Pitt was back on the field Monday morning, and Pat Narduzzi’s pre-practice briefing was notable since it was the first time he addressed the media since Saturday’s scrimmage.
I should say that Narduzzi did release this statement on Saturday:
“Overall, I thought that our offense did a great job of driving the ball. I thought our defense did a good job of playing bend-but-don’t-break ball when they [the offense] got down in the red zone to force field goals. Overall, it was a very healthy scrimmage. It’s always good to come out healthy. I’m sure we will have some bumps and bruises tomorrow, but it was a physical, great-effort scrimmage. I would probably say that the one negative was penalties since it was the first time that we had officials out here today, which was on purpose. We really have been pretty good for five practices with limiting the unforced errors - as far as jumping offside, committing illegal procedures and lining up offside. I knew that a corner would line up offside today, and it happened. So we’ve got to clean up a lot of those mistakes.”
On Monday, Narduzzi added that the scrimmage was “really crisp, really healthy” and that he was “happy with the intensity.” That was about as specific as Narduzzi got on Monday morning, although when the players took the field for practice, the offense was still wearing the blue jerseys - indicating they won the scrimmage.
Narduzzi was willing to confirm that.
“The offense did win the scrimmage,” he said. “It came down to a two-minute situation with the ones and twos at the end. It was a tight ball game, and the offense won the scrimmage. That’s why they’re wearing the blue jerseys today.”
I mentioned on Saturday that I heard freshman receiver Aaron Mathews made a big play late in the scrimmage. It was even described to me as a “game-winner,” so I’m connecting the dots here to say that the former Clairton standout clinched the victory for the offense.
- The big thing we’re looking for now is depth chart implications from the scrimmage. Narduzzi wasn’t giving up much in that regard.
“There were little adjustments. Nothing major, which is, I guess, a good thing. I would say about three, maybe four little changes that you probably won’t be able to see out there in the time period that you’re out there. But nothing that would surprise you. Little moves here and there that usually happen.”
That said, he did later say that one fallout from the scrimmage is at the backup quarterback position, where Manny Stocker is pulling away from Ben DiNucci.
“That’s probably one of those spots that we’ve seen a little bit of change. As we move closer to September 3rd, we’ve got to start to get that depth chart squeezed down and really get repetitions to the guys that need them. And right now, Manny has separated himself a little bit at that spot. You’re talking about a fifth-year senior compared to a second-year redshirt freshman.”
While Stocker isn’t the prettiest passer, he did make a few nice throws in Monday’s practice that drew whoops and hollers from offensive coordinator Matt Canada.
- I also think the Star linebacker was a focal point in the scrimmage, as it has been throughout camp, and there are a few things to note there. The coaches came into camp looking for Bam Bradley to win the job, or at the very least put up a strong competition. To this point, I don’t know if they have gotten what they were looking for.
When discussing the linebackers on Monday morning, Narduzzi said that Bradley has “kind of been floating around, doing a little bit of both and he’s much improved.” The first parts of that quote - the “floating around” and “doing a little bit of both” - are what stand out to me, since Bradley seems to have drifted from the Star linebacker competition to something more akin to depth.
And when the team worked in walk-throughs early in Monday’s practice, Bradley was with the second group working at Money linebacker while Oluwaseun Idowu worked with the first group at Star and Elijah Zeise was with the second group.
Again, those are just walk-throughs and the team drills later in practice certainly would offer more insight into the status of the depth chart. But to see Bradley now getting reps at the position he played last year seems like a shift of some degree.
It’s not Bradley sliding, though (if that’s what’s happening). I think the coaches also like what they’re getting from Idowu and Zeise. I think Zeise’s potential intrigues them quite a bit as a smart, athletic player who moved from receiver this spring and, due to his relative newness to the position, has quite a bit of upside.
Of course, the coaches are also interested in developing depth. Narduzzi spoke highly of Quintin Wirginis and Saleem Brightwell on Monday, saying of Brightwell that he “continues to make plays; he doesn’t always get lined up the way we want him to, but he’s a football player.” Narduzzi said twice that he likes the depth at the position, and that might be the focus right now: develop four, five, six, seven or more linebackers you can trust and sort out the top three when you feel comfortable doing so.
- The same goes for running back, where the coaches still seem to feel like they’ve got a bounty of talent to work with.
“You know what? There’s so many good players back there right now that you’re not seeing a whole lot (of separation),” Narduzzi said. “Really, right now - and I’m not going to give you a depth chart - but all of those guys are doing a great job. James continues to impress, in my opinion. I might even tweet out one of his runs, just the end of it so you can’t see the whole thing, but he continues to impress…it was a nice cut that I was smiling at. But Rachid had a great day the other day, Darrin Hall had a great day, Moss continues to impress as well and Qadree’s been really, really versatile in what he can do. So I’m happy with the stable we have back there.”
