After the media had a day off on Wednesday, we were back in the South Side Thursday to get a look at Pitt’s morning practice - at the very least, the first three periods of practice, which included stretching, some special teams work and a few other drills.
The first thing anyone will be asking about is attendance. Dewayne Hendrix was at practice but was not participating; nor were James Folston or Amir Watts. Phillipie Motley and George Aston were not in attendance.
Jordan Whitehead was there. Aaron Mathews was not. Paris Ford was not; it seems like we’re at a point where that has to be said every day, but the truth is, there’s no set date for when he’ll get an answer on his eligibility. There is plenty of paperwork, clearances, approvals, etc. to be done by the NCAA Clearinghouse before any definitive answer is given.
So everybody is waiting and watching on that one. It could be next week. It could be the day before the semester starts. Obviously, the sooner the better, but that’s out of everyone’s hands (everyone at Pitt, at least).
- Regarding some of the injured players, it’s relevant to mention that, oftentimes during camp, coaches are cautious. They certainly want everyone to participate as much as possible, but they also need to be smart and know when rest is the best option, particularly when it involves key players like Hendrix and Watts.
I’m not saying that caution is the sole cause for the absences of Hendrix et al. But I think it’s worth mentioning as some of these things seem to mount up, it’s good to keep in mind. Complete absences like Motley and Aston are more concerning; beyond that, it’s best to wait and see what happens. Camp is a long grind and guys get banged up.
- What else was new on Thursday? Not a ton, although there were some things to observe. One position group that has been standing out to me lately is the tight ends. Pat Narduzzi raved about those guys during his Media Day press conference on Tuesday, and Tim Salem was equally as effusive, if not more so.
What do they like so much? Well, what’s not to like: they have a big, athletic pass-catcher in Chris Clark, and he has been playing up to expectations. They have a grad transfer in Matt Flanagan who seems to be more than the single-use blocker most have made him out to be. And they have three freshmen who seem to have the staff genuinely excited; seriously, coaches usually try to measure their comments about freshmen, but Salem spoke really highly of them on Tuesday - more highly than I expected.
I’ll share Salem’s comments on the podcast tomorrow and in transcript form, but a few more thoughts from what I saw on Thursday:
- We’ve all expected at least one freshman tight end to see the field in 2017. On Thursday, Salem and Andre Powell was working with all of the tight ends on some special teams drills, getting the players some experience in blocking on kick returns.
That drill was taking place during the team stretching period. Generally, what happens is the bulk of the team stretches under the direction of S&C coach Dave Andrews, and while that’s happening, a handful of specialists and other players work on a variety of special teams drills, including catching kicks and punts. On Thursday, the catching of those kicks seemed to be secondary to Powell’s real focus, which was getting the tight ends comfortable blocking for those returns.
What I took from that worked in correlation with something Salem told me. He said that, in another week or so, the coaches will start making some decisions. Not necessarily decisions on which freshmen will redshirt; rather, they’re considering which freshmen could potentially help if the coaches need someone to take the field.
It’s kind of a step below deciding who will play and who will redshirt. It’s a pool of players who are not guaranteed to play but are available in case they are needed (as opposed to most of the freshmen, who will be locked into redshirts by the time the season starts). I think that special teams drill on Thursday was giving Salem, Powell and the rest of the staff more looks at ways those tight ends can help.
I don’t think all three freshman tight ends will play this season as long as Clark and Flanagan (and redshirt senior Devon Edwards) stay healthy. But the coaches are looking for ways to get them on the field.
- Part of the reason for that is their physical statures. All three freshmen are really big - and they look like they’re ready to play right now. Tyler Sear is the smallest of the group, and that’s relative since he’s still around 6’5” and 250 pounds. It was an interesting visual to watch some of those kick returners on Thursday - guys like Quadree Henderson and Avonte Maddox and Rafael Araujo-Lopes, who are, um, diminutive - running behind guys who are, at a minimum, 6’5”.
- The coaches had the offensive linemen lined up for awhile Thursday morning. The first group still looks the same, with Jaryd Jones-Smith at left tackle, Alex Officer at left guard, Connor Dintino at center, Mike Herndon at right guard and Brandon Hodges at right tackle. Behind them are Tony Pilato (left tackle), Brandon Ford (left guard), Jimmy Morrissey (center), Alex Bookser (right guard) and Bryce Hargrove (right tackle).
There’s not much change there from what we’ve seen throughout camp, save for the addition of Hodges as the top right tackle. What’s really interesting is the freshman lineup the coaches have been putting together.
In that group, Gabe Houy is at left tackle, Carter Warren is at left guard, Owen Drexel is at center, walk-on Brian Burgess is at right guard and Jerry Drake is at right tackle. That’s an intriguing set of linemen; it won’t be on the field for a few years, but it’s an interesting look into the future.
