the interior of the line.
Linebacker: After a couple strong recruiting classes at linebacker, this season’s defense will feature young but promising players in the middle, and it could be Narduzzi’s best group yet.
Cornerback: Everybody who played any significant amount of snaps at corner the last two seasons is gone, but we’ve touted the recruiting there for a few years; it will need to show itself in 2024.
Safety: The strongest position on the team, with two returning starters, an experienced and productive veteran reserve and two of the most promising young players on the roster.
