After checking @NC Panther 's thread on the "window" being open, I decided to do a little more deep dive on the position groups for this coming season's team compared to last season...and man...I can't help but be even more optimistic than I was heading into last season.
OFFENSE
The QB position won’t be better than last year. Everyone knows that. And still, having Slovis arrive would seem like an upgrade any other year. He simply has the bad (good) fortune of following the best season of QB play in program history. Hear me out, though. Slovis gets the ball out on time and he's very accurate. The balanced, playaction based offense that I see from Cignetti should fit his skills perfectly. And if Slovis doesn't work out...you know who else gets the ball out on time and shows pretty good accuracy? Nick Patti. I'm convinced that between those two, the offense will find the rhythm to be *close to* as good as the offense from last season. My money is on Slovis but I am on record loving Patti's intangibles and intelligence. Either way, getting 75% of Pickett's production from the QB's could mean the offense overall is even better because of all the other position groups...
RB has suddenly got lots of mouths to feed. Izzy still reminds me of Wayne Gallman and I think he will get the amount of touches that he should have gotten last year but he's not the only back demanding touches now. Hammond beat the Clemson defense into submission as a freshman in the 4th quarter. I've said he reminds me of Dion Lewis with his shiftiness and deceptive power. V Davis should have a better chance to be used in a more appropriate role this season. I still understand how important RB pass protection was, especially in Whipple’s system but if he’s used more like Larod Stephens-Howling to Izzy/Hammond’s Shady usage ( I'm not saying those two are the same caliber of Shady ), it’ll optimize his skillset. And out of nowhere Carter decided to look like Q Ollison’s senior version. Cignetti seems to already have a plan on how to use Carter and I'm excited to see where that goes this season.
WR should be the best collective group in school history. Biletnikoff winner returning. Freshman AA transfer incoming. Tough, athletic, and explosive depth. I don’t even need to explain any further. This will be a fun group.
TE has a bell cow and some unknowns. So I’ll take this time to point out that the biggest non-QB question on offense is the backup TE position.
OL is what it is. When they’re healthy, they steamrolled through some decent defenses and really impressed in how they grinded GT, VT, and Clemson in the 4th quarters. Injuries caused a dip in play and yet I still think it’s underestimated that every single starting OL is back. That’s absolutely enormous.
DEFENSE
The defensive front 7 really might be outrageous this season. The DL just looked like NFL players in the spring game. I know it was the spring game. I don’t need reminded that it wasn’t against a quality OL configuration. These guys are going to absolutely wreck any OL that isn’t playing a great game. Haba and Kancey could both be preseason AA though Haba might not quite get that recognition I think he will produce like one. Inside and outside pass rushers. It’s going to be a lot of fun watching them attack the pocket. A really really sturdy running game might be able to test this group but the defense is structured to attack the Iowa's and Stanford's of CFB. When it comes to attacking the modern elite passing offenses?...I'm extremely optimistic.
I am going to go out on a limb and say that I think the LB corps is about to be transformationally good. I hope fans appreciate how outrageously athletic the 4 main guys (Dennis, DeShields, Kamara, and Simon) really are. The question is experience and depth. But any of these four are every bit as athletic and explosive as any blue blood program. People talk Clemson having superior athletes across the board. These are Clemson-caliber athletes. Except now it’s been building at Pitt. Watching Kamara and DeShields run around this spring and last season while already knowing what Dennis can do - if this group stays healthy they'll be devastating.
The secondary as a group should be better than last season because they’re all back and a year older and a year more developed. Having both safeties as returning starters is a big help to the things that plague the defense when it’s struggling which is - giving up big plays in the back end. Before last season began, I trusted Hill and was unsure of Hallett. Now I trust them both and I really love Hill and it was really stunning to see how well Hallett played particularly after the WMU game. The corners don’t scare me one bit. Williams is incredibly scrappy and very athletic. He's very comparable to Avonte Maddox. Woods and Devonshire both made strides last season and they each could be exceptional in 2023 if I'm looking way too far ahead. For this season, I don't expect any to be "picked on" as a target. There will be plays given up but just limiting those while forcing offenses into dangerous risk taking...let’s just say I think this will be the most turnovers generated in the Narduzzi era.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Ok, they missed kicks in the spring game. Wake me up in the fall and I'll consider diving deeper into whether the kicking situation could keep this team out of a spot in the playoffs.
