in Monday Morning QB, Pat Narduzzi, Pitt Football, Pitt POV 1,422 Words

POV Monday Morning QB

Pitt stands at 5-2 after beating the Virginia Cavaliers at their place down in Charlottesville, VA. The final score was 45-31 and a 14 point win is good in anyone’s books – especially since in came against a conference opponent.

With that we are 2-1 in ACC play losing to North Carolina then beating Georgia Tech and now Virginia.  We play eight conference games per season and for the home stretch that is all we play – so every game means something.

Can’t take away anything from the nice Villanova and Penn State wins but they are window dressing wins compared to the task at hand.  Very nice window dressing with the  PSU win of course.

But moving forward we start to get into the meat of the ACC contests.  North Carolina was a tough match and they are considered one of the better ACC Coastal Division teams, but after this bye week we have Virginia Tech at home then follow that with two very hard games against Miami and Clemson – both on the road.

It is this three game stretch that will make or break this season.  I’ve said before that the final number in the win column can be deceiving if it is wins against out of conference opponents.   At 5-2 we have a great chance at an eight or nine win season if we can do something Pitt hasn’t been able to do yet under Pat Narduzzi and that is beat the teams that are ‘better’ than us.

He needs to start doing that now if we are to have any shot at a Coastal championship.

Since we won the game POV MMQB starts off with the three good things.

POSITIVE:

James Conner’s play.  His stats line was pretty good at  20 carries for 90 yards and two TDs.  He also chipped in two receptions for 28 yards. That was a 4.5 ypc average and puts him at 531 yards on the season with a 4.3 average. What he did Saturday is score 14 of our team’s 31 offensive-generated  points and accounted for seven of Pitt’s 19 1st downs… in other words he kept the team out on the field and moving forward.

Up and Over for Seven

He was a huge part of our offense in that his rushing yards was 43% of out total 209 and his reception yardage was 20% of that total.  Over all his production with the ball in his hands was 34% of our total yardage.

That pales in comparison to his role in 2014 but we know things are different now, both with him and with our offense.  Saturday   saw 10 different Pitt ball carriers and five different receivers.  Two years ago it was pretty much just the Conner/Boyd show – so for him to contribute that well with the diluted offense is pretty impressive.

Our Special Teams play again.  How many times can Quadree Henderson run back kickoffs for TDs?  As many times as he damned well pleases.  But he doesn’t do it by himself out there.

Take a look at this video of his return TD against the Cavs.  Note the downfield blocking by #23 Idowu and #15 Lopes at the 40 and 30 yard lines.  The great part is after his early left to right cut back they took perfect angles to put themselves in front of the play and execute their blocks.

Here is what our special teams did statistically on the day…an avegarge of 48 yards per punt:

va-special-teams

In the 2nd half when we started with only a seven point margin our Punter Ryan Winslow did this with his leg:

52 yard punt (VA started at VA 30);  44 yard punt (VA started at VA  20 on a touch-back);  .52 yard punt (VA started at VA 08).

That is a good days work for someone who started off the season rather slowly.

Our 2nd Half Defense.  We fans at the game thought that Avonte Maddox had been pulled benched and that was why we shut down tier passing attack – which had started so well with 147 yards in the 1st quarter alone… and 185 by the half

That wasn’t really the case.  He didn’t play again but that was because of injury to his shoulder and Phillipe Motley came in and did well enough, with six  tackles for second place on the day and good WR coverage to get a bit of a controversy going (on the media side of things; Pitt fans want Motley.)

 Whatever the reasons we put a clamp down on Virginia’s offense almost completely in allowing just a late game FG.  After scoring 28 points in the 1st half and getting the Pitt fans reaching for the nitro-heart meds they couldn’t do a thing after the Cavalier band finished their halftime show.

How is this for a late-game stand by our D ?

va-fg

Even though they got a FG when was the last time we saw an opponent miss three passes in a row against our DBs?  That alone is heartening for the future games?.

