Pitt Football Training Camp Quotes, Day 14
The Panthers Returned to Practice on Monday Morning
Photo Gallery of Practice: http://www.pittsburghpanthers.com/view.gal?id=196239
Head Coach Pat Narduzzi
Opening statement:
“Good morning. We have a beautiful day. It was like 61 degrees when I drove in this morning. I’m out of the dorms, which is a good thing. I had a good night’s sleep at home. Yesterday’s [practice] was off. We had a tremendous scrimmage on Saturday at Heinz Field. We got 130 plays in.
I was happy at the things our offense and defense did as the head coach that day. It was a great scrimmage—very physical, great attention to detail. We saw some guys that we wanted to see make plays at Heinz Field on game day. The kickers did an unbelievable job and special teams were solid.
Overall it was just a productive day. Today, we’ve got a two-a-day schedule. We’ll see how this first one goes. We’re looking for quality.”
On potentially giving the team tonight off:
“Maybe. I think we’ve got a pretty mature football team right now that is focused. I like where we are. I like the attitude we took in the scrimmage. It was physical and one of the best scrimmages we’ve had here as a staff in my opinion. It was crisp, clean and came out pretty good.”
On the clarity at backup quarterback:
“Everybody did some good things. From Nathan [Peterman] all the way down to [Thomas] MacVittie and Bo Schneider. We saw some good things. We still have two more weeks for clarity. There was good and bad out of everybody. Nathan was really sound. We’re still searching.”
On the growth of the freshmen defensive tackles:
“They look pretty good. [Amir] Watts has impressed in camp and shown some really nice things. Sometimes freshmen are the ones who get exposed when you go into a different atmosphere but they stepped their game up at Heinz Field. [Rashad] Wheeler did a nice job as well. I thought they all did a nice job.”
On how this freshman class compares to previous years:
“They are about as good as what we’ve had. If you come in and you can help us as a freshman, that’s pretty good. So I would say they go to the top of the list.”
On beginning to make final decisions on the depth chart:
“There’s been a lot of depth chart decisions made, but then again there is still another week of camp and a scrimmage on Friday. We try to make depth chart changes every day they are in pads.
We want them to go out there with the attitude that ‘I’m getting better today and I’m going to beat somebody out.’ I like when our kids have to see that up-and-down variation. That will continue this week.”
On the performance at the scrimmage by Wide Receiver Jester Weah:
“Early in the game he made a nice over-the-shoulder catch that he needs to make and he did. There were a couple more catches that he can make as well, so he just continues to get better and he can be a big-time receiver. I think his confidence is as high as it’s ever been. It’s up there.”
On specific games where the lack of offensive line depth last year factored in:
“There was never an exact point. Maybe the second half of the season we weren’t as crisp as we needed to be. But there wasn’t a [single] game. Look at the nine-minute drive against Georgia Tech; that wasn’t a time where you said ‘they need a break, we should get them off the field.’ They converted on consecutive fourth downs and kicked a game winner. There was never an exact point, but maybe in the bowl game when [Alex] Officer went out and you had a guy coming in for the first time who didn’t have the game experience that you would like him to.”
On getting out of the scrimmage healthy:
“We had a couple bumps and bruises but nothing major. So I feel really good about that.”
On the reps at the running back position:
“James [Conner] lined up and got a few carries. I talked to him prior to camp and told him that we weren’t going to wear him out. Before the scrimmage I said ‘James, get in there. I don’t want to keep you in there all day, so don’t make me. Let’s get in, let’s be sharp, and let’s get you out of there. Let’s get to September 3rd.’”
Running Backs Coach/Special Team Coordinator Andre Powell
On James Conner during Saturday’s scrimmage:
“He ran the ball really well. He really cut it loose. We are really encouraged by what we saw on Saturday.”
On James Conner being the top running back going into season:
“He’s done a good job. We’ve been really selective on his number of reps and all of those sort of things. But he has earned the right. He’s a talented guy, and he has a lot of skill. So he’s the top guy—no doubt about it.”
The advantage having a talented kicker and punter:
“Specialists are a little bit goofy by nature. So when you get those mature guys, you don’t have to watch them as much. They go out there on their own and do their work. They are smart from the standpoint of knowing when they have kicked too much, so they don’t wear themselves out too much. To have mature guys there is big.”
On young players that are going to make an impact on special teams:
“I think Tre Tipton is going to do a good job for us. I think [Jay] Stocker has a chance to help us. Those are two guys that really stood out. [Anthony] McKee Jr. has some work to do, as well as Saleem [Brightwell]. I’ve been pleased with the young guys.
Some of the true freshman are not ready yet, but they will be talented down the road. I sat down last night and made a list of how many guys I will have available to me on special teams. My number was 53. I’ll have 53 guys available to play on special teams, and I don’t think that number has ever been that high.”
On his depth in special teams:
“You have to be smart. Some of those guys are starters on offense and defense. You can’t have [Jordan] Whitehead playing snaps on defense and then 20 snaps of special teams. For example, you’ll have him start the game on a kick-off and he might not again until the end of the game.
But the way we coach things, they all get the same amount of reps. Certain groups of guys are trained together. For example, on kick-off I have all the units train together. So if we are two deep, a three has to be able to play a one and a two will have to be able to play a three. We gain depth that way.”
Linebackers Coach Rob Harley
On how close he is to figuring out the depth chart at linebacker:
“We’re not close yet—not anywhere close yet. It’s a credit to these guys who are making it really hard on me. We’re going to roll guys. That’s the nature of the spread offense. We’re going to have to roll guys in constantly to keep them fresh. Guys are on the edges; the ball is on the edge; the ball is on the perimeter; guys are running fast.
We’re going to be playing six guys, and it’s going to change weekly. Those guys know it, and they’re working. Again, it’s a credit to their effort that I can’t set the depth chart yet.”
On if he has the top six linebackers determined yet:
“That’s also in flux. There are two weeks left. I won’t get anywhere near set until [next] Monday. We’re rolling guys in, and we’re changing guys around to see what works. It’s kind of like line changes in hockey.
You’re trying to see who works well together. Who makes the most plays together? Who’s productive together? Who communicates well together? We’re doing that right now. We’ve still got two weeks left. It’s close, but we’re just not there quite yet.”
On if he will rotate players in both the base and sub-packages:
“I’d like to. I think it’s a feel thing too. I think a large part of football is who’s hot? Who’s out there? Who’s got a flow of the game? Who is playing well that game? I never want to be stringent and say, ‘That’s what our depth is,’ but if a guy is hot and a guy is really blitzing well that game, it’s our job to make sure he gets on the field to make a play.”
On if he’s been seeing big plays out of the freshman regularly:
“Yeah, you can see it. The one thing that we did is that we brought in some big dudes. Big, physical guys that can run. We’re seeing them make some plays in the blitz game. You’re seeing them around the ball, which is good. They’re affecting people because of their size and their speed, which is good.”