The notion of multiple running backs on the field at the same time is a real one. We all saw it in the spring game and it will be a big part of the offense this season. I think we’ll see more than a few plays in three-receiver/two-back formations, and the staff is working to develop the receiving abilities of all the backs so they don’t necessarily tip their hands when they bring in a fresh set of legs.
- In other early-practice depth chart observations, it looks like Allen Edwards is pushing Dewayne Hendrix a little bit at defensive end. And Dane Jackson may have made a move past Phillipie Motley to compete with Ryan Lewis at cornerback.
It also looked like the coaches were giving Alex Officer some reps with the first-team offensive line at right guard, although the bulk of that work early in practice continued to go to John Guy. The biggest thing I take from that is that Officer doesn’t seem to be working as much, if at all, at center. Perhaps Alex Bookser has a tighter grasp on that position than we expected.
- Sometimes you can get an idea of which freshmen are close to seeing playing time by checking out special teams drills. Not necessarily the returners, but rather the guys on the return and coverage units. To that end, Chawntez Moss looked to be working with the first-team return unit in punt drills Monday morning, and Aaron Mathews had a spot on the second team.
On top of that, during some offensive walk throughs, Mathews got reps with the second team. He wasn’t in the first set of receivers to go out with Manny Stocker and the second-team offensive line, but he saw a couple reps there, which is notable.
- The top trio of receivers continues to be Dontez Ford, Quadree Henderson and Jester Weah. Of those three, I really think Ford and Henderson are emerging as the top two options. I think this staff really likes the things Ford brings to the field, and receivers coach Kevin Sherman mentioned Henderson as a potential vertical threat for this team when I spoke to him for today’s podcast.
That duo - Ford and Henderson - isn’t the most physically imposing, but Ford is tough and can get downfield and break tackles, and Henderson has speed and quickness that he has flashed in the last year. I think both guys will have big years in 2016. How big remains to be seen, but I think the early money is on those two being the leading receivers this season.
- One thing I noticed during some screen drills and other offensive drills: Brian O’Neill and Jaryd Jones-Smith can really run. For guys their size to move the way they do is a huge advantage, because they can get to the second level and pretty much eliminate a linebacker or, God help him, a safety. I think Pitt will be able to break at least a few more plays with one - or both - of those guys getting kick-out blocks.
- From the Department of Guys Who Pass the Looks Test: Kaezon Pugh was standing next to James Folston at one point, and there wasn’t all that much difference between the two. That’s a freshman linebacker standing next to a redshirt sophomore defensive end (albeit a smaller defensive end) and physically, they were comparable.
I should say that Narduzzi did release this statement on Saturday:
“Overall, I thought that our offense did a great job of driving the ball. I thought our defense did a good job of playing bend-but-don’t-break ball when they [the offense] got down in the red zone to force field goals. Overall, it was a very healthy scrimmage. It’s always good to come out healthy. I’m sure we will have some bumps and bruises tomorrow, but it was a physical, great-effort scrimmage. I would probably say that the one negative was penalties since it was the first time that we had officials out here today, which was on purpose. We really have been pretty good for five practices with limiting the unforced errors - as far as jumping offside, committing illegal procedures and lining up offside. I knew that a corner would line up offside today, and it happened. So we’ve got to clean up a lot of those mistakes.”
On Monday, Narduzzi added that the scrimmage was “really crisp, really healthy” and that he was “happy with the intensity.” That was about as specific as Narduzzi got on Monday morning, although when the players took the field for practice, the offense was still wearing the blue jerseys - indicating they won the scrimmage.
Narduzzi was willing to confirm that.
“The offense did win the scrimmage,” he said. “It came down to a two-minute situation with the ones and twos at the end. It was a tight ball game, and the offense won the scrimmage. That’s why they’re wearing the blue jerseys today.”
I mentioned on Saturday that I heard freshman receiver Aaron Mathews made a big play late in the scrimmage. It was even described to me as a “game-winner,” so I’m connecting the dots here to say that the former Clairton standout clinched the victory for the offense.
- The big thing we’re looking for now is depth chart implications from the scrimmage. Narduzzi wasn’t giving up much in that regard.
“There were little adjustments. Nothing major, which is, I guess, a good thing. I would say about three, maybe four little changes that you probably won’t be able to see out there in the time period that you’re out there. But nothing that would surprise you. Little moves here and there that usually happen.”
That said, he did later say that one fallout from the scrimmage is at the backup quarterback position, where Manny Stocker is pulling away from Ben DiNucci.
“That’s probably one of those spots that we’ve seen a little bit of change. As we move closer to September 3rd, we’ve got to start to get that depth chart squeezed down and really get repetitions to the guys that need them. And right now, Manny has separated himself a little bit at that spot. You’re talking about a fifth-year senior compared to a second-year redshirt freshman.”
While Stocker isn’t the prettiest passer, he did make a few nice throws in Monday’s practice that drew whoops and hollers from offensive coordinator Matt Canada.