NEGATIVES:

Our 2nd half offense.  For as nice as it was to get out to a 35-28 halftime lead; 35 points in a half is great in anyone’s book, we were putrid in the 2nd half.  In scoring only seven more points – on a defensive TD by Whitehead we allowed the Cavaliers ample opportunity to not only stay in the game but close the gap if they could.

We now know the couldn’t but a full 30 minutes without an offensive TD didn’t help at all and is a recipe for failure against the better teams we’ll face in the future.

QB Nate Peterman’s passing. 

Shovel to Aston for a 42-28 Lead

Pretty darn bad overall even with his two TD throws – one of which was another shovel pass to FB George Aston.  He was 11 for 21 for 137 yards and two TDs with no INTs.  The no INTs part was perhaps the best thing he did all day.

When a QB is throwing for only 6.5 yards per attempt that’s trouble.  The fact that he had a pretty good yards per reception of 12.5 mitigates that somewhat but overall he left a lot to be desired. 

He threw too long on almost all of his incompletions in this game and that is usually nerves –

Missed an Open TE

this photo is of a wide open Jamar Parrish being missed on a pass.

a silver lining in his play on Saturday was the fact that ran the ball fie times for 26 yards (5.2 ypc) and picked up a couple of crucial 1st downs in doing so.

He’s been hot and cold this year and its a crapshoot to whether or not he’ll be able to do more than ‘game manage’ from one week to the next.  Let’s hope this extra week off gets him ready to be a full contributor against VT.

But if he’s reading this (and some players do) this was a nice pass and catch to Jester Weah for a score.

Qadree Ollison’s play.  I usually don’t like to single our one particular player unless that kid’s good or bad play made a real difference to the outcome of the game.  Ollison’s play didn’t do that on Saturday.  But I’m listing him because of the disappointment I feel with him not being able to seize the day and make the most of the few opportunities given to him by Matt Canada.

Ollison had only one carry on the day and that was for no gain.  That is bad enough. But at the mid-point of the 3rd quarter when we were still only seven points ahead he had an opportunity on a 2nd & 9 at the VA 29 yards line to take in a swing pass with open field in front of him – and the ball clanked off his hands.

He would have easily gotten those nine yards for a 1st down and maybe a bunch more.  Instead we threw incomplete on the next 3rd & nine play and had to settle for a FG try by Blewitt… that missed.

Rather than being in the red zone with at least four more plays our offense left the field with nothing to show at the end of a 50 yard drive.  These are the types of mistakes that keep players on the bench.  I’m not sure what the future holds for Ollison at Pitt, but if he doesn’t make the simple and basic plays he’ll keep getting played over.

 

76 thoughts on “POV Monday Morning QB”

  1. Queue the “well if he got to play more he’d probably make that catch” from the Ollison apologists!!
    I agree Reed – except Whiteheads defensive TD was in the first half.

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  2. Reed,
    I believe you meant T. Webb who did not come back into the game. Maddox was not dressed and was sporting a sling on his arm.

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  3. Ollison also stood there & looked at the ball instead of jumping on it in case it was a lateral. Sure he may have known it wasn’t, but the UVA defenders did & there were several uneasy moments while the refs discussed it. Leave no doubt.

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  4. Watched the Little Q Kickoff Return….Big Q had a very nice block in the Wedge group. So he contributed on Special Teams. It was a crappy pass as well, it didn’t lead him, he had to stop for it and it was kinda low.

    Also we scored an Offensive TD in the 2nd half. We had a 8 play, 81 yard drive, at the beginning of the 4th quarter. The Whitehead pick TD was the last play of the 2nd quarter.

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  5. NP is very fortunate as a lot of his really bad passes, he and we get bailed out on penalties on opposing team. There were at least 2 instances of that on Sat. Ball was throw behind the receiver and really the WR had no chance to catch up,….fortunately the ref bailed us out.

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  7. PSU — good defense 1st half; terrible defense 2nd half
    Ok St — bad defense 1st half; good defense 2nd half
    UNC — good defense 1st and 3rd quarters; bad defense 2nd & 4th
    Marshall — great defense 1st half; terrible defense 2nd half
    GT – bad defense 1st half; good defense 2nd half
    UVa — terrible defense 1st half; great defense 2nd half

    I have no point here, only observations

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  10. wwb – Pitt needs to get some defensive bodies healthy for the next game so we can attempt to string together 4 good qtrs on D and win the game. Win being the most important factor.