On if he feels like they are well prepared to face a lot of teams that run the spread offense:
“I feel good about it. We’re going to roll guys. We’re always going to have a chance, even without depth, that we’re going to make changes, and we’re going to do some things. We’re always going to be able to formulate our defense to fit whatever we’re facing. Obviously, it’s a luxury to be able to have three seniors in my room that are like extra coaches. So when we do have that depth, they’re coaching these guys up on the side line. I think we’ll be alright.”
On Linebacker Bam Bradley rotating between the Money and Star positions:
“We’re really rotating more than just him. Guys are rotating in and out. We want to see how guys work together because the communication may be more than the physical. It’s how they communicate. We’re not talking defensive calls. We’re saying, ‘What’s the offense going to do?’ Which one of them has the tip? How good is one of them at reading offenses? We’re plugging guys in and just seeing the flow of it.”
On how Elijah Zeise has been doing:
“He’s doing well. Obviously, he’s a brand new guy. You almost want to say he’s a freshman, not even a redshirt freshman, for our defense coming over in the spring. But he’s doing well picking it up. That’s one of those guys, similar to our freshman, that relies a lot on his instincts and his athletic ability, which is awesome. All of that mental stuff is obviously my job to teach him and not mess him up and allow him to play fast and use his god given talent, which is the reason we brought him over, to play out on the edge. He’s been impressive so far, especially being such a young linebacker at the position.”
Placekicker Chris Blewitt
On how important repetition is for him:
“That’s especially big. It’s just muscle memory, repetition. You just get used to it. It becomes second nature, really. That’s really a big part of just getting the rhythm down with the snap, hold and the line.”
On how you rebound from a bad day:
“With a bad day or a bad kick, you know it’s not your normal. That’s not what you do. It’s just a fluke. You’ve just got to bounce back. You could have a bad kick, bad punt, bad snap, or a bad any play at any position. You’ve just got to bounce back.”
On how much he pays attention to the mental part of his game:
“That’s probably almost the entire part. It’s really just the preparation behind it. Ninety-nine percent of what we do is preparation. All of those mental preparations like, ‘Am I in the right spot? Am doing what I’m supposed to be doing? Am I keeping my body right?’”
On how he thought Saturday’s scrimmage went:
“The scrimmage went well. There was a lot of energy behind it. Everyone was flying around. For as long as we were out there, it was definitely like a game atmosphere for us out there. Everybody was flying and we all had a really good day.”
On if he and Punter Ryan Winslow feed off each other’s performance:
“Yeah, I would say so when you see that one guy is doing well. It’s the same thing with any aspect of the team. If the defense is doing well, then the offense is doing well. It raises everybody else’s level of play. I’d say definitely seeing Ryan [Winslow] out there and then talking with him on the sideline about it, you can definitely feed off that energy.”
On if his range is still expanding:
“I would say that my quickness has. For the range it just depends on the day and the conditions. Every day is different. You just have to prepare for what’s at hand.”
On if he could kick a 60-yard field goal:
“If I tell Coach [Pat Narduzzi] beforehand that the field and everything is good and the conditions are prime for that, we could probably hit one if we had to. It depends on the day.”
Wide Receiver Jester Weah
On his over-the-shoulder catch during Saturday’s scrimmage:
“It was a go route. I forgot who I went up against. I remember Nathan [Peterman] bombed it out to me. I was running and saw the ball, so I stretched out for it and I got it.”
On what will make him stand out from the rest of the wide receiver unit:
“I’m a pretty fast guy. I have a big body. If I go out there and play my hardest, I can go out there and make anything possible.”
On his relationship with Quarterback Nathan Peterman:
“Nathan [Peterman] is a like a big brother. He’s a great guy and a great competitor. He wants to be perfect every time he is out there on the field. I love Nate. He is my guy!”
Punter Ryan Winslow
On how special teams performed in Saturday’s scrimmage:
“I thought we had a really good scrimmage as a whole. Chris [Blewitt] made all of his kicks and I had some pretty good punts. We were pretty consistent all day, so overall we were really happy with it.”
On if he is stronger than last season:
“I definitely think so. The weight training is helping a lot and they really cater to our needs especially, so I feel like I’m stronger and more flexible, which is huge. The recovery portion of this camp has been awesome for us. We’re getting in there and doing all the extra little things we need to do so our legs are as fresh as possible. It has benefited us a lot.”
On communicating with Placekicker Chris Blewitt after a bad punt or kick:
“Chris [Blewitt] was a good punter in high school and I kicked a little in high school, so we’re always bouncing ideas off of each other. It’s very important because we only get a certain amount of reps a game. It’s important to learn from the mistake and bounce back to execute on that next play.”
On how his playing experience helps him and Chris Blewitt:
“We help each other through talking, but it also comes back to the experience aspect. Chris [Blewitt] is going to be a four-year starter and this is going to be my third year starting, so we’ve been through the ropes and the ups and downs. It’s all about communication, and I think we do a good job of that.”
On the comradery with Chris Blewitt:
“I would say we are really good friends, same with Pat Quirin our snapper. We all hang out all the time during practice and even outside of practice, whether it’s just playing cards hanging out or getting food. I think that’s a key part of our comradery.”
Defensive Back Jordan Whitehead
On staying humble to repeat his success from last year:
“I have tried not to think about that too much. I’m still only a sophomore and still have a lot to prove. Last year was a good season, but I always can do better. This year I’m trying to do way better than I did last year and keep working hard.”
On having the bar set high this season:
“I would say it’s not just for me, but for all of the defense. Last year they saw what we could do, so now the defense has way more pressure to perform compared to last year.”
On how the secondary is coming together:
“It’s looking good. We have Avonte Maddox, who is a returning starter, and Reggie Mitchell and Terrish Webb, who are also starters and seniors who have a lot of experience. In the corner spot, we have a lot of depth, there are a lot of freshmen that came in, and we have guys returning from last year. There are a lot of veterans back there, and I think they know a lot, so it just helps. And Coach [Renaldo] Hill played in the NFL so he brings a lot of knowledge to us.”
On if he feels comfortable making defensive calls on the field:
“Definitely. It’s easier when they come out of formation and I can make a call and feel confident with it instead of just guessing. I know both safety positions, so it makes it easier for my job.”
pittpov.com 
Reed good thoughts on your last comment on the last thread. Sticking with Peterman in the last two games was terrible and a slap in the face of a loyal Pitt Man. Just as bad as throwing a lot vs a team that was terrible vs the run. Both bad decisions for a head coach. Maybe he has learned from these mistakes, but I kind of think his ego won’t let him, like a few other guys I can think of.