- I also think the Star linebacker was a focal point in the scrimmage, as it has been throughout camp, and there are a few things to note there. The coaches came into camp looking for Bam Bradley to win the job, or at the very least put up a strong competition. To this point, I don’t know if they have gotten what they were looking for.
When discussing the linebackers on Monday morning, Narduzzi said that Bradley has “kind of been floating around, doing a little bit of both and he’s much improved.” The first parts of that quote - the “floating around” and “doing a little bit of both” - are what stand out to me, since Bradley seems to have drifted from the Star linebacker competition to something more akin to depth.
And when the team worked in walk-throughs early in Monday’s practice, Bradley was with the second group working at Money linebacker while Oluwaseun Idowu worked with the first group at Star and Elijah Zeise was with the second group.
Again, those are just walk-throughs and the team drills later in practice certainly would offer more insight into the status of the depth chart. But to see Bradley now getting reps at the position he played last year seems like a shift of some degree.
It’s not Bradley sliding, though (if that’s what’s happening). I think the coaches also like what they’re getting from Idowu and Zeise. I think Zeise’s potential intrigues them quite a bit as a smart, athletic player who moved from receiver this spring and, due to his relative newness to the position, has quite a bit of upside.
Of course, the coaches are also interested in developing depth. Narduzzi spoke highly of Quintin Wirginis and Saleem Brightwell on Monday, saying of Brightwell that he “continues to make plays; he doesn’t always get lined up the way we want him to, but he’s a football player.” Narduzzi said twice that he likes the depth at the position, and that might be the focus right now: develop four, five, six, seven or more linebackers you can trust and sort out the top three when you feel comfortable doing so.
- The same goes for running back, where the coaches still seem to feel like they’ve got a bounty of talent to work with.
“You know what? There’s so many good players back there right now that you’re not seeing a whole lot (of separation),” Narduzzi said. “Really, right now - and I’m not going to give you a depth chart - but all of those guys are doing a great job. James continues to impress, in my opinion. I might even tweet out one of his runs, just the end of it so you can’t see the whole thing, but he continues to impress…it was a nice cut that I was smiling at. But Rachid had a great day the other day, Darrin Hall had a great day, Moss continues to impress as well and Qadree’s been really, really versatile in what he can do. So I’m happy with the stable we have back there.”
The notion of multiple running backs on the field at the same time is a real one. We all saw it in the spring game and it will be a big part of the offense this season. I think we’ll see more than a few plays in three-receiver/two-back formations, and the staff is working to develop the receiving abilities of all the backs so they don’t necessarily tip their hands when they bring in a fresh set of legs.
- In other early-practice depth chart observations, it looks like Allen Edwards is pushing Dewayne Hendrix a little bit at defensive end. And Dane Jackson may have made a move past Phillipie Motley to compete with Ryan Lewis at cornerback.
It also looked like the coaches were giving Alex Officer some reps with the first-team offensive line at right guard, although the bulk of that work early in practice continued to go to John Guy. The biggest thing I take from that is that Officer doesn’t seem to be working as much, if at all, at center. Perhaps Alex Bookser has a tighter grasp on that position than we expected.
- Sometimes you can get an idea of which freshmen are close to seeing playing time by checking out special teams drills. Not necessarily the returners, but rather the guys on the return and coverage units. To that end, Chawntez Moss looked to be working with the first-team return unit in punt drills Monday morning, and Aaron Mathews had a spot on the second team.
On top of that, during some offensive walk throughs, Mathews got reps with the second team. He wasn’t in the first set of receivers to go out with Manny Stocker and the second-team offensive line, but he saw a couple reps there, which is notable.
- The top trio of receivers continues to be Dontez Ford, Quadree Henderson and Jester Weah. Of those three, I really think Ford and Henderson are emerging as the top two options. I think this staff really likes the things Ford brings to the field, and receivers coach Kevin Sherman mentioned Henderson as a potential vertical threat for this team when I spoke to him for today’s podcast.
That duo - Ford and Henderson - isn’t the most physically imposing, but Ford is tough and can get downfield and break tackles, and Henderson has speed and quickness that he has flashed in the last year. I think both guys will have big years in 2016. How big remains to be seen, but I think the early money is on those two being the leading receivers this season.
- One thing I noticed during some screen drills and other offensive drills: Brian O’Neill and Jaryd Jones-Smith can really run. For guys their size to move the way they do is a huge advantage, because they can get to the second level and pretty much eliminate a linebacker or, God help him, a safety. I think Pitt will be able to break at least a few more plays with one - or both - of those guys getting kick-out blocks.
- From the Department of Guys Who Pass the Looks Test: Kaezon Pugh was standing next to James Folston at one point, and there wasn’t all that much difference between the two. That’s a freshman linebacker standing next to a redshirt sophomore defensive end (albeit a smaller defensive end) and physically, they were comparable.
