Running backs, special teams keep Pitt assistant Andre Powell busy
Class was in session for members of the media Monday afternoon at Pitt’s practice facility, and Andre Powell was the instructor. It’s a good idea to listen when Powell speaks. Not only is he one of two assistants who have been with Pat Narduzzi for all eight seasons — tight...
As ACC looks to address revenue gap, competing worldviews emerge on future of college sports
In the span of about a week, in cities separated by about 600 miles, two of the most powerful leaders in college athletics offered contrasting worldviews in this summer of massive change and uncertainty. One of them espoused the supposed values of the traditional collegiate sports model; the other embraced...
Pitt notebook: Expectations high, but Pat Narduzzi says preseason rankings don’t matter to him
Pitt hasn’t been ranked in the Associated Press preseason college football poll since 2010, a streak that could end this month. The Panthers finished 2021 as ACC champions and were ranked No. 13 in the final AP poll. They return 15 starters from that team, and Sports Illustrated predicted Pitt...
Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi hopes NIL is brought under control to eliminate poaching
Pat Narduzzi seemed to think the answer was obvious when he was asked Monday if he believes his Pitt program was violated this offseason by name, image and likeness rules. “You tell me,” he said. “I would say, probably.” Narduzzi did not specifically reference former Pitt All-American wide receiver Jordan...
Kedon Slovis, Nick Patti build bond with teammates while competing for Pitt QB job
When Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi was luring quarterback Kedon Slovis from USC, he was able to use Jordan Addison as bait. Why wouldn’t he? Addison caught 17 touchdown passes among his 100 receptions last season and was named winner of the Biletnikoff Award as college football’s best wide receiver. What...
Pat Narduzzi shepherds 110 Pitt players onto practice fields for 1st day of camp
The first morning of Pitt training camp dawned Monday with a predictable sight: Pat Narduzzi in a straw hat. There was no sun in a cloudy sky over the Beano Cook fields and a bit of a chill in the South Side air (relatively speaking), but Narduzzi wore the hat...
Pitt opens training camp with lofty goals for 2022
Winning a Power 5 conference championship is an impressive feat that requires talent, focus and preparation from everyone for an entire calendar year. It starts with winter workouts (when hardly anyone is watching) through the nationally televised title game 11 months later. Wearing that ring also creates a thirst for...
Pitt Take 5: Expectations soaring on cusp of training camp
Football returns to the Beano Cook Fields on Monday when Pitt opens its summer training camp, triggering the long process of defending the ACC championship. With 13 players back who were named All-ACC last year (on one level or another), expectations — not just hopes — are high. Yet, departed...
Defensive linemen Habakkuk Baldonado, Calijah Kancey represent Pitt on All-ACC preseason team
Indicative of the anticipated strength Pitt will employ in the trenches this season, defensive end Habakkuk Baldonado and defensive tackle Calijah Kancey were named to the 2022 All-ACC preseason team Baldonado, a senior from Rome, Italy, and Kancey, a junior from Miami, were part of Pitt’s pass rush last season...
Preseason prognosticators pick Pitt to finish 2nd in ACC Coastal
If Pitt football fans are looking for a discussion topic in the days before the start of summer camp, the ACC obliged Tuesday with the release of its preseason poll. In a vote of 164 reporters last week during the ACC Football Kickoff, defending ACC champion Pitt — with eight...
Pitt gets commitment from B.J. Williams, 5th high school offensive lineman in 2023 class
Pitt offensive line coach Dave Borbely typically doesn’t feel comfortable until he finds enough big bodies to completely fill out his two-deep depth chart. With all five starters moving on next year after their upcoming redshirt senior seasons, Borbely must be pleased with how the 2023 recruiting class is developing....
Pat Narduzzi seeks more balance in Pitt’s offense, but it wasn’t unbalanced a year ago
With camp starting on the first day of August, it’s a good time for Pat Narduzzi to clarify how he wants Pitt’s offensive identity to evolve this season. “I want to score touchdowns. I like touchdowns,” he said Thursday during his appearance on the ACC Network. “I don’t care how...
Mark Madden: We will see if Pat Narduzzi is as smart as he thinks he is
In 2021, Pat Narduzzi had his best season since taking over as Pitt football coach in 2015: His Panthers went 11-3, won the ACC and went to a New Year’s Six bowl. The offense was the driving force of the two platoons, averaging 41.4 points (third best in the nation)...
