Penn State has 10 players invited to NFL Combine, Pitt lands 3 on list
For a team that won 10 games and played in the Peach Bowl, Penn State was rewarded Tuesday in the number of players selected to attend the annual NFL Combine. The Nittany Lions will have 10 former players attend the pre-draft event, which will conduct testing Feb. 29-March 3 at...
Surging Pitt faces big challenge in road game with defensive-minded Virginia
When Virginia basketball is mentioned, the Cavaliers get defensive. Isn’t that the point? After all, they have led the ACC in scoring defense for 12 consecutive seasons, and they’re back on top of the heap again this year — and rank third nationally — with an average of 57.7 points...
Shift in offensive philosophy at Pitt forces ‘difficult’ staff changes
In the Pitt football offices, the word of the day this winter is fast, and that won’t change in the spring, summer or fall. Pitt will move faster this season, snapping the football perhaps as soon as seven seconds after the previous play. “After spring ball, our guys will say...
Dan Marino, Scarlett Johansson have fun with almost being champions in Super Bowl ad
LAS VEGAS — Actor Scarlett Johansson and NFL and University of Pittsburgh legend Dan Marino come from different professions, but they have two things in common: Both have a sweet tooth and an infatuation with M&Ms. Johansson and Marino will star in the Super Bowl commercial that will focus on...
What does Pitt need to do to earn an NCAA Tournament berth?
To gauge Pitt’s — or any team’s — chances to reach the NCAA Tournament, you must accept the first commandment of Bracketology: All victories count one in the standings but are not equal. It’s true the Panthers (15-8, 6-6 ACC) have won five of their past six games, six of...
Pitt’s Jorge Diaz Graham has ankle surgery, will miss remainder of season
Pitt sophomore forward Jorge Diaz Graham, who hasn’t played since Jan. 16, is lost for the remainder of the season after undergoing surgery on his left ankle Thursday afternoon. He is expected to return for the 2024-25 season. Diaz Graham was a significant part of coach Jeff Capel’s rotation before...
Pitt beats N.C. State to inch closer to NCAA Tournament bubble
Two years ago, Pitt had lost 12 games in a row to N.C. State, a period spanning most of the Panthers’ time in the ACC. Now, after a 67-64 victory Wednesday night at PNC Arena in Raleigh, N.C., the streak is going the other way. Pitt has won the past...
Pitt notebook: Changes in college football could make NFL a welcome oasis for coaches
Over the past week, the ACC lost two important coaches to the NFL. Former Boston College coach Jeff Hafley jumped to the Green Bay Packers as their defensive coordinator. Charlie Partridge, who had been Pitt’s assistant head coach and defensive line coach since 2017 and was part of the collegiate...
Pitt’s Kade Bell on being an offensive coordinator: ‘It’s what I feel I was put on this earth to do’
At one point Wednesday during his first news conference as Pitt’s offensive coordinator, Kade Bell’s voice cracked, his emotions trickling out noticeably. He was talking about how his father, Kerwin Bell, believed in him as a 24-year-old assistant coach at Valdosta (Ga.) State. “You’re 24 years old and you’re a...
Pitt, N.C. State set to tangle in Raleigh, hoping to polish their reputations
Over the next week that includes two difficult road games, Pitt can enhance or damage its reputation relative to the rest of the ACC. Going into its game Wednesday night in Raleigh, N.C., against N.C. State, Pitt (14-8, 5-6) is tied for eighth in the 15-team conference, a middle-of-the-road team...
Pitt gets verbal commitment from DE Trevor Sommers, 1st from class of 2025
Coach Pat Narduzzi received Pitt’s first verbal commitment from a member of the class of 2025 on Monday when defensive end Trevor Sommers pledged to enroll next year. Committed!! #H2P @CoachDuzzPittFB @Pitt_FB @CoachHarriott @STA_Football pic.twitter.com/BCdvi2q0NU— Trevor Sommers (@trevorsommers90) February 5, 2024 Sommers, a junior at St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort...
No matter the score, Pitt’s Jeff Capel continually tries to teach players proper habits
The game was winding down Saturday night, and people inside Petersen Events Center were gathering their belongings and preparing to leave, secure in the knowledge that Pitt’s 62-46 lead with 3 minutes, 5 seconds to play would turn into a victory. But there was one more TV timeout on the...
