in Pitt Football 1,938 Words

A Refresher Course on Opining

Holding an opinion on a subject matter is what we all do, especially about Pitt football.  Writing down those opinions, thoughts, feelings and impressions and sharing them with others is what “opining” consists of and is what we do here on the Pitt POV.  That is why I have been very clear about what this blog is all about since its inception.

The majority of what is found on here are my opinions, thoughts, questions, etc… about Pitt, its athletic department and the Pitt football program and team.  Throw in a bit of the BB program when things are newsworthy on that end also.

The other contents are links, statistics and textual quotes carried over from other sources.  I have been very diligent to attribute those sources if I can.   That is why this blog is an ‘editorial’ blog and not a ‘news’ blog.  I don’t do breaking news, don’t pretend to be a “journalist” or a mouthpiece for the Athletic Department.  I think I’ve made that point very clear both on the Pitt Blather and now on the Pitt POV.

The reason I write about this now is because when looking at the latest media articles about the QB situation, and led that way by wbb’s posts, I came across this gem in yesterday’s Trib-Review:

Pat Narduzzi was pleased the media was inquiring about Pitt’s quarterback depth chart — and not just because he believes each of his four quarterbacks has performed well during spring practice.

“It’s good that you (reporters) don’t know,” Narduzzi said when asked if there was any separation in the quarterback competition. “It means we have no leaks in the office.”

No leaks and no fake news about the play of those vying to replace Nathan Peterman: redshirt sophomore Ben DiNucci, redshirt freshman Thomas MacVittie, freshman early enrollee Kenny Pickett and senior graduate transfer Max Browne.

“We have four very functional quarterbacks,” Narduzzi said.

Great – four QBs who can play is a great thing.

I bolded that part because I think it was pointed toward the POV by the author of the article.  Now, I may be a bit paranoid in this but a lot of content and comments on here have been about the state of the QB unit this spring.  We have been discussing QBs on here more than any other blogs with numerous comments.

Plus, it is something I have read written on Facebook about this blog from some people who don’t like what I have to say and there are more than a few of those.

So I will state again for the record – there is no “news” on the Pitt POV.  But there are a hell of a lot of opinions from me and from you all.  I went back over my articles and can’t find a thing where I had written anything as fact about the QB that I didn’t have reason to do so.

Now, the most detailed and specific thing I have written about our QBs this spring has been from the article  on my impressions of the QBs in the extended viewing period of a practice session I had a chance to see:

As that was going on the QBs were tossing warm-up passes.  Brown, DiNucci, MacVitte, Pickett and walk-on FR Jake Zilinskas (from Indiana, PA)  are the five we have on roster.

What I did was purposely not look at the QBs’ names next to their numbers – I just concentrated on the jersey numbers and since I can’t remember who wears what numbers anyway it was like a blind test.  I felt I could be more objective that way.

 So – the QBs broke into two groups with Browne and Pickett taking one unit and DiNucci and MacVitte with the other.  I think sometimes the QBs switched around to the different groups to get a chance with all the backs & receivers.

For some reason #3 (DiNucci) left after the warm-ups and I didn’t see him on the field again – he may have come back after we media left though.  Now remember when I write this next part these are basic drills and not full speed or plays with the defense on the field.

First were half speed plays with the RB out to the short flat pattern.  Then came quick release  passes to WR and RB directly to the far side LOS – a play I have always hated. The speed and zip of the throws was increasing with the two patterns but the coaches still wanted shorter passes. 

Then they started throw 10 yard button hooks (each  QB had about 3-4 passes before they switched patterns) . Then they ended up with 15 yard out passes which required more timing and more strength on the ball.

Of course this is early days and who threw well today might screw up tomorrow but here is a quick impression of what I watched.

All the QBs had mostly good throws but if I was awarding a 3″ trophy as to who had the best speed on the ball it would have been #8 (FR Kenny Pickett).  The QB who seemed most accurate would have been a tie between #4 (Browne) and Pickett – with a slight edge to Browne. #7 (MacVitte) had some nice passes also but on this one day the other two guys were a bit more on the mark to my eyes.

 I don’t see any fake news there, do you?  And I keep a real close eye on what I write about because it is scrutinized by readers who are quick to point out errors.  You may wonder why I use so many stats in my writings and that is because they are facts.  Now, you can take those factual stats and used them in many different ways and that is a reflection of the writer’s opinions and impressions.  But again, no “news” there.

Alright, wanted to get that off my chest.  If the writer of the article didn‘t have the POV in mind, and he may well  have been thinking about something else, then the above is a reminder of what this blog is intended to be.

Back to that good QB article. 

Here is something that I have written about that Pat Narduzzi has somewhat expounded on; QB Kenny Pickett:

One thing not to assume: that Pickett, less than four months from graduating high school, sits at No. 4 on the depth chart. Narduzzi had high praise for the three-star recruit from New Jersey.

