~ OK, practice No. 14. Today was going to be a light day, tomorrow will be an even lighter day, with all focus heading towards the scrimmage on Sunday. The team was in ‘shells’ today, with the next full-padded practice on Sunday.
~ If you have been reading along or listening to some of our podcasts on Panther-Lair.com, then you know we’re really building up the importance of this scrimmage. There are a few position battles up for grabs, but it’s more than just that.
~ The offense was not particularly great last scrimmage (so we’ve heard) and so with a new offense, you kind of want to start to see some continuity. As Narduzzi put it, he’s ‘torn’. He wants the defense to continue to dominate, but the offense has to show something. I get it, too. We always make a point to talk about the ‘TAKEAWAY’ stickers, because it’s great to see guys like Cruce Brookins make a bunch of plays. On the flip side, however, there are some ‘giveaways’ on the offense’s part, too. That’s always a concern when you have intrasquad scrimmages.
~ The other thing that stands out about this scrimmage is that it will be treated like a game day. It will take place at Acrisure Stadium. I expect the coaches who normally coach upstairs on game days to be in the press box on Saturday. They will be testing out the new iPad technology, the communication systems in the helmet, and things like that. It’s a trial run for the season more or less.
~ Pete Thamel, ESPN’s national college football writer, was at practice today. I think that’s notable on many fronts. For starters, I doubt he stops at every team that went 3-9 the year prior for training camp. In that regard, I do think that speaks to Pitt’s SID department. EJ Borghetti does a good job of promoting Pitt, and keeping national writers happy is one of his strengths.
~ I also wonder why ESPN’s national writer is spending time at Pitt. There aren’t THAT many big storylines around this team…except one: the quarterback competition. Thamel has broken position battles and coaching hires out of Pitt before, so I wonder if he’s getting his story ready for that announcement. (As an aside, it would be nice for the outlets that are here every single day to get that scoop first, but I get why Pitt/Narduzzi feeds those tips to ESPN, even if I don’t have to like it)
~ Because quarterback is on the mind, I did spend time watching them today. When you see all the reps, it’s still No. 19 and No. 10 at the front of the line leading the group, it’s not like we can tell much beyond that. I'm sure it gets more interesting when we're inside.
~ Aside from the two quarterbacks at the top, I kind of feel Ty Diffenbach has settled that No. 3 job, which was somewhat an open competition. That’s not definitive, just sort of my read. Also of note, Julian Dugger from day one of camp until now, looks considerably better. He throws a much cleaner ball, so it’s good to see on-field progress from a freshman.
~ The running backs were working with the quarterbacks on some routes. I also happened to notice a new running back. Che Nwabuko was with Lindsey Lamar and company today, which is the first I noticed about that.
~ Going back to recruiting a bit. But when Pitt started landing guys like Tony Kinsler, JaKyrian Turner, Synkwan Smith over the summer. The question was always: are they a running back or a wide receiver? And the answer was typically…both. I think the lines are blurred at times between running backs and slot receivers in this offense, at least when you judge by the 2025 commits. Nwabuko actually sort of profiles like their 2025 commits. He did a little bit of everything in high school, so I don’t think him moving around a little is a bad idea. Remember, he’s probably the fastest guy on the team, so trying to find more ways to get him out there the better, I would say.
~ One thing I noticed in practice today was the noise. The music was jacked up more than usual, and Narduzzi said he thinks that helps with focus, in that you really have to listen to the coaches and the cadence now, and plus it’s a good simulation for road games, too. They do that more in the regular season than during camp, so that's why it struck me. I bet the noise will be turned up at Acrisure on Sunday as well.
(The first song when the music was turned up was Seven Nation Army by the White Stripes. Anyone else see this new Jack White tour? Pretty sick)
~ I asked about the defensive tackle rotation, because it feels rather large from my vantage point. Is there any separation? Well, Narduzzi said he would like to get it to five guys. He mentioned Neal, FitzSImmons, Anthony and Nahki Johnson, and Nick James. We also know they like the freshmen, Brewu and Whittington, a good bit also. So I don’t know. He even said it’s not a flashy position, so it’s hard to always judge.
~ When Narduzzi started his press briefing, a few seconds into it, you can hear a very loud and audible ‘let’s go!’ off in the distance. That was Isaiah ‘Ghost’ Neal. He’s an energetic and enthusiastic guy, as we saw in his interview the other day. When asked about him, Narduzzi said that Neal has the ability to get a sack. That caught my eye. You know who else had that ability? Guys like Jaylen Twyman and Calijah Kancey. I do wonder if he can be that ‘next’ guy. I’m starting to think he can…
~ I also asked about the corners. It does seem like Ryland Gandy is a starter, but he praised Tamon Lynum, calling him their most ‘physical’ corner. He had good things to say about Rashad Battle, but knocked on wood referring to his injury history. He also said Noah Biglow is making strides, and we haven’t heard a ton about him before that, so that was noteworthy.
~ Overall, there was not as ton to see at practice today. Again, it’s scrimmage eve-eve, so that’s the focus. The next time we’ll talk to Narduzzi will be Tuesday, so we’ll be sure to ask about the quarterback battle, the center competition, and any other positions that are unsettled.