From cuffs on his shirt to willingness to voice an opinion, Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi steals show
The most discussed coach Thursday at the ACC Football Kickoff in Charlotte, N.C., was, of course, Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi. After all, he might have been the only man wearing signature-embroidered cuffs on his dress shirt at the Westin Charlotte. But the real reason for Narduzzi’s celebrity was that his Panthers...
ACC’s quartet of new coaches adds wrinkle to wild division
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Tony Elliott waited years before he felt it was the right moment to leave the Clemson staff and become a head coach. The timing gave him plenty of company as he takes over at Virginia. He’s one of four new coaches in the Atlantic Coast Conference, joining...
‘College GameDay’ set to visit Pittsburgh for Backyard Brawl on Sept. 1
The hype machine for the renewal of the Backyard Brawl hit another gear Thursday when ESPN announced it will bring its popular “College GameDay” show to Acrisure Stadium on Sept. 1 for the West Virginia/Pitt game. The special, one-hour show goes on the air at 6 p.m. and will include...
From academics to NIL, ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips tackles college athletics issues of the dayVideo
Jim Phillips’ voice was full of pride and joy Wednesday morning when he spoke of the first games of the 2022 ACC football season, when all 14 schools will be in action in a span of 10 days. “I’m going to try to make every one of those games,” he...
Mariners select Pitt catcher Tatem Levins in 8th round
Pitt junior catcher Tatem Levins was selected by the Seattle Mariners in the eighth round of the MLB Draft on Monday, earning the distinction of the Panthers’ highest draft choice since 2018. In the process, Pitt coach Mike Bell can add another name to his resume. Levins is the 94th...
Pitt’s John Hugley IV, Butler grad Ethan Morton will join East Coast All-Stars in Spain
Before Pitt center John Hugley IV makes his final preparations for the 2022-2023 season, he will join Butler High School graduate and Purdue junior guard Ethan Morton on a trip to Spain. Hugley and Morton are among 14 collegiate players who were named to the East Coast All-Stars that will...
ACC helped kickstart the conference expansion race which now threatens its survival
On the other end of the phone, Mike Tranghese sighed quietly. It was a sound that conveyed a sense of empathy, if not resignation. The emotions returned, almost 20 years later. Back then, as the commissioner of the original Big East Conference, Tranghese watched with a sense of helplessness while...
Pitt secures verbal commitment from Miami wide receiver Lamar Seymore
Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi continued reaching into the fertile Florida recruiting territory Monday when he landed a verbal commitment from Miami Northwestern High School senior wide receiver Lamar Seymore. Committed to the University of Miami for more than two years, Seymore visited Pitt last month and decided to choose the...
Luke DeCock: Where does ACC go from here? Here are 5 options
Remember when deciding whether to move the conference office out of Greensboro was the trickiest question ACC commissioner Jim Phillips had to answer? Seems like a long time ago that was the ACC’s hot-button issue … in part because that decision has been marinating for a year. It’s small potatoes...
Pitt DB A.J. Woods has grown, wants more
With 13 minutes, 26 seconds left in the fourth quarter Dec. 4, Pitt was closing in on its first ACC championship. The Panthers led 31-21 against Wake Forest. On third-and-13, Demon Deacons quarterback Sam Hartman wanted to connect with wide receiver A.T. Perry on a four verticals route. Pitt defensive...
Luke DeCock: As Big Ten, SEC consolidate their power, the ACC finds itself under existential threat
RALEIGH, N.C. — When Oklahoma and Texas announced their intention to jump to the SEC last summer, it felt like distant thunder on the horizon in ACC country. Concerning, maybe even menacing, but not imminently threatening. But when the Big Ten poached UCLA and Southern Cal from the Pac-12 last...
After historic Pitt career, Kenny Pickett named ACC Male Athlete of the Year
Kenny Pickett signed his Pittsburgh Steelers rookie contract more than two weeks ago, but one more honor from his remarkable Pitt career rolled in Friday. Pickett was named the 2022 ACC Male Athlete of the Year, the conference office announced. He is Pitt’s first ACC Athlete of the Year since...
