Pitt kicked off Week Three - the final week - of training camp on Monday. The practice was the first following Saturday’s 130-play scrimmage since Pat Narduzzi opted to give the team Sunday off.
Instead of the regularly-scheduled practice on Sunday, Narduzzi had the team do a lifting session and a recovery session to gear up for the last week of camp prior to game week. From the sound of things, Saturday’s scrimmage was a physical one, and after two weeks of camp, the team is feeling some bumps and bruises.
Narduzzi seems to be pleased with the progress, though, particularly from what he saw in Saturday’s scrimmage.
“I liked the attitude we took in the scrimmage and it was physical,” he said. “It was one of the best scrimmages we’ve had here as a staff, in my opinion, just because it was crisp, clean and we came out pretty good, too.”
I think those words are sincere, since Narduzzi even said Monday morning that he might consider calling off the Monday night practice (the day is scheduled as a two-a-day). He really seems to like where the team is at right now, and it might be time to start dialing things back a little bit as camp winds down in the final week.
From what I’ve been told, Saturday’s scrimmage was quite physical, though - so much so that it sounds like there are quite a few sore players, even on Monday. I mentioned to Narduzzi that he hadn’t mentioned anything health-related from the scrimmage - that’s usually a mainstay of his canned post-scrimmage quotes - and here’s what he said:
“We had a couple bumps and bruises but nothing major. So I feel really good about that. I won’t talk specifics.”
I know people are wondering about Avonte Maddox. It sounds like there are a few instances of “bumps and bruises” from camp, which is to be expected. And throughout camp there have been various players sporting yellow “limited” jerseys for a practice or two and then returning to full participation. So we’ll keep an eye on things and see if anything long-term develops as the rest of the week rolls on.
- As it relates to practice observations, it sure does seem like the top five on the offensive line is solidifying with the group we’ve been discussing over the last week: from left to right, Adam Bisnowaty, Dorian Johnson, Alex Officer, Alex Bookser and Brian O’Neill. Things can always change in this last week of camp, but it looks like those five guys have more or less locked in positions, leaving Jaryd Jones-Smith as the top reserve.
I still think the coaches will look to rotate at least a bit on the line to get Jones-Smith some playing time.
- So as we look through the lineup, I think there are a bunch of spots more or less settled, particularly on offense:
Quarterback - Nate Peterman
Left tackle - Adam Bisnowaty
Left guard - Dorian Johnson
Center - Alex Officer
Right guard -Alex Bookser
Right tackle - Brian O’Neill
Tight end - Scott Orndoff
Wide receiver - Dontez Ford
Wide receiver - Quadree Henderson
Wide receiver - Jester Weah
And I think James Conner is the top running back, although rotation will be the name of the game there.
I also think we’ll see plenty of two-tight ends sets with Jaymar Parrish and multiple-running back sets, in which case I think Henderson and Ford will be the two receivers on the field. That said, Narduzzi’s released quotes from Saturday’s scrimmage mentioned Weah as having a nice catch, and he reiterated some confidence for the redshirt junior receiver.
“Early in the game he had a nice over-the-shoulder catch that he needs to make and he did. He had a couple more that we’d like - some maybe tougher catches he could make as well. So he just continues to get better and he can be a big-time receiver.”
- On defense, I think a number of spots are more or less settled as well:
Defensive end - Ejuan Price
Nose tackle - Tyrique Jarrett
Defensive tackle - Shakir Soto
Defensive end - Dewayne Hendrix
Money linebacker - Mike Caprara
Middle linebacker - Matt Galambos
Cornerback - Avonte Maddox
Strong safety - Jordan Whitehead
Free safety will likely be a rotation of Reggie Mitchell and Terrish Webb; the coaches have been singing the praises of Bricen Garner lately, but with a pair of seniors in Mitchell and Webb, I’m not sure there’s a need for a freshman to play that position.
Narduzzi said the Star linebacker competition is still ongoing, but it seems to me that Elijah Zeise is ahead at that spot. There again, we’ll see plenty of rotation, both in the base defense and the defensive subpackages.