~ Coming up in a little while, we’ll be talking to a few players. So like always, stay tuned for videos, articles, etc.
~ If you have been reading along or listening to some of our podcasts on Panther-Lair.com, then you know we’re really building up the importance of this scrimmage. There are a few position battles up for grabs, but it’s more than just that.
~ The offense was not particularly great last scrimmage (so we’ve heard) and so with a new offense, you kind of want to start to see some continuity. As Narduzzi put it, he’s ‘torn’. He wants the defense to continue to dominate, but the offense has to show something. I get it, too. We always make a point to talk about the ‘TAKEAWAY’ stickers, because it’s great to see guys like Cruce Brookins make a bunch of plays. On the flip side, however, there are some ‘giveaways’ on the offense’s part, too. That’s always a concern when you have intrasquad scrimmages.
~ The other thing that stands out about this scrimmage is that it will be treated like a game day. It will take place at Acrisure Stadium. I expect the coaches who normally coach upstairs on game days to be in the press box on Saturday. They will be testing out the new iPad technology, the communication systems in the helmet, and things like that. It’s a trial run for the season more or less.
~ Pete Thamel, ESPN’s national college football writer, was at practice today. I think that’s notable on many fronts. For starters, I doubt he stops at every team that went 3-9 the year prior for training camp. In that regard, I do think that speaks to Pitt’s SID department. EJ Borghetti does a good job of promoting Pitt, and keeping national writers happy is one of his strengths.
~ I also wonder why ESPN’s national writer is spending time at Pitt. There aren’t THAT many big storylines around this team…except one: the quarterback competition. Thamel has broken position battles and coaching hires out of Pitt before, so I wonder if he’s getting his story ready for that announcement. (As an aside, it would be nice for the outlets that are here every single day to get that scoop first, but I get why Pitt/Narduzzi feeds those tips to ESPN, even if I don’t have to like it)
~ Because quarterback is on the mind, I did spend time watching them today. When you see all the reps, it’s still No. 19 and No. 10 at the front of the line leading the group, it’s not like we can tell much beyond that. I'm sure it gets more interesting when we're inside.
~ Aside from the two quarterbacks at the top, I kind of feel Ty Diffenbach has settled that No. 3 job, which was somewhat an open competition. That’s not definitive, just sort of my read. Also of note, Julian Dugger from day one of camp until now, looks considerably better. He throws a much cleaner ball, so it’s good to see on-field progress from a freshman.
~ The running backs were working with the quarterbacks on some routes. I also happened to notice a new running back. Che Nwabuko was with Lindsey Lamar and company today, which is the first I noticed about that.
~ Going back to recruiting a bit. But when Pitt started landing guys like Tony Kinsler, JaKyrian Turner, Synkwan Smith over the summer. The question was always: are they a running back or a wide receiver? And the answer was typically…both. I think the lines are blurred at times between running backs and slot receivers in this offense, at least when you judge by the 2025 commits. Nwabuko actually sort of profiles like their 2025 commits. He did a little bit of everything in high school, so I don’t think him moving around a little is a bad idea. Remember, he’s probably the fastest guy on the team, so trying to find more ways to get him out there the better, I would say.
~ One thing I noticed in practice today was the noise. The music was jacked up more than usual, and Narduzzi said he thinks that helps with focus, in that you really have to listen to the coaches and the cadence now, and plus it’s a good simulation for road games, too. They do that more in the regular season than during camp, so that's why it struck me. I bet the noise will be turned up at Acrisure on Sunday as well.
(The first song when the music was turned up was Seven Nation Army by the White Stripes. Anyone else see this new Jack White tour? Pretty sick)
~ I asked about the defensive tackle rotation, because it feels rather large from my vantage point. Is there any separation? Well, Narduzzi said he would like to get it to five guys. He mentioned Neal, FitzSImmons, Anthony and Nahki Johnson, and Nick James. We also know they like the freshmen, Brewu and Whittington, a good bit also. So I don’t know. He even said it’s not a flashy position, so it’s hard to always judge.
~ When Narduzzi started his press briefing, a few seconds into it, you can hear a very loud and audible ‘let’s go!’ off in the distance. That was Isaiah ‘Ghost’ Neal. He’s an energetic and enthusiastic guy, as we saw in his interview the other day. When asked about him, Narduzzi said that Neal has the ability to get a sack. That caught my eye. You know who else had that ability? Guys like Jaylen Twyman and Calijah Kancey. I do wonder if he can be that ‘next’ guy. I’m starting to think he can…
~ I also asked about the corners. It does seem like Ryland Gandy is a starter, but he praised Tamon Lynum, calling him their most ‘physical’ corner. He had good things to say about Rashad Battle, but knocked on wood referring to his injury history. He also said Noah Biglow is making strides, and we haven’t heard a ton about him before that, so that was noteworthy.
~ Overall, there was not as ton to see at practice today. Again, it’s scrimmage eve-eve, so that’s the focus. The next time we’ll talk to Narduzzi will be Tuesday, so we’ll be sure to ask about the quarterback battle, the center competition, and any other positions that are unsettled.
~ Coming up in a little while, we’ll be talking to a few players. So like always, stay tuned for videos, articles, etc.
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