“Going on my third spring here, he is probably the best young quarterback we’ve had,” Narduzzi said. “He’s got moxie. He’s got composure. He’s been well coached out of high school, and he’s come in and really done a lot of good things. He’s sharp.”

This is very consistent with what my practice session and Pro Day conversations led me to believe – that Pickett is one the coaching staff is very happy to have onboard and in the mix for the future.  Oh, that those conversations are not “leaks” either but talks between two or three people about the team. 

Here are some other things Narduzzi had to say about the QBs:

On the quarterback competition:
“I think the two older guys, because of experience, have really upped the ante in the last week. What we saw happen during that transition was the two younger kids follow. It was really good; it’s been really healthy in that room. It’s been a really good one. They work together well and they compete hard against each other.”
 
On the separation between the older and younger quarterbacks:
“Yeah, it’s Max [Browne] and Ben [DiNucci]. Then Thomas [MacVittie] and Kenny [Pickett] came right along with them. They’ve done a nice job, the two younger guys. Both of them are getting their feet under them with all the different volumes of defense they see and the volume of offense we have in. They really have settled down their play and are following suit in example of those older guys.”

He then goes on to speak directly about Ben DiNucci and how he’s been during the spring drills.  This is interesting to me because i have felt that when the cards are dealt in the middle of the fall camp the QB situation would be Browne and MacVitte as QB1 and QB2 respectively – but that may not be the case…

On Ben DiNucci standing out:
“I think he has experience in running the offense. All the words, the nomenclature, how we call things or do things, he’s used to it; that plays big in his favor. He’s poised because he knows. He’s a good reference point. I think the thing that I really see him do and I challenge him with is being a good decision maker and he’s been a really consistent decision maker. He was really good in the last scrimmage and his work today was really good also. He’s becoming consistent in that area, which is something that I’ve wanted him to do since our first week working together.”

Notice this spring that Thomas MacVitte’s name is being mentioned less and less.  It’s to early to speculate about the upcoming seasons and our QB situation after Browne leaves but let’s do it anyway.

QB 18Here are who we have returning at QB and what eligibility years they will be in next season (2018). 

As you can see they will still be relatively young with lots of time ahead of them.  DiNucci will have two years to play; MacVitte three and Pickett four plus they will have some solid experience being on the roster for some time.  It looks to me that we may not even recruit a QB in the class of 2018.

I don’t think there is any doubt in anyone’s mind that Max Browne will be the starter this season – the real question is who will be his backup QB in the two-deep. Here is a piece in the Post-Gazette today that also covered the QBs.  Remember before you say to yourself “hey, these articles are alike” that there is only so much those writers can take for one interview…

Narduzzi said Tuesday the Panthers have “four very functional quarterbacks,” which wasn’t the case last season when Peterman was far and away the most seasoned option in the room.

Now, the position group offers a little more for Narduzzi and his staff to think about, just as they do at every spot during spring workouts.

“Every day, we go through the depth chart,” Narduzzi said of the process for determining which players will work with the first team in practice. “Sometimes, we’ve got guys stacked in the ‘1’s, saying, ‘Hey, all three of those [defensive] tackles are going to be running with the ‘1’s today. We talk personnel every single day.

If indeed it is Ben DiNucci  as 2nd string this year then I think the handwriting is on the wall for MacVitte.  Pickett is a strong kid with tons of talent and will, in my opinion, jump MacVitte for the #2 QB spot next year…. maybe.

This is all interesting stuff and I may have been wrong about DiNucci’s future prospects but I won’t say that yet.  Things that happen in the spring are often forgotten by the staff when the fall camp rolls around so we may see Browne as #1 and the who knows who competing seriously in the running for #2.

Either way, and this is an age-old complaint for us Pitt fans, get the backup QB some decent snaps during the regular season will ya Pat!!!

91 thoughts on “A Refresher Course on Opining”

  1. Couple quick points here then I will get back later.

    PITT is entertaining a good QB, Kevin Doyle, this weekend. They also have about 5 other offers to high school QB’s out this spring.

    Reed, you may well be right about Thomas Mac but you are breaking even at this point concerning Dinucci.

    ..and lastly… and we all know this. Spring practice means nothing more then reps and keeping the players involved. So I take spring practices for what they are worth. Which is much more than nothing but the results are put down on paper with a pencil not engraved in granite. .. ike

    H2P

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  2. Not only do I think Pitt will recruit a QB for 2018 I think they may recruit 2. If that’s turns out to be the case, both MacVittie and Dinucci may both be on the outside looking in.

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  3. Reed, I agree that much of everything written here is our opinion, although many times we link or cite articles or data to qualify our viewpoint … or to counter what others had written.