    My positives from the uva game:

    a. James “the beast” Conner with his efforts on offense.
    b. James “the beast” Conner’s spin move at the DE position in the 2nd half. (I’d like to see more)
    c. Q.Henderson’s APY – and he’s only a SO.

    My negatives:

    a. The numerous penalties on Pitt during the 1st uva scoring drive.
    b. NP’s accuracy with passing. The pass interference calls were gifts to NP or his numbers would have been worse. (And maybe a Pitt loss???)
    c. Pitt’s 1st half D.

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  12. Positives
    1) even when NP was not accurate our offense did score
    2) Aston is a monster, most fun FB since Hynoski
    3) the 2nd half blitzes
    4) QH
    Negatives
    1) 1st half defense
    2) NP accuracy
    3) DL is fairly ineffective at bringing pressure sans Price and blitzing LBs

    But WE WON, BRING ON VPI

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  13. I agree with Peterman’s play was really dismal at times. He not only missed on some passes but missed by a wide margin on many. Not sure who he was throwing to on that Parrish pass since it so far off the mark. Also he does not have a very good touch on some of those swing passes out of the backfield to our running backs. But right now he’s the best we have and we’ll have to live of die with him for the remainder of the year.

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  14. Positives: Being able to score above our average when offense did not bring it’s A game. Special teams outside of missed FG was really good across the board. Second half defense which probably started with Whitehead pick 6 before the end of the half, that and more pressure really rattled that QB. Including the pick 6 I believe had over 5 defensive stops in a row. Negatives: First half defense, bad pass coverage and I thought that the tackling was atrocious, probably 4 or 5 times where we had someone in the backfield and they took a bad angle or tried an arm tackle. Peterman making the incorrect read was probably more frustrating to me then the accuracy as it killed a few drives. Not a Pitt negative but between the ACC broadcast and the Refs it seriously pains them to talk about any Pitt success, I feel like Pitt has an uphill battle every week just to get the treatment like a normal conference team. I also felt UVA was getting a little dirty towards the end of that game and was getting away with it.

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  15. —Very strange game – couldn’t recognize the UVA team from the first half to the second half. I guess you could say the same about Pitt.

    —What a sensational play by Jordan Whitehead — first in making the INT; then in the amazing return. There were a ton of UVA players between JW and the goal line when he intercepted — got nice blocks from Bam Bradley and others. Fun to watch that play.

    —Bam Bradley had an impact in this game, like the big sack – maybe this will get him going down the stretch.

    —I keep waiting for NP to take his passing game to another level – he’s had over a full season of starting now. I hope he’s saving his best for the last portion of the season…I hope, I hope…

    —Much more aggressive and powerful running by JC in this game. Nice to see, but we still need to get Ollison some carries — that mystery remains a mystery.

    —When Tipton and Ffrench learn when to cut up field on the sweeps, the offense will be even more effective. They both run the sweeps like they’re still in HS and expect to get around the edge to the outside.

    —Tipton has been impressive making diving catches – Boyd-like catches… Bodes well for the future.

    Go Pitt.

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  16. Did I watch the same game as the just of you guys on Saturday? IMO the huge positive, head and shoulders above any other single play of the day was Whitehead’s Pick Six, and I’m not forgetting about Henderson’s KO TD either. That Pick Six totally changed the momentum going into halftime, especially with everybody aware that Pitt gets the ball first in the second half. The other positive that I want to note is Conner getting in for a DE play! Just think how much fun it will be to open up that can of worms again for debate on whether Conner is better suited for O or D going into the NFL Draft, etc. Let the debates begin!

