Pitt starts the final week of training camp today. The team is practicing every day this week - they had off each of the last two Mondays - so this is the big push into game prep next week. Here's where a few things stand coming out of yesterday's scrimmage, which was the last scrimmage of camp:
- It sounds like Nick Patti is pretty firmly in place as the No. 2 quarterback and I think Davis Beville is behind him. Nate Yarnell will obviously redshirt and compete next year, but Joey Yellen seems like he could be the odd man out.
- I think we all know where things stand at running back and receiver: there are the main targets - Israel Abanikanda and Jordan Addison - and then everybody else kind of falls in line behind them. There will be plenty of rotation at receiver, but I do get the sense that the staff expects Taysir Mack to have a good season if he can stay healthy for the whole fall.
- The interior offensive line seems to be pretty set with Marcus Minor/Owen Drexel/Jake Kradel, but the tackle spots continue to be interesting. I've heard some positive reviews of Gabe Houy; it sounds like he had a pretty good offseason and is fully healthy, which hasn't been the case in the past, and he seems to have claimed the right tackle spot. That leaves Matt Goncalves and Carter Warren at left tackle. Jim has an article this morning on Goncalves, who impressed last year when he got his opportunity, but from what I've heard, Warren has had the better camp and is ahead in that competition.
So this will be interesting to watch. I don't know if the staff will have a full-on rotation, but I do think Goncalves will still see the field, even if Warren wins the starting job.
- I mentioned last week - and Pat Narduzzi later said the same thing - that M.J. Devonshire was making a move at cornerback, and I don't think the momentum has slipped there. It sounds like corner is becoming a position of real strength. You've got Damarri Mathis - Narduzzi said last week that he is the "number one corner" - you've got Devonshire, who was running first-team on Sunday again and you've got Marquis Williams who, from what I've heard, is having a really good camp, too.
If I had to guess, I imagine Mathis and Devonshire get the start on Sept. 4, but all three of those guys will play a lot. And then we'll see how players like AJ Woods, Khalil Anderson and the rest fit in.
- The other competition is at field safety. Jim mentioned this last week: Erick Hallett and Rashad Battle are fighting for that job, and I don't think that one is settled just yet. I also think it might end up being a moot point, because I could see both of those guys getting a lot of playing time.
- Whether it's Battle or Hallett, I think they'll be lining up next to Brandon Hill; it sounds like he has been doing really well at boundary safety. We'll see if he has he knack for big plays that Paris Ford had - although he did manage a 50-yard pick-six in his first start last season - but he should be a more solid and sound player overall at that spot. I also think he's got the physicality to make a lot of tackles, which has become a hallmark of the boundary safety position.
- I think the front seven will more or less be what we expect: plenty of rotation on the line and a decent amount at linebacker, too. I really think younger guys like Dayon Hayes at end and Bangally Kamara at linebacker are going to force their way onto the field. It will also be interesting to see if SirVocea Dennis gets some time at middle linebacker; we've talked about that possibility before, mostly as a way to get Dennis on the field with Cam Bright and Phil Campbell, and I think the coaches have been looking at that lineup in camp. Wendell Davis is still the No. 1 MLB, but there are options for rotation.
- It sounds like Nick Patti is pretty firmly in place as the No. 2 quarterback and I think Davis Beville is behind him. Nate Yarnell will obviously redshirt and compete next year, but Joey Yellen seems like he could be the odd man out.
- I think we all know where things stand at running back and receiver: there are the main targets - Israel Abanikanda and Jordan Addison - and then everybody else kind of falls in line behind them. There will be plenty of rotation at receiver, but I do get the sense that the staff expects Taysir Mack to have a good season if he can stay healthy for the whole fall.
- The interior offensive line seems to be pretty set with Marcus Minor/Owen Drexel/Jake Kradel, but the tackle spots continue to be interesting. I've heard some positive reviews of Gabe Houy; it sounds like he had a pretty good offseason and is fully healthy, which hasn't been the case in the past, and he seems to have claimed the right tackle spot. That leaves Matt Goncalves and Carter Warren at left tackle. Jim has an article this morning on Goncalves, who impressed last year when he got his opportunity, but from what I've heard, Warren has had the better camp and is ahead in that competition.
So this will be interesting to watch. I don't know if the staff will have a full-on rotation, but I do think Goncalves will still see the field, even if Warren wins the starting job.
- I mentioned last week - and Pat Narduzzi later said the same thing - that M.J. Devonshire was making a move at cornerback, and I don't think the momentum has slipped there. It sounds like corner is becoming a position of real strength. You've got Damarri Mathis - Narduzzi said last week that he is the "number one corner" - you've got Devonshire, who was running first-team on Sunday again and you've got Marquis Williams who, from what I've heard, is having a really good camp, too.
If I had to guess, I imagine Mathis and Devonshire get the start on Sept. 4, but all three of those guys will play a lot. And then we'll see how players like AJ Woods, Khalil Anderson and the rest fit in.
- The other competition is at field safety. Jim mentioned this last week: Erick Hallett and Rashad Battle are fighting for that job, and I don't think that one is settled just yet. I also think it might end up being a moot point, because I could see both of those guys getting a lot of playing time.
- Whether it's Battle or Hallett, I think they'll be lining up next to Brandon Hill; it sounds like he has been doing really well at boundary safety. We'll see if he has he knack for big plays that Paris Ford had - although he did manage a 50-yard pick-six in his first start last season - but he should be a more solid and sound player overall at that spot. I also think he's got the physicality to make a lot of tackles, which has become a hallmark of the boundary safety position.
- I think the front seven will more or less be what we expect: plenty of rotation on the line and a decent amount at linebacker, too. I really think younger guys like Dayon Hayes at end and Bangally Kamara at linebacker are going to force their way onto the field. It will also be interesting to see if SirVocea Dennis gets some time at middle linebacker; we've talked about that possibility before, mostly as a way to get Dennis on the field with Cam Bright and Phil Campbell, and I think the coaches have been looking at that lineup in camp. Wendell Davis is still the No. 1 MLB, but there are options for rotation.