And the coaches are very much keeping the cornerback spot opposite Maddox open. Ryan Lewis has been there all camp, but Dane Jackson’s name keeps coming up - Renaldo Hill told me Jackson has made more plays on the ball than any other defensive back on the team - and there’s always Damar Hamlin lurking in the background, too.
Whoever starts at that spot will likely split reps during the season as the coaches look to rotate a little more.
- I still think Hamlin is in the group of freshmen who will see the field this season, along with the defensive tackles - Amir Watts and Keyshon Camp, as well as Rashad Wheeler.
“They looked pretty good,” Narduzzi said. “Watts continues to impress. Camp showed some really nice things.”
Narduzzi mentioned that sometimes freshmen struggle in the transition of environments - Pitt’s scrimmage was at Heinz Field - but he said, “those two guys stepped their game up at Heinz Field and Wheeler did a nice job as well. I thought they did a nice job. They need to.”
Narduzzi was also asked if those freshman defensive tackles are as good as any previous group of freshman tackles he has had.
“They’re about as good as what we’ve had. We’ve had some young d-tackles through the years…I mean, if you come in and you can help us as a freshman, that’s pretty good. So I would say they go up at the top of that list.”
Which tells me what we’ve all expected: that Narduzzi and the staff believes those freshmen can help this year.
- I’m also keeping an eye on Rashad Weaver. He could be getting closer to seeing the field, perhaps in one of the sub-packages as a pass-rusher. With Price, Hendrix, Allen Edwards, Rori Blair and James Folston, there’s decent depth at defensive end, but if a player like Weaver can help with the pass rush, even in limited situations, then the coaches will likely use him.
So add him to the list of freshmen who could potentially play.
- Narduzzi said the backup quarterback competition is still ongoing; I tend to think it’s more or less settled with Manny Stocker as the No. 2. But the main focus is on Nate Peterman as the starter, and Narduzzi said this about Peterman’s performance on Saturday:
“There was good and bad out of everybody except Nathan; he was really, really sound.”
Instead of the regularly-scheduled practice on Sunday, Narduzzi had the team do a lifting session and a recovery session to gear up for the last week of camp prior to game week. From the sound of things, Saturday’s scrimmage was a physical one, and after two weeks of camp, the team is feeling some bumps and bruises.
Narduzzi seems to be pleased with the progress, though, particularly from what he saw in Saturday’s scrimmage.
“I liked the attitude we took in the scrimmage and it was physical,” he said. “It was one of the best scrimmages we’ve had here as a staff, in my opinion, just because it was crisp, clean and we came out pretty good, too.”
I think those words are sincere, since Narduzzi even said Monday morning that he might consider calling off the Monday night practice (the day is scheduled as a two-a-day). He really seems to like where the team is at right now, and it might be time to start dialing things back a little bit as camp winds down in the final week.
From what I’ve been told, Saturday’s scrimmage was quite physical, though - so much so that it sounds like there are quite a few sore players, even on Monday. I mentioned to Narduzzi that he hadn’t mentioned anything health-related from the scrimmage - that’s usually a mainstay of his canned post-scrimmage quotes - and here’s what he said:
“We had a couple bumps and bruises but nothing major. So I feel really good about that. I won’t talk specifics.”
I know people are wondering about Avonte Maddox. It sounds like there are a few instances of “bumps and bruises” from camp, which is to be expected. And throughout camp there have been various players sporting yellow “limited” jerseys for a practice or two and then returning to full participation. So we’ll keep an eye on things and see if anything long-term develops as the rest of the week rolls on.
- As it relates to practice observations, it sure does seem like the top five on the offensive line is solidifying with the group we’ve been discussing over the last week: from left to right, Adam Bisnowaty, Dorian Johnson, Alex Officer, Alex Bookser and Brian O’Neill. Things can always change in this last week of camp, but it looks like those five guys have more or less locked in positions, leaving Jaryd Jones-Smith as the top reserve.