The first thing anyone will be asking about is attendance. Dewayne Hendrix was at practice but was not participating; nor were James Folston or Amir Watts. Phillipie Motley and George Aston were not in attendance.
Jordan Whitehead was there. Aaron Mathews was not. Paris Ford was not; it seems like we’re at a point where that has to be said every day, but the truth is, there’s no set date for when he’ll get an answer on his eligibility. There is plenty of paperwork, clearances, approvals, etc. to be done by the NCAA Clearinghouse before any definitive answer is given.
So everybody is waiting and watching on that one. It could be next week. It could be the day before the semester starts. Obviously, the sooner the better, but that’s out of everyone’s hands (everyone at Pitt, at least).
- Regarding some of the injured players, it’s relevant to mention that, oftentimes during camp, coaches are cautious. They certainly want everyone to participate as much as possible, but they also need to be smart and know when rest is the best option, particularly when it involves key players like Hendrix and Watts.
I’m not saying that caution is the sole cause for the absences of Hendrix et al. But I think it’s worth mentioning as some of these things seem to mount up, it’s good to keep in mind. Complete absences like Motley and Aston are more concerning; beyond that, it’s best to wait and see what happens. Camp is a long grind and guys get banged up.
- What else was new on Thursday? Not a ton, although there were some things to observe. One position group that has been standing out to me lately is the tight ends. Pat Narduzzi raved about those guys during his Media Day press conference on Tuesday, and Tim Salem was equally as effusive, if not more so.
What do they like so much? Well, what’s not to like: they have a big, athletic pass-catcher in Chris Clark, and he has been playing up to expectations. They have a grad transfer in Matt Flanagan who seems to be more than the single-use blocker most have made him out to be. And they have three freshmen who seem to have the staff genuinely excited; seriously, coaches usually try to measure their comments about freshmen, but Salem spoke really highly of them on Tuesday - more highly than I expected.
I’ll share Salem’s comments on the podcast tomorrow and in transcript form, but a few more thoughts from what I saw on Thursday:
- We’ve all expected at least one freshman tight end to see the field in 2017. On Thursday, Salem and Andre Powell was working with all of the tight ends on some special teams drills, getting the players some experience in blocking on kick returns.
That drill was taking place during the team stretching period. Generally, what happens is the bulk of the team stretches under the direction of S&C coach Dave Andrews, and while that’s happening, a handful of specialists and other players work on a variety of special teams drills, including catching kicks and punts. On Thursday, the catching of those kicks seemed to be secondary to Powell’s real focus, which was getting the tight ends comfortable blocking for those returns.
What I took from that worked in correlation with something Salem told me. He said that, in another week or so, the coaches will start making some decisions. Not necessarily decisions on which freshmen will redshirt; rather, they’re considering which freshmen could potentially help if the coaches need someone to take the field.
It’s kind of a step below deciding who will play and who will redshirt. It’s a pool of players who are not guaranteed to play but are available in case they are needed (as opposed to most of the freshmen, who will be locked into redshirts by the time the season starts). I think that special teams drill on Thursday was giving Salem, Powell and the rest of the staff more looks at ways those tight ends can help.
I don’t think all three freshman tight ends will play this season as long as Clark and Flanagan (and redshirt senior Devon Edwards) stay healthy. But the coaches are looking for ways to get them on the field.
- Part of the reason for that is their physical statures. All three freshmen are really big - and they look like they’re ready to play right now. Tyler Sear is the smallest of the group, and that’s relative since he’s still around 6’5” and 250 pounds. It was an interesting visual to watch some of those kick returners on Thursday - guys like Quadree Henderson and Avonte Maddox and Rafael Araujo-Lopes, who are, um, diminutive - running behind guys who are, at a minimum, 6’5”.
- The coaches had the offensive linemen lined up for awhile Thursday morning. The first group still looks the same, with Jaryd Jones-Smith at left tackle, Alex Officer at left guard, Connor Dintino at center, Mike Herndon at right guard and Brandon Hodges at right tackle. Behind them are Tony Pilato (left tackle), Brandon Ford (left guard), Jimmy Morrissey (center), Alex Bookser (right guard) and Bryce Hargrove (right tackle).
There’s not much change there from what we’ve seen throughout camp, save for the addition of Hodges as the top right tackle. What’s really interesting is the freshman lineup the coaches have been putting together.
In that group, Gabe Houy is at left tackle, Carter Warren is at left guard, Owen Drexel is at center, walk-on Brian Burgess is at right guard and Jerry Drake is at right tackle. That’s an intriguing set of linemen; it won’t be on the field for a few years, but it’s an interesting look into the future.