    I also must comment on the number of players on the depth chart that are quietly getting their share of playing time in relief of the starters or due to injuries at their positions. Folston & Edwards at DE, Motley at CB, Lopes at Flanker/WR+Return man, Taleni & Herndon on the interior DL. Tipton, Matthews and FFrench all at WR/Flanker. These youngsters are Pitt’s future and with them getting such valuable experience now, it is looking pretty brite.

    My biggest negative that I saw in the game was that big ugly injury bug rearing it’s head and affecting the team, AGAIN. The bye week could not be coming at a better time. Saturday saw Moss dinged up, Webb going down, Price tweak his back, Bradley get his bell rung, Wriginis get hammered on a special teams play plus Ziese, Hendrix, Ford & Maddox all out already, some for the season. No wonder these youngins are seeing playing time. Guess that’s making lemonaid out of lemons.

    Let’s hope a week off helps heal everybodies bumps and brusies up. I like where this team is right now, we’re learning how to win.

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  17. Positives:

    1) We won
    2) We won on the Road (first time this year !!!)
    3) We won a Conference Game
    4) We won on only 137 yards passing which is near impossible given today’s environment
    5) Coaches made necessary adjustments at Halftime to throttle the Hoos after Halftime
    6) Little Q (kid is remarkable, said back when they recruited him he was going to be a star, toot toot)
    7) Whiteheads pic and return was a thing of beaty(whatever he did or didn’t do, don’t do it again)
    8) Phillipie Motley (who knew) kid had 6 tackles (2nd highest) 3 of them solo and a Pass Defense
    9) The Gold Helmets (throw the blue matte things away please)
    10) My Liver got a rest from normal necessary 2nd half heavy drinking
    11) Winslow has gotten much better.

    Negatives:

    1) We had several injuries. Hopefully none will linger.
    2) Lowest Offensive Total Yards since Nova against crap team
    3) 11 completions and 10 misses on passes (thank god for shuffle passes)
    4) Blewitt missed again
    5) Took too long for coaches to make adjustments
    6) Took too long for Motley and Mitchell to be inserted, and that was only because of injuries.
    7) Reed never made it to a Frat Party

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  18. Positives:

    1.The defensive adjustments. (again, I think UVA used the two weeks to prepare well)
    2. Whitehead’s interception. A game changer.
    3. The fact that PITT just not give up. EVER!
    Honorable mention: Special teams Winslow has picked it up.

    Negatives:

    Again with the slow starts? Get with it Fuzzie. (inside joke)
    Injuries are mounting. The 10 days are off should be in the positive column.
    Reed eyeballing and drooling over the young hot babes. Concentrate my friend.

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  19. Major majors, good point — I noticed that Ffrench had a wide lane to cut into on one of his rums, but chose to go outside and only get a few yards. Pretty sure this will be pointed out to him in the film room

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  21. It seemed me Conner was running much more decisively in the UVA game. Very little shuffling. At times he seemed to be seeking contact and bringing the pain. He actually delivered one blow on the UVA MLB and the two briefly jawed on the sideline afterward. I think he also ran over a DB on one carry. It seemed as if it was 2014 again.

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  23. Well at least Quadree Ollison is number 2A / 3 on the depth chart —- so even if James Conner and Chawntez Moss return there will still be tons of opportunity for Ollison next season in this offense*.

    Quadree Ollison has totally passed Darren Hall (#oddmanout) and Matt Canada and Pat Narduzzi aren’t giving up in him 👍👍 — he’ll get more opportunities (I see him getting a couple screen passes against VT).

    Clearly though: none of the running backs have played at nearly the LeSean McCoy / Dion Lewis / healthy pre-injury Ray Graham star level —- it’s pure “Halfback By Committee” for Pitt all season and Conner, Moss, and Ollison will all get their fair share of shots as the season goes on.

    With Reggie Mitchell and Terrish Webb both gone …… 🙏🙏🙏 I just cannot get over what an immense opportunity it is for the 5’9”, 185 pound, explosive-athlete Lamont Wade to be a Star in the ACC at Free Safety for Pitt!!! I want to see Lamont Wade making huge picks, big hits coming up to stop running backs, and roaming that defensive backfield for Pitt the next 3 seasons!!! (Before NFL time $$$$ of course).