Life is good right now as a fan of this team.
OFFENSE
The QB position won’t be better than last year. Everyone knows that. And still, having Slovis arrive would seem like an upgrade any other year. He simply has the bad (good) fortune of following the best season of QB play in program history. Hear me out, though. Slovis gets the ball out on time and he's very accurate. The balanced, playaction based offense that I see from Cignetti should fit his skills perfectly. And if Slovis doesn't work out...you know who else gets the ball out on time and shows pretty good accuracy? Nick Patti. I'm convinced that between those two, the offense will find the rhythm to be *close to* as good as the offense from last season. My money is on Slovis but I am on record loving Patti's intangibles and intelligence. Either way, getting 75% of Pickett's production from the QB's could mean the offense overall is even better because of all the other position groups...
RB has suddenly got lots of mouths to feed. Izzy still reminds me of Wayne Gallman and I think he will get the amount of touches that he should have gotten last year but he's not the only back demanding touches now. Hammond beat the Clemson defense into submission as a freshman in the 4th quarter. I've said he reminds me of Dion Lewis with his shiftiness and deceptive power. V Davis should have a better chance to be used in a more appropriate role this season. I still understand how important RB pass protection was, especially in Whipple’s system but if he’s used more like Larod Stephens-Howling to Izzy/Hammond’s Shady usage ( I'm not saying those two are the same caliber of Shady ), it’ll optimize his skillset. And out of nowhere Carter decided to look like Q Ollison’s senior version. Cignetti seems to already have a plan on how to use Carter and I'm excited to see where that goes this season.
WR should be the best collective group in school history. Biletnikoff winner returning. Freshman AA transfer incoming. Tough, athletic, and explosive depth. I don’t even need to explain any further. This will be a fun group.
TE has a bell cow and some unknowns. So I’ll take this time to point out that the biggest non-QB question on offense is the backup TE position.
OL is what it is. When they’re healthy, they steamrolled through some decent defenses and really impressed in how they grinded GT, VT, and Clemson in the 4th quarters. Injuries caused a dip in play and yet I still think it’s underestimated that every single starting OL is back. That’s absolutely enormous.
DEFENSE
The defensive front 7 really might be outrageous this season. The DL just looked like NFL players in the spring game. I know it was the spring game. I don’t need reminded that it wasn’t against a quality OL configuration. These guys are going to absolutely wreck any OL that isn’t playing a great game. Haba and Kancey could both be preseason AA though Haba might not quite get that recognition I think he will produce like one. Inside and outside pass rushers. It’s going to be a lot of fun watching them attack the pocket. A really really sturdy running game might be able to test this group but the defense is structured to attack the Iowa's and Stanford's of CFB. When it comes to attacking the modern elite passing offenses?...I'm extremely optimistic.
I am going to go out on a limb and say that I think the LB corps is about to be transformationally good. I hope fans appreciate how outrageously athletic the 4 main guys (Dennis, DeShields, Kamara, and Simon) really are. The question is experience and depth. But any of these four are every bit as athletic and explosive as any blue blood program. People talk Clemson having superior athletes across the board. These are Clemson-caliber athletes. Except now it’s been building at Pitt. Watching Kamara and DeShields run around this spring and last season while already knowing what Dennis can do - if this group stays healthy they'll be devastating.
The secondary as a group should be better than last season because they’re all back and a year older and a year more developed. Having both safeties as returning starters is a big help to the things that plague the defense when it’s struggling which is - giving up big plays in the back end. Before last season began, I trusted Hill and was unsure of Hallett. Now I trust them both and I really love Hill and it was really stunning to see how well Hallett played particularly after the WMU game. The corners don’t scare me one bit. Williams is incredibly scrappy and very athletic. He's very comparable to Avonte Maddox. Woods and Devonshire both made strides last season and they each could be exceptional in 2023 if I'm looking way too far ahead. For this season, I don't expect any to be "picked on" as a target. There will be plays given up but just limiting those while forcing offenses into dangerous risk taking...let’s just say I think this will be the most turnovers generated in the Narduzzi era.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Ok, they missed kicks in the spring game. Wake me up in the fall and I'll consider diving deeper into whether the kicking situation could keep this team out of a spot in the playoffs.
Life is good right now as a fan of this team.