I still think Peterman is the better QB, but not by a whole lot, and on any given day, Voytik might have been the better choice. Pretty obvious against Miami, but against Navy, the game was lost in the first half, why not reward Voytik with the second half. maybe catch lightning in a bottle, stranger things have happened.
Maybe Voytik sticks around for his senior year, a lot better back-up than we have now.
This is part of why I agree with you and am not 100% sold on Narduzzi. He needs to do well this year and finish strong with this recruiting class before I am sold.
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Voytik n company kicked Miamis tail in Miami in 2014… Duzz wasn’t going to put CV in @ QB in either Miami or Navy no matter how we/NP played.. what if he did put CV in and we were victorious in those 2 games…go figure Duzz .. He has a way to go IMO in functioning as a HC.. Hoping he continues to grow from his 2-4 record in our last 6 games
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But how much of last years drop off can be attributed to lack of depth and possible dissension regarding the OC ?
Narduzzi is the real deal, Chaney was a problem last season.
I liked Voytik a lot and thought he really recieved the shaft but Peterman has the better skill set for the type of offense that they use.
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Are we still talking about Voytik? Yikes!!
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Not me … Talking about a former DC becoming our HC.. Who has some growing to do… Example of the Miami and Navy games where most agree a QB change was needed and with and experienced backup on the bench… Why not??? Ask Duzz..I would love to hear his answer on that one
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Some equate CV to the fish that saved Pittsburgh. He was a .500 qb. Had some great moments and some putrid moments. Sure he stayed through Fraud-gate, but seriously folks let’s not get into this AGAIN.
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jrnpitt – we’ll talk about any subject that is part of good discussions about the 360 degrees of Pitt football – on or off the field. Future, past, present – it all ties in.
IMO you can’t have solid and good detail talks about Pitt football without referencing things that went on it the past because it all means something to the current situations.
@ John – as I said on the last post’s comments – that wasn’t about Voytik at all really. It was about Narduzzi and his (poor IMO) decision making to not warm up a relief QB when ours was playing so poorly we were losing those games in the first half of play.
I equate that decision making mistake to DW sticking with Bill Stull after halftime of the Sun Bowl where we hadn’t scored any points and Bill Stull couldn’t complete a pass. Stull was 7-24 for 54 yards and an INT (39 QB rating that day and then when Bostick went in for spot work he was 2-3 for 37 yards and a 170 QB rating.
DW had nothing to lose at the half and should have tried to shake up the non-existent offense… same as Narduzzi should have done in both those late season losses.
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Reed
I can’t disagree more. At that point in the season Voytik had splinters in his ass from riding the bench. He wouldn’t have been half as prepared to play as Peterman. Wouldn’t have been fair to Voytik. What was he going to do, win the game with his legs?
If he would have put Voytik in and he throws a pick six you all would be ripping Narduzzi for that decision.
Peterman is a must better passer than Voytik and that is what Pitt needed in those games. You stick with the person that gives you the best chance to win, that was Peterman by far.
Narduzzi did an outstanding job on game day all year. Are we really going to say he needs to learn to be a head coach over not putting a backup QB in at a bowl game. Is that really the criticism?
Every coach from Urban Myer to Nick Saban make calls that fans question. Everyone is a Monday morning quarterback. These guys get paid million to make those calls, they know they ins and outs of the team, what happens in practice, who prepares the best, who shines in certain situations, etc. Information none of us have, even with access to practice 🙂
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Narduzzi did a great job as a first year head coach working with mostly Chryst’s recruits. Was he perfect? No but he will learn as time goes on. We should all be very optimistic for the future of the program. A Coastal championship is the next step in the rise of the program. Hail to Pitt!
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Pulling Peterman last year could very well have ruined him for THIS year. And for what, a couple more points (at best) in a loss?
No thanks.
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Yeah BigB you’re being a little rough on Narduzzi. Of course he has some growing to do, but Miami and Navy were both good teams. If he lost against a shitty MAC team then I would be as concerned as you sound. BTW that Louisville win is looking alot better given all the hype surrounding them going into this season eh?
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Again, I agree with Reed. This isn’t about Voytik vs Peterman. It is about playing a qualified back-up when your starter is having a bad game. If it were any other position the change would have been made.
Let’s hope Peterman doesn’t get hurt this year because there is no back-up.
As for Voytik being a .5oo QB, he would have easily won 8 games his year if he had last year’s defense. but again the point was about Narduzzi’s decision making.
I can’t overlook the 2-4 finish when evaluating Narduzzi’s job. Yes it was against better competition. But no one that attended the Bowl game can say that he had the team ready. That game was an embarrassment.
Narduzzi was far from a 2 million dollar coach on that day in any way shape or form. Certainly his knowledge of ins and outs was pretty much worthless. Voytik deserved a shot. Narduzzi not giving it to him was gutless.
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I love a good debate, Emel where are you?
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Pulling Peterman could have ruined his fragile psyche? Now that is funny.
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Voytik didn’t deserve anything. He got out played and lost his job fair and square to a more talented player. I liked Voytik, and at first was kind of disappointed he didn’t end up the starter. That lasted until I saw Peterman throw the ball.
The Navy game was an embarrassment and Narduzzi is to blame, but that game would have been an embarrassment even if Voytik played, probably more so.
Not sure how keeping your starting QB in a game is gutless. Hard headed maybe. Gutless would be pulling your team from the field at half and forfeiting, LOL.
Using the ‘play the backup’ logic, Narduzzi should have pulled every DL and LB because none of them could beat their blocks and make tackles against the triple option. The entire second string D should have played the second half. Damn rookie head coach!
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We don’t remember Voytik running a bootleg last year then pulling up and missing a wide open TE with no one within 20 yards. He hit the wall at PITT. Hope he regains some composure down at Arkansas A&P or where-ever he ended up.
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@gc: it has happened to much better athletes than Peterman.
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A lot of second string guys did get to play.
So Voytik lost his job because of poor play but when Peterman was playing poorly, Voytik didn’t deserve a shot?
I agree Voytik lost his job fair and square, some have disagreed strongly.
Hardheaded vs Gutless, I’ll have to give that some thought.
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DKF, Peterman recovered from being pulled at Tennessee, I don’t think you give him enough credit, and I doubt that was Narduzzi’s concern. I think Narduzzi was afraid if Voytik did catch lightning in a bottle, he would have a QB controversy all over again.
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@ notrocket…
You forget that Voytik was taking the #2 snaps in practices the whole season. He was as ready as any backup QB is during the season. Seriously, Peterman’s play in the 1st half of that Miami game was so poor I think even a rusty backup could have made a difference.
And sometimes it just comes down to the other 10 guys on offense needing a spark provided by the HC in such a move. But to do nothing and not even warm up a relief showed me Narduzzi was being stubborn as hell and that isn’t the best approach to winning games.
Again – the topic wasn’t Voytik’s play. It was the fact that an experienced HC would have had every option available to him to try to win those games. Narduzzi sat down Voytik then nailed him to the bench even when the starter was stinking out the place thus cutting out that option all together.
