For the first time this fall, the players put the pads on today. Every football coach in the entire world repeats the cliche that you can't tell much from playing without pads and contact, and Pat Narduzzi is no different.
“Today’s another day when you’ll find out because there’s a little more contact than there was the last two days," he said.
Of course, just because the players are putting pads on, that doesn't mean Narduzzi wants them to play reckless. Narduzzi said he wants them to be smart, and initiate some contact, but not a lot. The emphasis is to keep players off the ground and from getting injured, he said.
Still, the players are excited to start hitting each other a bit. Narduzzi said James Conner is one of those guys— so much so that Narduzzi joked with him before practice, telling him that he was going to keep him out of practice just to mess with him, knowing how much he wants to start hitting guys.
The team will not be in pads for the rest of practice this fall, though. They'll still have days when they'll wear shorts or 'shells.' Narduzzi doesn't have those days marked out, he said, but they will inevitably come.
Some notes from the brief practice window:
“Today’s another day when you’ll find out because there’s a little more contact than there was the last two days," he said.
Of course, just because the players are putting pads on, that doesn't mean Narduzzi wants them to play reckless. Narduzzi said he wants them to be smart, and initiate some contact, but not a lot. The emphasis is to keep players off the ground and from getting injured, he said.
Still, the players are excited to start hitting each other a bit. Narduzzi said James Conner is one of those guys— so much so that Narduzzi joked with him before practice, telling him that he was going to keep him out of practice just to mess with him, knowing how much he wants to start hitting guys.
The team will not be in pads for the rest of practice this fall, though. They'll still have days when they'll wear shorts or 'shells.' Narduzzi doesn't have those days marked out, he said, but they will inevitably come.
Some notes from the brief practice window:
- Pitt's staff has shown to be a bit unorthodox in how they practice some drills. As has been noted before, the staff has punt and kick returners hold tennis balls while trying to catch the football. And today, they practiced a gunner drill, where they used a soccer ball instead of a football. The coaches would throw the ball, and the player would then run, quickly trying to stop it before it rolled out of bounce. The benefits of using a soccer ball, I suppose, is it might roll a bit faster than a football— the thinking being if they can master that, a football is comparatively easier.
- Offensive coordinator Matt Canada is probably the most vocal member of Pitt's staff. While practicing a drill in which the QB's threw bubble screens, Canada barked "every man, every women, every person thinks they can throw a bubble." So, how did Pitt's QB's fare in the drill? Nate Peterman, as expected, was the best of the bunch, usually putting the ball in stride for the receiver. Manny Stocker, not so much. Stocker's throws were often off line, forcing the receiver to stop and adjust for the ball. Other throws were too high or too low. Pitt's backup QB situation has been talked about an awful lot, and raised as a concern by fans and writers. Certainly, non of Pitt's backups have been able to quell those concerns.
- Over the spring, Canada spoke of how he puts the best players on the field, no matter the position. Every coach says that, but there's evidence to substantiate Canada's claim, given that he made tight ends a huge part of his offense at NC State last year, as they were the most talented players on his offense. With unproven wide receiver depth, and a load of good running backs, Canada's commitment to that philosophy will certainly be tested this year. Canada said this on the matter yesterday:
- Today, we saw Canada practice a two running back look in practice, with one on each side of the field, and the ball going to one of the two on a shovel pass, screen or hand off. On one rep, Chawntez Moss and Qadree Ollsion were the two running back in on the drill. On another, It was Rachid Ibrahim and Darrin Hall.
- With pads on today, practice starts to become especially telling of the freshmen, Narduzzi said. And down the line, defensive coordinator Josh Conklin said he'll typically know if a freshman can play early by practices 7,8 and 9. At that point last year, he said Whitehead continued to impress, as he didn't hit a wall. We haven't got to speak to the freshman yet, but when we do, it will interesting to find out how Damar Hamlin and Therran Coleman are doing mentally, as today is the start of when the staff will really start to find out what they have in them. For now, though, Conklin said that Hamlin is adjusting well, and the moment and playbook don't appear to be too big for him.
- One of Pitt's top local targets, defensive lineman Donovan Jeter, was at practice today. Getting recruits on campus and to practice as much as possible is important, and today was approximately the 3,000 time Jeter has took in a practice or been in Oakland.
- Scouts from the Detroit Lions and Pittsburgh Steelers were at practice today.