I still think the coaches will look to rotate at least a bit on the line to get Jones-Smith some playing time.
- So as we look through the lineup, I think there are a bunch of spots more or less settled, particularly on offense:
Quarterback - Nate Peterman
Left tackle - Adam Bisnowaty
Left guard - Dorian Johnson
Center - Alex Officer
Right guard -Alex Bookser
Right tackle - Brian O’Neill
Tight end - Scott Orndoff
Wide receiver - Dontez Ford
Wide receiver - Quadree Henderson
Wide receiver - Jester Weah
And I think James Conner is the top running back, although rotation will be the name of the game there.
I also think we’ll see plenty of two-tight ends sets with Jaymar Parrish and multiple-running back sets, in which case I think Henderson and Ford will be the two receivers on the field. That said, Narduzzi’s released quotes from Saturday’s scrimmage mentioned Weah as having a nice catch, and he reiterated some confidence for the redshirt junior receiver.
“Early in the game he had a nice over-the-shoulder catch that he needs to make and he did. He had a couple more that we’d like - some maybe tougher catches he could make as well. So he just continues to get better and he can be a big-time receiver.”
- On defense, I think a number of spots are more or less settled as well:
Defensive end - Ejuan Price
Nose tackle - Tyrique Jarrett
Defensive tackle - Shakir Soto
Defensive end - Dewayne Hendrix
Money linebacker - Mike Caprara
Middle linebacker - Matt Galambos
Cornerback - Avonte Maddox
Strong safety - Jordan Whitehead
Free safety will likely be a rotation of Reggie Mitchell and Terrish Webb; the coaches have been singing the praises of Bricen Garner lately, but with a pair of seniors in Mitchell and Webb, I’m not sure there’s a need for a freshman to play that position.
Narduzzi said the Star linebacker competition is still ongoing, but it seems to me that Elijah Zeise is ahead at that spot. There again, we’ll see plenty of rotation, both in the base defense and the defensive subpackages.
And the coaches are very much keeping the cornerback spot opposite Maddox open. Ryan Lewis has been there all camp, but Dane Jackson’s name keeps coming up - Renaldo Hill told me Jackson has made more plays on the ball than any other defensive back on the team - and there’s always Damar Hamlin lurking in the background, too.
Whoever starts at that spot will likely split reps during the season as the coaches look to rotate a little more.
- I still think Hamlin is in the group of freshmen who will see the field this season, along with the defensive tackles - Amir Watts and Keyshon Camp, as well as Rashad Wheeler.
“They looked pretty good,” Narduzzi said. “Watts continues to impress. Camp showed some really nice things.”
Narduzzi mentioned that sometimes freshmen struggle in the transition of environments - Pitt’s scrimmage was at Heinz Field - but he said, “those two guys stepped their game up at Heinz Field and Wheeler did a nice job as well. I thought they did a nice job. They need to.”
Narduzzi was also asked if those freshman defensive tackles are as good as any previous group of freshman tackles he has had.
“They’re about as good as what we’ve had. We’ve had some young d-tackles through the years…I mean, if you come in and you can help us as a freshman, that’s pretty good. So I would say they go up at the top of that list.”
Which tells me what we’ve all expected: that Narduzzi and the staff believes those freshmen can help this year.
- I’m also keeping an eye on Rashad Weaver. He could be getting closer to seeing the field, perhaps in one of the sub-packages as a pass-rusher. With Price, Hendrix, Allen Edwards, Rori Blair and James Folston, there’s decent depth at defensive end, but if a player like Weaver can help with the pass rush, even in limited situations, then the coaches will likely use him.
So add him to the list of freshmen who could potentially play.
- Narduzzi said the backup quarterback competition is still ongoing; I tend to think it’s more or less settled with Manny Stocker as the No. 2. But the main focus is on Nate Peterman as the starter, and Narduzzi said this about Peterman’s performance on Saturday:
“There was good and bad out of everybody except Nathan; he was really, really sound.”