I agree with gc above that if any other player on that starting 22 would have been playing that poorly he would have been relieved at least for a series or two. Narduzzi and Chaney didn’t give themselves, and the team, the best chance to win those two games IMO.
I have been saying all along I like the Narduzzi hire, I think he’s done a lot of right things since he came aboard and I think he’ll be a winning HC for us.
But I have a hard time reading comments that are so 100% optimistic that the commenter can’t see Narduzzi for what he really is – a human being who coaches football and makes mistakes and errors in judgement. Just like I make mistakes and each of you all make mistakes.
I think part of Narduzzi’s make-up is that he’s a “my way or the highway’ type guy and while that’s fine lets see that for what it is. I believe he wasn’t going to play Voytik in any circumstance… and honestly I even wonder if he would have put Voytik in had Peterman been injured.
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gc
I will give you Wirginis playing in the Navy game and he did better than Galambos, but it didn’t really help the D overall because everyone else sucked.
Don’t get why he doesn’t get a shot at Caprara’s spot.
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Reed
Narduzzi made many mistakes. I just don’t think the situation you bring up is one of them.
The biggest by far, is the defensive preparation for the triple option. It 100% blew! Especially after facing GT previously and having a tape of freaking Army stopping them.
Whatever his and Conklan’s strategy is for that offense, it is completely shit.
I wish a reporter would ask him if they have changed their strategy for it this year. Paul Johnson has to be licking his chops. Hell, if I were Franklin, I would come out running it.
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….and don’t be surprised if PSU runs some triple option plays on Sept 10th.
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You Voytik lovers….just stop it already. He wasn’t any good. He wasn’t in demand with his transfer.
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PSU’s new OC is a spread guru, albeit at Fordham … but we will likely see a no-huddle spread on 9/10. The good thing is it will be a first year starter at QB; as opposed to a veteran, NCAA record-breaker which we saw last time out.
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Bj, it wasn’t about Voytik. It was about trying anything to win a football game.
The fact that our D couldn’t stop Navy wasn’t a surprise, it was the fact that our offense couldn’t score on them and keep the D off the field. Voytik might have been worse than Peterman, but we will never know.
The real question is, what will happen this year? Will you all still be praising Narduzzi if he goes 1-3, which is a very real possibility?
If you had a choice which team would you rather beat PSU or UNC?
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@GC The Chryst staff didn’t want to play Voytik. The Narduzzi staff didn’t want to play Voytik. Both were interested in trying to win football games.
Like I said, look at his transfer, no real football team wanted him. Its not an accident.
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Timmeh, not being too hard on Duzz, I was at those games and felt we needed a change at the QB position..as NP was playing badly..We play games to win them…None of us know what was going on in Duzz’s head on those days..Maybe Chad told him he was transferring or or there was an issue between them, who knows, who cares, it’s all water over the dam…
it’s just the “coaching decision” I question and we will have more game day decisions to talk about this season…that’s why we experts flock here to the POV.. If I ever have a man to man with Duzz I would ask him why he didn’t switch pitchers in either of those games since the starter was ineffective. Wonder how Coach handles tough questions that may be perceived as being critical. Honeymoon will soon be over…I think the presence of Matt Canada will be the big difference maker on the “O”. We will score a lot of points-that’s from the horses mouth. My biggest concerns remain on the defensive side..Remember we swapped DC’s with FIU
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WOW!
Some of the best “back and forth” ever. Enjoying the bantering very much! Best line thus far: “Voytik had splinters in his a&& from riding the bench” (notrocket).
Everyone has valid comments, maybe because hindsight is 20/20? Maybe Chad had already told Duzz in private that he was leaving? Maybe Duzz felt the next offensive series Peterman would go in and turn it around? Maybe Chaney was hell bent on not letting Chad in the game? Maybe The Duzz was thinking about Beto’s Pizza on Banksville Road? Clearly Chaney was always thinking about his next meal!
At any rate, Hail To Pitt!!!! Beat Penn State!!!
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Well, if Chryst didn’t want CV to play, he should have recruited someone else. Apparently, Bertyk wasn’t the answer. As it turned out, HCPN had to do some last minute QB recruiting, flipping DiNucci from Temple and getting transfer Peterman.
Fact is that Voytik was a Fraud-system QB … tough, mobile QB but who could run and make a throw on the run, but not an accurate dropback. I give Voytik credit for many things he did here … loyalty, replacing Savage in the bowl game and doing a bang-up job, and playing pretty decently 2 years ago. He even left with class … best wishes to him.
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The other thing that bugs me is that maybe Voytik stays for his senior year if he plays the second half of the Navy game.
We are going into a season with our best team in years, but if Peterman gets knocked out in the Penn State Game, it will be a very long year. In that scenario, with Voytik we still have a chance to win a lot more games than we do with Stocker.
That is part of coaching too.
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Voytik?? Seriously?? I’ll check later in the day to see if we’re talking about Tino yet.
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So Skunkhead, Ceasar/Vacuum Salesman and Chryst with Mustard on his Gray Hoodie walk into a bar! Haha
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Imo it was part of Nard giving his OC, the Walrus, complete control over his offense including who to QB. OC Chaney was not going to replace NP whether he or Nard had a verbal falling out with CV, he wasn’t playing.
I agree with Reed that at some point in games you should get the 2nd string QB up and throwing. To give such complete control to the OC, no matter what you promises you may have made to him, doesn’t show who is in charge. I hope, even though our backups aren’t very good, that OC Canada will not hesitate at some point to at least warm up the backup – much better to do if you have a quality back up. Maybe Nard will assert his power there instead of wasting it on his anit-media stance. Nard you are the head coach, act like it.
Ok DAN, Tiny sucked. But DW played him because after Bostick getting the freshman jitters he was on his permanent sh*t list; that and daddy wanted it. Another reason I wasn’t broken hearted to see DW and his goon squad leave. Speaking of goon squad I see a “night off” got 6 holy ND players arrested -assaulting a police officer and gun in car with weed.
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@ Dan – see this link and check out #3 on the list…
@wbb – that was Penn Dinucci committed to not Temple – big difference.
Anyone want to know why I don’t write in absolute optimistic terms? Read this guy’s take on Ben DiNucci‘s prospective college career…
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Glad to see Congemi’s name in lights. One of the best QB performances I’ve ever witnessed, 1984 Fiesta Bowl. We lost to Ohio St 28-23, but Congemi still won the MVP of the game.
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Alex Van Pelt had some monster games like that too. Had some passes where there two linebackers in front, two DB’s behind and he would loft it, seemed to hang in the air, and would come down right on our receivers numbers between them all.
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The list is enjoyable, if only for the memories and names long forgotten. Lindsay Delaney?? My God!! No Billy Daniels, not on the list, but not forgotten.