    Broken Record: Nathan Peterman has got to play like high quality QB to beat Virginia Tech (both teams are totally Evenly Matched it’s nuts). And Nathan Peterman is gonna have to keep at it in the weight room and on those agility drills these next 2 weeks — because more than he’s done all season, he’s gonna have to scramble and run hard — picking up huge 1st downs instead of taking coverage sacks to win the game — because Virginia Tech is going to be in Hard Set, Sell-Out Mode to stop the run and all jet sweeps. Thursday prime time, only show in town, National ESPN against VT, is gonna have to be Nathan Peterman+Jester Weah+Scott Orndoff+Quadree Henderson+Aaron Mathews time. And again Pitt wins if Nate P plays gang-busters, and scrambles and gets clutch first down with his legs. Huge Pressure on Nate P as Virginia Tech is gonna make Nathan Peterman beat them .

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  24. I think we will see more play action passes off the jet sweeps? Maybe reverses as well. UVA was ready for them this week for the first time this season. If PITT has teams practicing against it, they need to use that to their advantage more instead of going away from it.

    Orndorf still needs more attention from M Canada and NP!

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  25. Remember that VT game when Rushel Shell ran all over the VT defense. I expect to see more of that but this time it will be JC, Moss and Ollison…

    And even if nobody else does, I hope Avonte Maddox is back for the VT game; though I’m OK if Terrish Webb needs to sit a couple weeks. Maybe watching somebody else from the sidelines will help TW see what he needs to do better.

    For what it’s worth, I think the safeties have the toughest job in Coach Duzz’s defense – if they make the wrong decision on whether one of the inside receivers are “going vertical,” they are going to be toasted every time.

    Go Pitt.

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  27. POSITIVES
    a.) Not folding when behind and playing with heart for 60 minutes.
    b.) All special teams ( except 1 FG miss).
    c.) the D in the 2nd half
    d.) James Conner who is starting to morf into The Beast!

    NEGATIVES:
    a.) The first half D (it stunk like a skunk)
    b.) The 2nd half O play calling (ball less)
    c.) The refusal of the coaches to allow QO to carry the ball out of the RB position. What a waste of talent – it’s absolutely inexcusable.

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  28. VT will make NP beat them..totally agree
    Positives..George ” the animal”Ashton brings it every game….. 2nd half D – would like to see that for 60minutes…QH- best in the nation and he is ours…
    Negatives… no power running game and the inability to get our RBs into to 2nd level…NP is in consistent .. nice PITT crowd but we were split into 2 different section far apart and away from out band- together we really could have made some noise
    If you haven’t been to Charlottesville Pitt returns in 2 years – my wife and I had a great weekend

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  30. A recruiting note. Is anybody else, other than me, concerned about the lack of highly rated DL recruiting targets in the sights of the Pitt coaches for the 2017 class?

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  31. DK we already have a 5’9″ CB, his name is Maddox. Have you not noticed how often he is beat because of his height? I am in a distinct minority on Wade but having watched Wade, and his is a tremendous athlete, but at about a realistic 5″6″ he looks like a pee wee football player. Unless he is coming here as a RB, or has a 5 inch growth spurt I am not thrilled with the DB thing nor am I going ga ga over him. Then again I am anxiously awaiting the McVattie Era you ushered in 2 weeks ago. 🙂 🙂 ha ha.
    Maybe he can be another Pac Man Jones, without the posse.
    Of course you were correct about Conner at DE. (insert thumbs up emoji).
    Big B I have been to Charlottesville but not for a football game, beautiful in autumn. Plan on being there in 2 years.
    BEAT VPI

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  32. Dr. Tom. Last year we got both DLs late and there is no telling how many of the numerous OL recruits can play DL. Back in Walt’s Era it seemed that DL were OL who washed out at the other side of the line – not that that was a good thing. 🙂 Still I would hope for one DL. .

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  33. As for injuries – Ped State has whined about them weekly all year In PG articles. I wont stoop that low. Next up.

