— The Pitt Panthers were back on the field for practice on Friday, the fourth practice of the week. I was a little surprised the team was outside, because it rained a good bit this morning. I know sometimes they want to avoid injuries due to slick fields, but it wasn’t too, too bad out there, but it was drizzling a bit.
— In general, I don’t expect this to be a long practice, mainly because there is a scrimmage tomorrow. They won’t push the guys too much with a big day on the horizon. As such, the team was in shells and not full pads.
— The first question I threw at Narduzzi this morning was about the running backs. He did mentioned Rodney Hammond has had a good camp so far, which is good to hear. He also mentioned Reid and Davis as guys who will play. I think given the tempo, they’ll ask multiple backs to play in a given game, and I feel that’s probably the top three. Obviously, Daniel Carter has his role too. I wasn't always a believer in Derrick Davis, but he's done some good things this camp.
— I also wanted to ask about special teams in general. I think sometimes in these practice reports, we may say something like, ‘Oh and that punt was shanked’ and it turns into a five-page discussion about how the punters are horrible and special teams will be a nightmare. I do want to point out, we don’t see a ton of special teams work, so Junko may kick 40 great balls at practice, and we see the one he shanks. Narduzzi said he is happy with where the punting is, but did admit Junko has had a few bad ones here in there, but largely he sounds improved. Maybe that will put to rest some things, but I doubt it.
— He had really good things to say about Ben Sauls, noting he only has missed two kicks in camp, both due to his plant foot slipping. Narduzzi said Sauls has been as good as a kicker has been during training camp.
— He also said if it were to happen right now, that Konata Mumpfield would be the punt returner. He probably has the best hands on the team, but sometimes you don’t want your best weapons playing those kind of roles. During the practice session, Kenny Johnson, Desmon Reid, and Poppi Williams were also fielding punts.
-- I said on the first day of practice, and I still see it to this day, and Narduzzi confirmed it....but the whole special teams operation is just flat out going to be better....
— I made a bold prediction in my 3-2-1 Column for this week about how the defensive tackle play will likely surprise. I spent a good deal watching Daoust working with those guys. I also happened to catch that both Sean FitzSimmons and Isaiah Neal had ‘TAKEAWAY’ stickers on their helmets, so the young DTs are making some plays.
— Other guys with takeaway stickers (that I noticed): Keye Thompson, Cruce Brookins 2X, PJ O’Brien, Jordan Bass, Ryland Gandy, Rashad Battle, and Braylon Lovelace 2X. I may have missed some, and I’m not sure how many of these are new from yesterday’s practice….
— We’re still tracking that center battle, and it still is early to call. I think Lyndon Cooper is performing well, but Terrence Moore looks to be moving better each day. My guess is still that Moore gets his job back, but it’s an ongoing thing, of course.
— Again, it was a light day, so we didn’t get any special on-field segments, just the usual practice routine. I don’t expect the guys to be out there for much longer, so we’ll have player interviews coming up shortly.
— The scrimmage should reveal some things tomorrow, so that will be a big topic once we get back to practice next week. As Narduzzi mentioned, it will be here in the Southside as the Steelers are playing tonight, so Acrisure won’t be ready for a morning scrimmage.
— In general, I don’t expect this to be a long practice, mainly because there is a scrimmage tomorrow. They won’t push the guys too much with a big day on the horizon. As such, the team was in shells and not full pads.
— The first question I threw at Narduzzi this morning was about the running backs. He did mentioned Rodney Hammond has had a good camp so far, which is good to hear. He also mentioned Reid and Davis as guys who will play. I think given the tempo, they’ll ask multiple backs to play in a given game, and I feel that’s probably the top three. Obviously, Daniel Carter has his role too. I wasn't always a believer in Derrick Davis, but he's done some good things this camp.
— I also wanted to ask about special teams in general. I think sometimes in these practice reports, we may say something like, ‘Oh and that punt was shanked’ and it turns into a five-page discussion about how the punters are horrible and special teams will be a nightmare. I do want to point out, we don’t see a ton of special teams work, so Junko may kick 40 great balls at practice, and we see the one he shanks. Narduzzi said he is happy with where the punting is, but did admit Junko has had a few bad ones here in there, but largely he sounds improved. Maybe that will put to rest some things, but I doubt it.
— He had really good things to say about Ben Sauls, noting he only has missed two kicks in camp, both due to his plant foot slipping. Narduzzi said Sauls has been as good as a kicker has been during training camp.
— He also said if it were to happen right now, that Konata Mumpfield would be the punt returner. He probably has the best hands on the team, but sometimes you don’t want your best weapons playing those kind of roles. During the practice session, Kenny Johnson, Desmon Reid, and Poppi Williams were also fielding punts.
-- I said on the first day of practice, and I still see it to this day, and Narduzzi confirmed it....but the whole special teams operation is just flat out going to be better....
— I made a bold prediction in my 3-2-1 Column for this week about how the defensive tackle play will likely surprise. I spent a good deal watching Daoust working with those guys. I also happened to catch that both Sean FitzSimmons and Isaiah Neal had ‘TAKEAWAY’ stickers on their helmets, so the young DTs are making some plays.
— Other guys with takeaway stickers (that I noticed): Keye Thompson, Cruce Brookins 2X, PJ O’Brien, Jordan Bass, Ryland Gandy, Rashad Battle, and Braylon Lovelace 2X. I may have missed some, and I’m not sure how many of these are new from yesterday’s practice….
— We’re still tracking that center battle, and it still is early to call. I think Lyndon Cooper is performing well, but Terrence Moore looks to be moving better each day. My guess is still that Moore gets his job back, but it’s an ongoing thing, of course.
— Again, it was a light day, so we didn’t get any special on-field segments, just the usual practice routine. I don’t expect the guys to be out there for much longer, so we’ll have player interviews coming up shortly.
— The scrimmage should reveal some things tomorrow, so that will be a big topic once we get back to practice next week. As Narduzzi mentioned, it will be here in the Southside as the Steelers are playing tonight, so Acrisure won’t be ready for a morning scrimmage.