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I still cant believe that some of you cant give a senior laden, heisman trophy led Navy an ounce of credit. Sometimes you cant out scheme better players, which Navy had last year (sadly).
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Panther Jim, it wasn’t that Navy beat us, it was that they crushed us in every facet of the game.
It was one of the worst beatings that I have ever seen a decent Pitt team take. We were manhandled on both sides of the ball. Navy was very good, but not that good.
The only one I remember that was worse was 48-14, when our National Championship caliber team got crushed.
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Our offense definitely under achieved that day, but as we saw all year we did not have any talent on D and went against an all senior offensive line and a heisman finalist running a tough to defend offense. We shouldnt have been surprised at all that they ran all over the field. We can be surprised we didnt score more.
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Army held up very well against that all senior Navy line. Pitt was ill prepared to play that game on both sides of the ball. That’s why its hard for me to get too excited about the team this year seeing how the season ended last year.
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What’s all the rumpus about Voytik. Couple things here. First, he was given a very small chance as a starter and some very small opportunities in relief off the bench. imo CV was setup for failure. Chaney and maybe Narduzzi wanted NP as the starting QB. another imo was that Chad was sort of run out of town. They couldn’t take the chance of Chad succeeding so he looked very unprepared and the play calling was limited to say the least.
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I’ll take 22 and 23 year old military trained men in the trenches over 2* sophomores trying to stop the run any day of the week.
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FYI This Saturday on ESPN …. Ohio Power St Edward’s vs Pine-Richland. SE is a 23 point favorite (yes there is a line for this game.) SE of course recruits the entire NE Ohio area as does St Ignatius and a couple others.
PR coached by Pitt alum Eric Kasperovic features Jr Jurkevic who also committed to ND but also has TE Carrigan who just committed to Pitt
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Hmm. Still hoping Pitt can steal that Pine-Richland QB somehow.
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@wbb, Saturday night?? Got a start time?
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If Peterman misses an extended period due to injury, Stocker or DiNucci can hand the ball off until the coaching staff gets McVittie up to speed to run the offense.
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Dan, according to St Ed’s web site, it’s at noon. I read today on both PG and Plain Dealer that ESPN is televising. Not sure if that is ESPN or on one of the ESPN channels … check local listings
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Nice thread…sorry I’m late for the party. While Peterman had a bad game against Miami, it should have never come to that. As someone eluded to earlier, our game plan was horrible. Miami was terrible against the run, yet Chaney decides to pass the ball. As for the Navy game, well, that game never happens if we beat Miami. Navy was a poor matchup for us from the get go. Triple Option, slow defense, Heisman candidate (NCAA record for TD’s), home game for Navy- I didn’t matter if Danny Marino was the QB- we still lose that game.
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@wbb, thanks!!
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Chaney and Voytik were not good. Pat Narduzzi gives full control to his assistants and does not meddle, like a true Cheif. Narduzzi’s mistake was hiring Jim Chaney, and half way through the season he was already screaming at him and losing his temper at him in front of everyone.
—– I for one am a person who can understand and not judge that sometimes these moments happen. Rather have someone be Too Real than some B$ back-stabber like so many of these other coaches.
Side Note: I was 100% not mad at Todd Graham for publicly saying Tino Sunseri is awful, and all the backup QB’s were even worse. I had a lot of problems with Fraud Graham, but that moment was as genuine and on-point as it gets!
—- Pat Narduzzi had the guts to go-at his offensive coordinator and not play ‘fake-nice’. I liked that. I got that others wanted more….”decorum” I guess, but that’s not my style. At this level sometimes these @lpha males don’t have the time to play with B$ Kiddie-gloves and we all knew Chaney was on the way out not much more than halfway through 2015. PS —– good for Todd Graham to have the Ball$ to say in a press conference, out-loud, that Tiny Sunseri was a straight-up garbage QB and so were Wannstedt’s pitiful other QB recruits. I was all with him, even if some so-“Principled” Pitt fans thought it was soooo inappropriate and ‘unprofessional’ hahaha.
Jim Chaney made horrible decisions. The toss-pitches against Power-5 quality teams are total “Knuckle Balls”, not frequently run plays like this is Pop Warner ball. The pass plays had zero creativity whatsoever and were totally generic — luckily Tyler Boyd just had this crazy talent to get open underneath constantly for clutch 1st downs all season.
Jim Chaney was awful. Against Miami AND Navy Pitt ran the ball at will —- yet as many, many others noted: Jim Chaney sabotaged the entire effort from the beginning by having so IDIOTIC hard-on for trying to pass right from the get-go —- Instead of having the Courage and Patience to understand proper ‘Balance’ helps keeps your offense focused and excited and the other team guessing. It’s not just ‘run the ball for the sake of running the ball’.
Chad Voytik was really bad, and he pulled a Trey Anderson and won’t get snaps in the Sun Belt Arkansas State program. Dunno what the heck he expected with that transfer with a 6’4”, 220 ex Oklahoma QB with a cannon transferring there the same year. Actually I DO KNOW — he just had too much pride to just go down to FCS. He deep down thinks he might have D-1 glory in him….no lol.
Whatever, Jim Chaney is GONE, huge addition there no matter who was hired at Offensive Coordinator.
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Chaney was gone before the Navy game.
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We are PITT!! …… & Pitt is IT!!!!!!!!
(USA!!! USA!!! USA!!! hahaha)
This is the dawning of the new Age at Pitt! 🙂 🙂 Less than 2 weeks away! 🙂
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BTW:
op·ti·mism
noun
1.
hopefulness and confidence about the future or the successful outcome of something.
Optimism as defined is a PASSIVE term. I’m not an “Optimist”, at all, and that word itself means nothing to me.
I’m saying all us Pitt fans, Chancellor Gallagher—whoever he chooses as his AD— and at least for the next quite a few years (unless he retires, or the NFL comes-calling and he can’t resist) Pat Narduzzi, are all collectively going to creates some Magic for Pitt 🙂 .
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DK – Nice definition! Not “hopeful”, but rather “CONFIDENT” about…the successful outcome of something!! Confidence is not PASSIVE, in this case!! The work HCPN is putting in is building that confidence. It sounds like the guys are much more knowledgable about the D this year than last year. They’ll play faster and with more confidence because of it. I think we’ll see an improved D this year – for that very reason. I like your style!
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I think Pat Narduzzi + Multiple other posters have already shared this….but, again!
Pitt is #2 to…….NO ONE!!! lol
Oh Gosh —– most especially not to: No Style, Boring-A$$, so shamely-plain Ugly-Blue and White, Ugly-A$$ black Nikes, no-one outside of State College Cares, P.S…..”Who???”