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  34. Dr. Tom – I try not to get too caught up with recruiting, but I hear a lot of barking from fans that HCPN is not cutting it in the area of recruiting.

    I say to them, look at last year’s results, where many of the verbals came late in the process. We as fans were all beside ourselves with joy on signing day.

    Patience is needed right now in all areas of Pitt FB. I want to win now and predicted 10-2 for this season. I like what HCPN is doing and I trust he will deliver again on the next LOI day.

    Let’s hope our injured defensive players heal quickly during this bye week.

    HTP!

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  35. Positives

    The second half pass rush
    All of the big plays
    A two touchdown lead late in the fourth quarter

    Negatives

    Coaches gave up the first 7 points
    No pass rush in the first half
    Too many misses by Peterman
    Injuries

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  37. rkb …in total agreement with you on Wade’s height being a detriment at the CB position and have mentioned that in the past.”.Good big man beats a good small man most of the time” but he is a wanted commodity..CBs have the most difficult job in this defense and are totally exposed if there are other breakdowns,namely, pass rush…

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  38. Dr Tom, while I expect the staff to close with a couple DL recruits, I would think it is not a priority this year since last year we got:

    Weaver, Camp, Watts, Jones, Gilbert and Wheeler. All are at least 3 star recruits.

    And as for the impatience towards commitments …. we should be used to this by now. Just look at the link below and see how many commits we got after 11/28/16 when most HS teams are finished.

    https://pittsburgh.rivals.com/commitments/football/2016

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  39. As far as recruiting goes the schedule is setting up perfectly for the Panthers to make a statement..win the next one and the next one and the next one…one game at a time..VPI Gobblers are on the clock…”gobble..gobble ..gobble.”

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  41. ” I am in a distinct minority on Wade but having watched Wade, and his is a tremendous athlete, but at about a realistic 5″6″ he looks like a pee wee football player. Unless he is coming here as a RB, or has a 5 inch growth spurt I am not thrilled with the DB thing nor am I going ga ga over him.”

    —- No I agree!! —- About Lamont Wade not being a Cornerback here at Pitt!!! What I see him as being (and being an Elite-level player at ) is Pitt’s First true, “Center Field”, Star Free Safety in a long, long time. He may actually only be a no-shoes, “no-cheating” 5’6” or 5’7” lol — but he’s built like a tank and he’s as fast and sudden as Tasmanian Devil — that’s why I see him playing Free Safety where he can make-breaks on deep balls and turn-the-lights-out on receivers downfield going for those throws.

    Lamont Wade can be a Force as Pat Narduzzi True Free Safety for his Defense — finally a guy who can break on deep-throws like lightning, while also being a stout, powerful 185 to come-up and knock-the-stuffing out runners too. Lamont Wade is a perfect Free Safety ‘Specimen’ to play for Pat Narduzzi and Pitt.

    “Then again I am anxiously awaiting the McVattie Era you ushered in 2 weeks ago. 🙂 🙂 ha ha.”

    —– Oh He** yeah! —- It’s Coming….The Samurai!!! (nick-name obviously subject to potential change) haha

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  42. ^^^^ AND OF COURSE LAMONT WADE WILL GET MANY OFFENSIVE AND SPECIAL TEAMS TOUCHES TOO!! — Pat Narduzzi has shown his Best Talent is going to contribute in all the ways that are possible. Lamont Wade (Should he Fulfill his ‘Destiny’ at Pitt!) will have a ton on his plate to help the team!

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  43. I think to question Lamont Wade’s ability and importance is a little short sighted. I know we all like to shoot out something provocative every now and again but I just look to his offer sheet. I figure all these more qualified opinions matter more than all us sideline head coaches.

    Wade can flat out play and every time I see him play, I just say WOW! …..and just smile, that’s how good he is.

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  45. without Wade, here are the CB possibilities for next year …. Maddox, Hamlin, Coleman, Miller, Henderson and Motley. 4-star Paris Ford is committed next year but will probably play safety if he plays defense. Yes, we will take Wade with open arms …. but our DB situation next year (especially CB) will most likely improve quite a bit

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  47. We are going to skip an article today for the first time. Then I have a series of podcasts that I’m going to do on an interesting subject. I’m working on that now and I’ll have that ready for tomorrow morning and probably for Thursday and we’ll have a lot to talk about with that.