Pitt assistant coach Charlie Partridge leaving for the NFL
In an offseason of significant staff transition, Pitt football is losing another assistant, with the news Monday morning that defensive line and assistant head coach Charlie Partridge is heading to the NFL. FootballScoop.com reported Partridge will coach the Indianapolis Colts’ defensive line. Over the past seven seasons, Partridge made his...
Continued ‘efficiency’ on offense, more ‘explosions’ would help Pitt in final stretch
The word that might best describe Pitt’s victory against Notre Dame is “efficient.” That’s how the school’s news release accurately labeled it Saturday night. After some anxious moments in the first half and a 30-30 tie early in the second, there was little doubt Pitt was destined to defeat the...
Pitt runs away from Notre Dame, wins 4th game in past 5
Pitt’s 70-60 victory Saturday night against Notre Dame at Petersen Events Center continued Pitt’s slow ascent toward respectability and a .500 record in the ACC. To be sure, Pitt put enough on display to defeat Notre Dame, a team trying to find itself amidst a 7-15 record (2-9 in the...
How Jamie Dixon, Jeff Capel almost reached the Final Four as opposing coaches
Coaches don’t typically play the what-if game. They prefer to dwell on how seasons actually develop, their logical thought process recognizing that no championships are won upon someone’s speculation. On that count, Jamie Dixon didn’t disappoint. The man deals in reality like it’s a royal mandate. On the 15th anniversary...
Pitt gets more than a good player with William Jeffress
The 2021-22 season had not gone well for coach Jeff Capel and the Pitt basketball program. After a 66-46 loss to Boston College in the ACC Tournament — the last of a five-game, season-ending losing streak — Capel needed some encouragement. He was just beginning the process of exit interviews...
Pitt 5 Things: With Irish, past Pitt stars in town, Panthers have reason to pay attention to history
Saturday is a big night for Pitt fans eager to see what the immediate future holds but remain tethered to the past for all the right reasons. While the Panthers attempt to return to relevance this season, members of the 1974 and 2009 Pitt teams will be honored at Petersen...
First Call: 2 NFL coaching moves have Steelers ties; bar set for Jake Guentzel’s trade return?
Friday’s “First Call” spotlights a pair of NFL coaching moves that tie into the Pittsburgh Steelers. We reflect on a very important Steelers Super Bowl anniversary. The market for a Jake Guentzel trade may have just been set for the Penguins. Also, both Robert Morris hockey teams have important conference...
Pitt’s Jeff Capel believes his 7-man rotation is sustainable ‘if it needs to be’
For the second time this season, Pitt freshman guard Bub Carrington walked off the floor Wednesday night only at halftime and during timeouts. The seat offered to him during those moments felt good. Yet Carrington wasn’t asking for one while the outcome of Pitt’s 77-72 victory against Wake Forest was...
Pitt rallies in 2nd half to defeat Wake Forest, 77-72
The raw numbers in the box score will show that Pitt defeated Wake Forest, 77-72, on Wednesday night by scoring 50 points and seizing nine offensive rebounds after halftime and rallying from a 12-point deficit. It also will give Pitt’s defense credit for harassing the Demon Deacons with 11 steals...
After transferring from Alabama, quarterback Eli Holstein seeks ‘new, fresh start’ at Pitt
Eli Holstein was the scout quarterback last season at Alabama, a freshman thrown into practice situations with the intent of emulating that week’s opponent. Sometimes, he got hit with friendly fire from what he called “the best defense in the country.” “I got popped a couple times by some big...
Pitt looks to duplicate its road success when Panthers come home to meet Wake Forest
Pitt reaches the halfway point of its ACC season Wednesday night looking to prove a point. Those two road victories at Duke and Georgia Tech raised hopes that another run toward the NCAA Tournament was possible, if extremely difficult considering the circumstances. Then, they fell behind Miami by 19 points...
Pitt freshman guards Jaland Lowe, Bub Carrington learning tough lessons
Pitt coach Jeff Capel was properly complimentary of freshman guards Jaland Lowe and Bub Carrington during his regular Monday chat with reporters on the ACC conference call. But in the wake of Pitt’s sixth conference loss in nine games Saturday at Miami, Capel’s overall point is more important and goes...
Analysis: Time has come for pride to turn into consistent victory for Pitt
The question in the wake of Pitt’s dramatic, but inadequate, rally from a 19-point deficit in Miami is this: What really matters? Is it the way players never quit when the cause looked hopeless less than 10 minutes from the end of the game? Or, is it Pitt’s poor shooting...