Man….PSU is the most GENERIC , “Land Grant”, state school except for the exceptions of, well, Joe Paterno-Tainted Foozball lol. Oh, and a Crappy, Cheap, in the middle of a Cow-Pasture (literally) Erector Set Beaver Stadium (yeah, holds 100,000 in garbage flat cheap metal bleachers like sardines in a cheaply-expanded “Structure”).
Urgh….. I guess let’s (Man) Handle Villanova first lol.
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Pitt Football Training Camp Quotes, Day 15
Photo Gallery of Practice: http://www.pittsburghpanthers.com/view.gal?id=196255
Head Coach Pat Narduzzi
Opening statement:
“Good morning. Camp started out like a heat wave and now it has kind of chilled out a little bit, which is what we like. We had a great day yesterday. We continue to be a healthy football team. I’m happy with where we are right now. It should be another great day today.”
On giving the team the second practice off yesterday:
“We gave them the afternoon off. Like I told you guys before, we want quality over quantity. It’s not how many practices you can get in, it’s how good those practices are. I think doubles are overrated to begin with. The NCAA as a whole has started to move away from a lot of two-a-days. Going back to even when I was in school I was like ‘what are we doing.’ I’d rather have the quality practices as opposed to the quantity. It keeps our guys fresh and lets them know that we care about them.”
On evaluating a “quality” practice:
“In a quality practice there is a lot of focus. There is attention to the little things. It’s about the offense’s execution, and the defense’s reaction to what they are doing. You have to be in position to make the play. If we’re just sloppy and things are wide open defensively, that’s not a very quality practice; you are wasting time, basically just out there going through the motions. Same thing on offense. If a couple guys aren’t executing—whether it’s catching, throwing or protecting the quarterback—then you’ve got problems. We’re looking for that focus. It’s difficult for these kids to sit out here for two hours a day. Remember, they are here in this building from 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 at night. It’s a long day for them. So we’re trying to get that focus and attention.”
On the optimism surrounding the team right now:
“As coaches, you’re never satisfied. I feel good about this football team we have. I think this football team cares about each other. I think they are tight-knit right now. There is great chemistry. Now, does that equal wins? I don’t know, but it’s nothing to be disappointed about. I’m happy where we are as a football team, and I talk team, not individuals. So I’m happy with what we’ve got, but that doesn’t equal wins either. We’ll find that out on a weekly basis.”
On Pitt’s experience playing a large factor on this team:
“The seniors are involved; there is 20 of them. They have to be mature about what they do and how they do it.”
On Defensive End Ejuan Price becoming a leader:
“Ejuan [Price] has been explosive—more explosive than he has been in the past. He is playing with a lot more confidence. A year ago today, he wasn’t able to play. He’s confident, and he’s explosive in what he is doing. He is causing havoc in the backfield every day in practice. It’s hard to get him out of a game. Even in Saturday’s scrimmage, we were like ‘after about 15 plays, let’s get him out. We don’t need to see much more. Let’s make sure we’re smart and see what those other guys have.’ But he’s a guy that doesn’t want to come out of the game. He’s a guy that is having a lot of fun playing this game and understands how to do it effectively.”
On redshirting freshmen:
“Every freshman wants to play. I do think it’s important to redshirt the freshmen. If we could redshirt every guy, I would love to do it. But if they are ready to play, we’re going to play them. We are not going to save them for that fifth year, because they may be gone by that time. The landscape of college football and the NFL is if you have a great year after your third year, you go take the money. I’m all for that as long as you’re a first rounder. In an ideal world, if you could redshirt every one of them you would. They are 18 years old, they will be better at 20 [years old]. I always say to them ‘do you think you can be better next year at this time?’ And every one of them will say ‘yes.’ Why wouldn’t they wait until next year? I tell them ‘don’t get disappointed when you’re not playing.’ We’ve got a freshman class that I think is outstanding. Are they all ready right now? No. There is a lot of mental stuff that goes into it.”
On how many freshmen will see the field:
“We would anticipate playing four to six. But you might not know that until the third game. I don’t know if everybody is ready. There will be some that may be ready September 3rd. There are some that may be ready September 24th. We’re going to train them to be ready to go, and we’ll find out. There could be four to six, or there could be three. Right now it’s hard to know.”
On having clarity early on as to who is starting on the offensive line:
“It’s nice to say here are our guys that will be playing, but what happens when one guy goes down? That’s reality. Our guys can mix together and play. We have a lot of guys we can put in different spots. It’s a positive. You don’t want to be dealing with that the third game of the year. If all of a sudden the third game of the year there is an injury and you have to plug a guy in who hasn’t had any runs with the ones, then you’re in a tough spot. It’s a good situation where we’re at.”
On what Dorian Johnson brings to the line and the locker room:
“He’s a super, super kid. He’s a quiet guy. He isn’t someone who is a vocal leader, but he’s a guy that leads by example. He won’t miss a practice; he won’t miss a meeting; he doesn’t want to miss a thing. He’s a leader by example; he’s got a lot of class. He will anchor that offensive line.”
Running Back James Conner
On his health and getting back on the field:
“I feel good. I have just been taking it day-by-day still. I’m going full speed, and everything is great. The couple live periods were good for me to get my feet back and get into the rhythm of things. It’s not getting rough. I need all the contact I can get to get back to my old self. So it’s been good.”
On the feeling of running the ball again during the scrimmage at Heinz Field:
“It was cool. It’s a great place—a lot of history at Heinz. It’s our home field, so getting to be back there is always special.”
On the coaches monitoring his workload:
“The coaches take good care of all of us. I can go for two hours straight if I had to. But they are being smart with everybody. They are the bosses; when they say that’s enough, that’s enough.”
On the running back room:
“Anybody who gets a carry is going to do some great things with the ball. It’s a very talented room. I feel like we have the most talented running back room in the nation. All of those guy’s run so hard and we just pick each other’s brains each day and compete. I’m excited for it.”
On his reception coming out of the tunnel against Villanova:
“I’m just going to embrace it all. I know we will have a great audience. It will be a memorable day. My doctor will be in the building, along with some of the nurses. My family and friends will be there, along with my friends from Erie, so it’s just going to be a great day.”
On his emotions leading up to the Villanova game:
“I’m excited to make my return. I take every game the same. There’s a job that needs to be done. Anytime we go out to Heinz, my emotions start flowing. There was a chance of me never playing football again, so I always get a little emotional thinking about it.”
On moments in camp that he felt like he was “back”:
“The first time I was being contacted again, getting wrapped up again by our great defense. Everybody over there has been roughing me up and getting me ready for the season. They are not taking it easy on me. Those are my boys though.”
On handling the high expectations this season:
“2014 was a long time ago. I don’t put any pressure on myself. I’m just going to go out there and compete. Every day, I give it everything I have. To me, God already has a plan for me and the numbers are already set. As long as I give everything that I’ve got, I have no regrets.”