    Until tomorrow then…

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  48. We’ve talked about this on here before. While the “star” rankings might not be much different, you need to look at the offers the kids have. A lot of PN’s recruits have really good offers – at least from a handful of big P5 schools. That’s a big difference from PC who accumulated the majority of recruits with maybe one other P5 offer or primarily MAC offers. The stars may be the same – but the quality is a lot different. Things will come together. Plus, I wouldn’t at all be surprised to see a number of next year’s commits get a bump in the rankings after the way they are playing their senior year – Sibley, Drexel, etc.
    Drexel is a great example. He is a 2 star on Rivals. Read all the articles about him and how he tore up offensive line camps this summer. He was a beast. There’s no way he is a true 2 star recruit. PN seems to find a lot of these types of players as well.

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  49. god point …. remember Ffrench had very little offers then a bunch came post-season. MacVittie got offered late by LSU.

    IMO, the sleeper this year is LB Cam Bright. Just hope we can keep him

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  50. I’ve never seen Wade play, but I don’t care how tall he is. If he is as good of an athlete and all around football player as what everyone is saying, then I’d love to have him at Pitt. Wasn’t Aaron Donald too short? I understand he played a different position than Wade, but some people love playing with a chip on their shoulder and proving the naysayers wrong. Maybe he can be another one of those guys.

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  51. Wade and Donald is a fair comparison but just remember that Wade is the #1 rated cornerback in the country as a senior this year. Only people doubting him really aren’t being paid. AD had something more to prove.

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  54. Ike — No doubt about that. But hopefully the kid hears the voices out there saying he’s too short, he can’t play corner, etc. and uses that as motivation to work harder and maximize his ability. I say that without caring what school he winds up at.

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  55. I got you Newbk and I really do want him to come to PITT. If he does decide to go elsewhere then I will still root for him. I’m the biggest Pittsburgh homer other than our own Billy Hillgrove. Some kids leave and succeed and some kids fail. If Wade wants his best chance to play in the NFL without all the bumps in the road, he should really decide PITT. Which I think he will.

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  56. Like seeing the 2 way talents some of these kids possess put on display ..in my above post I wasn’t criticizing Wades ability.. I met LaRod Howling Stevens at the game Saturday all 5′ something” and I thought .. he was a NFL running back… I asked how it felt to get hit by the “Big Boys” He replied” It’s just football.”Very nice man and glad he is coaching our young men both tall and short… he’s been there-done that!

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  60. ND stopped recruiting him anyway! HA HA!!

    See, this is what happens when a 17 year old visits a place for the first time and gets completely enthralled. Who knows, he may still commit there …. but I have no issue when a high schooler decommits (unless he makes a habit of it)

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  61. I agree wwb, he needs to step away and be sure of his next decision and make it his final one. It will be PITT though. I’m sure of it.

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  62. As I have written previously, when I was a high school senior I was neither mature enough nor smart enough to make the kind of decisions that these kids face. Donovan must be getting deluged with people now trying to recruit him.

    H2P

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  63. Nearly 3 out of 4 people voting in the CBS Top 128 rankings, agree that the Pedders are ranked ‘Too High’.

    While at the same time 62% think our boys in Royal Blue and Yellow are ranked ‘Too Low’.

    Gotta like that 🙂

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  64. PSU rose quite a bit in that poll a week ago after they walloped Maryland which was previously undefeated. Maryland just got whipped again by Minnesota this week. In other words — just another crap poll.

    PSU plays Ohio St this week then pretty much has beatable opponents after that (Indiana, Rutgers, Purdue, Iowa and MSU) .. they also can get beat by any of them except Purdue and Rutgers.

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  67. LINK: Price and Henderson Mid-season Sporting News
    For IMMEDIATE Release

    October 18, 2016

    Price and Henderson Named Sporting News Midseason All-Americans

    The pair of Panthers ranks among college football’s finest this season.

    PITTSBURGH—Pitt’s Ejuan Price and Quadree Henderson have been producing at an All-America rate through the first half of the season, and their outstanding play was recognized today when Sporting News named both to its “Midseason All-America Team.”

Price and Henderson are among 27 elite players named to the list—and for good reason. Both rank among the nation’s most productive players at their respective positions.

A senior defensive end, Price (Rankin, Pa./Woodland Hills) is arguably the most disruptive defensive lineman in college football. He leads the country in quarterback sacks per game (1.29 avg.) and ranks third in tackles for loss per game (1.9 avg.). Price tops the ACC in both categories and is a frontrunner for the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year honor.

Half of Price’s 26 tackles this season have been for a loss. He has compiled 13 TFLs, nine sacks, nine QB hurries and three forced fumbles on the year.

Price has also established himself among the most prolific pass rushers in school history. He has 25.5 career sacks to rank sixth all-time at Pitt. That total places him third among the NCAA’s active career leaders.

Henderson (Wilmington, Del./Alexis I. du Pont) was named to the Sporting News Midseason All-America list as a return specialist. The sophomore has two kickoff return touchdowns this year and three over his last eight games. He is the only FBS player with multiple kickoff return TDs in 2016.

Henderson tops the ACC and ranks second nationally in combined kick return yardage (687). He is averaging an impressive 35.9 yards per kickoff return (third in FBS and first in ACC) and 12.4 yards per punt return (12 in FBS and fifth in ACC).

The versatile Henderson has also been a threat in the pass and run games. His 172.86 all-purpose yards per game rank seventh in the country and second in the ACC.

Following an open date this week, the Panthers (5-2, 2-1 ACC) will return to action on Thursday, Oct. 27, when they host Virginia Tech (4-2, 2-1) at Heinz Field for a nationally televised ESPN game at 7 p.m.

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  68. And another with “too high” polling numbers:

    76 (-10) Notre Dame Fighting Irish (2-5)

    TOO HIGH 83%

    TOO LOW 17%

    Hahahahaha!!!

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  69. Anonymous October 18, 2016 at 12:17 pm
    Jeter decommiting from ND per 247
    http://notredame.247sports.com/Article/BREAKING-Donovan-Jeter-decommits-from-Notre-Dame-48339584

    Wow, huge and at times looks fast. When he gets better with foot work and keeps his legs driving through tackles, LOOK OUT!!! Looks like he probably has good hands also. Big brother probably a little better athlete, but then again not as big at 18 and also ONLY 18 years old. Gonna be a beast with good coaching.

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  70. tvaxi, Jamie also offered Donovan Jeter as a soph. I believe the only 2 others that were offered by both Pitt FBand BB were Jon Baldwin and Terrell Prior .. in fact, Prior actually committed as soph to Pitt BB for a short while back in circa 06.

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  72. Jeter said the same thing was said back in the summer. I’m not playing for some small time program. Wouldn’t surprise me one bit if he and Wade ended up with the Vols.

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  74. nice to see narduzzi finally stop selling out to stop the run no matter what. it isn’t all that maddox is short and lewis and webb suck. for the first time this year narduzzi switched emphasis to stopping the pass and by gawd it worked. earlier this year whitehead’s pick-six would’ve been a completion with an LB trying to cover because whitehead would have been assigned to run up towards the line of scrimmage to stop a run play that was never going to happen.

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  75. Narduzzi actually switched to playing more cover-2 in the Marshall game. When he did that they were gashed by the run (3rd quarter opening drive).

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  76. Please one more person post a comment that says LaMont Wade is too small. Have you guys ever watched a football game that takes place out of the Pittsburgh region? If so you may have heard of a guy named Tyrann Mathieu. He’s 5’7″. He went to LSU. His nickname is the Honey Badger. He is now in the NFL starting at safety for the Cardinals and wears a big white “C” on his jersey for Captain. But an uber-athletic 5’9″ Wade is too small. Yea right ya freakin’ yinzers…

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