Quarterback Nathan Peterman
On what it is like to have Offensive Linemen Dorian Johnson and Adam Bisnowaty in the huddle:
“It’s awesome. I kind of spoke about Bis [Adam Bisnowaty] a little bit in my senior speech, just saying how he makes it easier out there. When we’re in the huddle, he just kind of eases things and cracks a few jokes here and there. It makes it really easy going out there and it kind of takes some stress away.”
On the kind of leadership that Dorian Johnson provides in the huddle:
“He leads by example. He goes and gets his job done; and if he doesn’t, he’s accountable to it. He’s not going to shy away that he messed up or anything. He’s had a lot of experience and he’s a very skilled player being there, being calm and ready to go. Everybody feeds off each other in that huddle.”
On what they need to improve on from last season:
“Scoring points—we definitely want to do that more this year obviously. We think that we can be a very high-scoring offense, and that’s our goal. We need to finish down there in the red zone. We need touchdowns—100 percent on touchdowns, no field goals. We’ve got to protect the ball always. We’ve got to keep working on those things and keep finding a way to punch it in.”
On what it’s like to watch Running Back James Conner return this season:
“He’s a lean, mean, fighting machine. Look at him over there. People are scared of him. He’s an intimidating guy. He’s been fun to have out there, and in all seriousness he’s brought a great attitude and really just a great mental approach to the whole game for the whole team to really rub off on. The guys feed off him like I said, and I’m excited for this season with him.”
On if he would call Pitt’s offense a spread offense:
“I think we do a little bit of everything. We’re just trying to score points out there. Coach [Matt] Canada is very creative. He does a very good job of mixing things up and making it hard for the defense. I think we’ll have opportunities to score out there this year.”
Offensive Lineman Dorian Johnson
On his preseason All-American recognition:
“I think it’s an honor that people think so highly of me, personally. But it’s just all speculation. It’s a preseason award, so at the end of the day it doesn’t mean anything right now. I need to make it happen on the field.”
On the optimism surrounding the team:
“I feel like guys have completely bought in this year. We always talk about being ACC champions, and we talked about it last year too. I feel like some guys believed it, but not everyone had the same mentality. This year I feel like all the guys have bought in. We’re going to try and go out there and win every single game that we can. We have great coaches here; we have guys that care about us—from the head coach to position coaches and strength coaches. Everybody’s attitude has just changed. We have power. We have depth. Everybody wants to win. We’re tired of coming up short, so everybody is striving for the same goals.”
On his humble approach and where it comes from:
“Probably from just being an offensive lineman, to be honest. We never really get much recognition. I’ve been a lineman my entire life. That’s probably where it comes from. That and my family. My grandpa was a big role model in my life; he kind of has the same personality that I do. He played football at Belle Vernon as well, but didn’t go on to play in college.”
On the offensive line being a strength of the team:
“I think it should be. We have depth but we also have a lot of other great players. We have great depth at running back and quarterback. Nate [Peterman] is a great quarterback. We have great receivers and all-around the defense is great. I think that the line should be a great unit, but it’s coming from everywhere else too.”
Offensive Line Coach John Peterson
On what Adam Bisnowaty brings to position meetings and the locker room:
“Bis [Adam Bisnowaty] is a very passionate player who has a lot of great game experience and leadership qualities. The neat thing is to watch Bis and Dorian [Johnson]; they’re experts at their position and now they are really coaches on the field.”
On Adam Bisnowaty and Dorian Johnson having contrasting personalities:
“That’s the fun thing about any position. Our offensive line always has a lot of characters.”
On how Dorian Johnson leads by example during games:
“Part of being an offensive lineman is to listen. He has to be focused in that huddle, listening to the quarterback and the details of what is being said, get to the line of scrimmage and dissect the defense. I look for more of their body language and how they’re carrying themselves. It’s a group that is confident and excited to get into the season.”
On Jaryd Jones-Smith:
“Jaryd is doing well. He’s a young guy still with a lot of talent. Every day and every period he gets better and better. I anticipate him to play a role and be very active.”
On Alex Officer still competing for the starting job at center:
“He’s still running with the No. 1s. He is a very versatile guy too. You see him play guard and center also.”
Defensive Back Avonte Maddox
On how he can improve as a cornerback:
“Probably do more work at the line [of scrimmage]. Other than that, my speed is up there; but if I can win off the line, then I’ll be even better.”
On how his success last season helped his confidence:
“My confidence is always high no matter what happens. I have a lot of self-confidence, and it’s going to always be high. I can’t let it get too low and I can’t let it get too high.”
On what has helped his development as a player besides his speed:
“I think watching film. You can’t go wrong with watching film. You can always learn something new, unique and better by watching film both about yourself and someone else.”
On playing with an edge because of his height:
“Yeah, I do; I like it. Of course everyone wishes they could be 6-foot-3, but a lot of people aren’t blessed to be, and I don’t really care. I like to play with an edge. I’m smaller, so it makes me feel better when I beat you.”
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Dark – you said…
I’m saying all us Pitt fans, Chancellor Gallagher—whoever he chooses as his AD— and at least for the next quite a few years (unless he retires, or the NFL comes-calling and he can’t resist) Pat Narduzzi, are all collectively going to creates some Magic for Pitt 🙂 .
WTH!!!!
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I do enjoy DK’s enthusiasm.
Definitely sounds like the offense is ready.
Sounds like quite a battle for center and guard.
Great to have depth at so many positions.
Except for the most important one.
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gc – we’ll know they (offense) are ready when J.Weah makes his first catch of his three year career at Pitt. If he is the best we have as a starter, I’d be very cautious about stamping the offense as “ready” under a first year OC.
I hope you and DK are right – I’m as optimistic as any Pitt fan – I also have high expectations. Remember fellas, “hope is NOT a strategy”.
The D on the other hand has question marks for almost every position except J.Price and J.Whitehead. It seems that no other position is settled for the starting line-up. That is good for depth – I expect that experience in HCPN’s D equates to some form of speed – quicker decision making, quicker reaction, lack of hesitation to put forth a full speed effort, etc. Plus, with (9) positions up for grabs, Conklin & company should be able to rotate fresh legs into the game for all four quarters.
I’m ready for 9/3 – knock down the nova wildcats.
HTP!
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Maybe I’m not that confident but there are position on both units that have starters cemented in. Galambos, Caparra, Jarrett, Soto, Price, Whitehead, Mitchell/Webb and Maddox are already starters. I say now that Galambos will have a great senior season. I believe he has figured out the angle he needs to take and so goes PITT’s middle linebacker so goes this defense.
On offense the O-Line is always most critical and PITT has a really good one with some depth. imo. Also the running back group is outstanding with a few guys with different styles. Ibrahim and Hall will take the O over the top. Also a big big fan of Ford. Watch when the PITT QB is not told to look for Boyd constantly.
The kicking game at worst seems very solid and could turn out to be very above average. Another year as a head coach, I wouldn’t expect more first year coaching mistakes like having no one deep for a kickoff. (one of dumbest things I have ever seen) All in all despite a difficult schedule I believe we will all see a quality PITT football team out there this year. Wins on the other hand? Who knows. Too much plays into how a season plays out.
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This taken from an ESPN article yesterday on ACC predictions:
Coastal Division winner
Pittsburgh: The Panthers have the best offensive line in the ACC, perhaps the best depth at tailback, a veteran quarterback and an aggressive defense returning. Pittsburgh’s ability to play physical, ball-control offense and attacking defense will get it to the championship game. — (by) Adelson
This same article had others picking unc instead of Pitt and Clemson as the unanimous choice for the Atlantic Division. HCPN was chosen by the same person (Adelson) as the Coach of the Year and Clemson was picked as the National Champion.
FWIW,
HTP!
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At the sake of a tainted analogy …. this year’s FB team may take the shape of the Pitt BB team of about 7-8 years ago. A ball control offense wearing down the defense coupled by a fundamentally sound defense will keep us competitive in most games. We won’t be able to beat Clemson, and likely a few others, but we won’t get blown out unless we make a lot of turnovers.
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yet another great story about JC, this one from SI
http://www.campusrush.com/james-conner-pitt-football-cancer-1983659084.html
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well, if you think HCPN is paranoid about the secrecy of his practices … check this out from our favorite former Pitt HC
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wwb, that SI story was a great read. Wouldn’t it be great for Conner to duplicate his 2014 season in 2016. How many hours left before the Villanova kickoff?
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@ Double E, it’s worth nothing. Preseason predictions are a waste of time. Pitt could end up anywhere from 4-8 to 10-2 in this regular season.
That’s why they play the games.
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I guess they didn’t spell check that ASU signage. I would argue I wasn’t a “violater”. Good grief. They can’t spell correctly. That’s the ASU education at its finest.
@Dan yesterday – Lindsay Delaney, Wow that’s a blast from the past. I was a teammate of his for years and then I played ball with him and sometimes his brother Jeff, after college. Lindsay could bring the heat! Great memories. He was the first pitcher to bean me! Hit me right in the ass with a fastball and it hurt like a mother!
1-0 is key. I like how Narduzzi is already practicing plays and packages for various opponents on the schedule already so that there will be nothing new to learn during the week of the game. Narduzzi looks confident. He has to be wondering what success looks like for this team. 8-4, 9-3, 10-2!
This is important. We lose our 1 and 2 qb’s to graduation. QB 3 and QB 4 need snaps. Call me crazy, but I am more inclined to use the redshirt on MacPitt to get him snaps this year. If not, our only qb with college snaps under his belt next year will be Bo. To be fair to the team and to get them in the best position to win next year, he has to burn the shirt if we are winning by a comfortable margin.Sorry! That said, if an injury occurs to N8, Stocker is the choice, unless it’s late in the season and the fate of the team has already been decided (i.e. we are 3-5 going into game 9). I sure hope it is not the latter.
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@wwb: Thanks for posting that article.
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Seems to me some of you are forgetting how completely horrible CV looked when he played in the first couple of games. Bizarrely bad. Something in Chaney’s offense did not compute with CV.
And Chaney wasn’t there for the bowl game – which I think contributed to Peterman being completely off his game. Pitt’s only chance in that game was to score a bunch of points.
I sure hope the defensive coaches have a good plan for the spread offenses — better than they’ve done with the triple options… Course we haven’t had the DEs or the LB speed to deal very well with the triple options.
Go Pitt.
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LMAO….did someone actually say….Voytik was given a fair chance, a square deal. Mind you Tyler Boyd was not available for the ONLY game Voytik got to play the majority of the game. Think that mattered some.
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If not for CV, Pitt would have a 5 year Bowl losing streak and the embarrassment of losing to a MAC team in a Bowl Game. The two passes along the sidelines in the 2014 BC game he completed were more accurate and on the money than anything I saw last year from any Qb wearing a Pitt jersey, And they were Pocket Passes. ESPN announcers even commented on CV’s accuracy. And his #1 QB rating in ACC games that year was the first time ANY Pitt QB led a conference in QB rating.
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Hey but whatever, we got slaughtered by a service academy. Game was over at halftime, our Qb is great.
We love to talk about star ratings on here. Navy was a collection of 2 star players. And they slaughtered us.
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Nard Dog had something against Chad. Nard needed to grow some balz and play the best QB in situations. Many times last year Nate sucked and we needed a change in QB. Chad could have won us at least 1 more game last year without costing us any. That would have placed us in a better bowl. Thanks Nard for losing millions for the university.
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TX – and HCPN received a raise to boot for that nonsense.
Two Pitt players receiving recognition for the Herbie Awards tonight – J.Price and J.Conner.
I read on here a lot about we can’t afford to have NP hurt. How about we can’t afford to let him stink up the joint like in last year’s Miami and Navy games? Let the back-up see some action when the “air quality” is tainted.
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@TX – Look, Narduzzi didn’t recruit Voytik. Simple as that. Chaney didn’t recruit Voytik. Simple as that. Coaches go with who they know and who they are comfortable with. We can never say we would have won an extra game with Voytik playing. Never!
I liked Voytik and I wish him well.This is why so many kids transfer when a new coach comes in. New coach wants to win and upgrade recruiting so he makes high level recruits promises of playing time. Once that happens, the writing is on the wall rightly or wrongly. Sorry.
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Erie, we ain’t got a backup QB at this point in time. Maybe MacVittie can be the backup, but right now the two others named are I’m afraid not acceptable.
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Stocker is the likely back-up at least to start the season. He has a history with Canada at NC State and, unlike MacVittie, participated in spring drills.
It is rare when a natural freshman can successfully take the reigns at QB, especially when he isn’t taking 1st team snaps … in this case, he is apparently taking 4th team snaps.
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Different era, but when Marino beat out Trocano, Trocano stuck around and came back to save a season when Marino got hurt. If Voytik was handled more deftly he might be here to do the same thing. Still think Peterman was the better choice, but if the situation was handled better, and Voytik was called on vs Navy and possibly Miami, he would still be here.
Now we have all off our eggs in one basket, in a year we finally have some horses at more than a few positions. Not a year to hope for a freshman miracle.
Do you think teams will come at Peterman harder knowing there is no one behind him?
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It is complete conjecture to say Pitt would have won more games last year with Voytik or that he would still be on the team if he played a few snaps in the bowl game.
I could say Pitt would have LOST two more games with Voytik or that Peterman would not be in this team if he thought he wouldn’t be the clear #1 this year.
Neither argument has any basis, but one thing is clear. Narduzzi saw Voytik play and practice more than any of us. And he went with Peterman, even when he was playing poorly. That speaks volumes.
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