    But please realize, many times the way we perceive what is written is based on our beliefs. Two people may look at the same article and get different meaning from it … stressing one statement that supports our viewpoint but ignoring other statements that may state otherwise.

    For example, I believe most of what I have read this pre-season about the QBs is pretty ambiguous, lacking any real substance. Since you have opined that Pickett is the better underclassman prospect, I can see where you think MacVittie is being de-emphasized, and that may be true. But I warn you and everyone else not to take any one thing you read or perceive to heart, unless there is substantial substance to back it up.

    In August of 2009, the entire Panther community was convinced, based on observation and stats presented by the newspaper’s columnists, that the RS freshman Tino was the better QB prospect over the senior Stull. Tino certainly had the better arm but he was mostly going against the 2nd team defense while Stull was playing against the 1st team.

    As a consequence, the fanbase was primed and after an interception, the boos were loud and long despite the fact that Pitt won the game 38 – 3. As it turned out, Stull had a really good, productive season … and the offense surely couldn’t have been blamed for 2 ofthe 3 losses incurred in that season.

    I contend that it is to advantage of the coaches to play the guy who gives the team the best chance to win. Now I have seen a bias where a coach may favor a guy that he recruited versus one that was already on the roster when he arrived, but even in those cases, the disparity of talent is minimal.

    Liked by 1 person

  4. The negativity towards the football coaching staff and their ineptness and then reading all the negative posters on here just wears on one after a while. I mean if you’re looking for some negativity circle-jerk – you have found the right audience I guess. Good luck.

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  5. John R, do you have any negative opinions on the Pitt football program at this point in time. Where you really happy with the Pitt defense performance last year?

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  6. John R, take a closer look. There are plenty commenters that offer a more positive side of view of all things PITT. Yet after-all, like the old saying. I may not like what you are saying but I’ll defend your right to say it.

    Don’t let an opinion you don’t agree with ruin an otherwise “Perfect Day”.

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  7. Does anyone know where QB Schneider transferred to .. just curious…
    John R… I don’t see a negative POV on here.. just a lot of guys sharing opinions and knowledge…a lively engaging conversation about one of our deepest loves…

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  8. John Ramada Inn@ 10:42am

    Actually YOU are the most negative blogger on here ………………towards us POVers. And you know what John? That’s fine! Your opinion is your opinion.

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  9. Reed, the following tweet just showed up on the PG sports page..

    Brian Batko ✔ @BrianBatko
    On the topic of Pitt’s current QBs, Max Browne still the frontrunner but what about Ben DiNucci & Thomas MacVittie?

    It was another tease for the QB article. Note that Pickett’s name wasn’t listed …. should that mean anything?

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    1. My guess wwb is that Pitt would like to redshirt Pickett this year. But if he stands out and becomes the second option then Pitt can’t afford to go that route if Browne(the assumed starter) is either ineffective or injured.

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  11. Reed….you lost me at Dinucci being the second string QB and PITT not recruiting a QB in 2018.

    If Dinucci is our second string….we have major issues. He should never take another D1 snap again in his career.

    Pickett may be great but not taking a QB recruit for 2018 is silly. We have a shot at two really good QBs in 2018’s recruiting class….you don’t walk away from that.

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  12. speaking of Pitt QBs … another recent tweet

    Brian Batko ✔ @BrianBatko
    Mel Kiper and Todd McShay both have Nate Peterman sneaking into the 2nd round in their latest mocks. Kiper to HOU at 57, McShay to KC at 59.

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  13. I highly doubt Pickett will have his redshirt burned for anything less than two major injuries. .. much like we saw in 2007 when Bostick was forced to play.

    As to John R. If you feel like coasting along on a cloud because we won 8 games then do so. But there are a ton of other things to discuss about the team and program also.

    Would you say my excited opinions about Pickett are negative?

    How about my lukewarm thoughts about MacVitte?

    Is that negative or do you just want cheerleading?

    If that is the case then the mainstream media and sponsored blogs is where you will get that. They won’t go out on a limb to save thier lives.

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  14. i see no possible way that we don’t take a QB for ’18…..well unless maybe all the guys we are targeting go some other direction.

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  15. Luke warm feeling about MacVittie my butt. Don’t kid yourself. Plus don’t even say your feelings on Dinucci. Nothing warm there.

    Look, we all have our opinions and I agree with Reed, just not much about PITT football anymore it seems. He does a great job of blending the facts and his personal thoughts, along with his statistics to prove a point one way or another….. and we all know how I feel about statistics. The lying pricks.

    That said. If we don’t agree with what anyone says. Reed has given us all the forum in which to point counterpoint. …. ike

    H2P

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    1. Ike – Honest to God.

      If you, Ike, have to list these, or any, four QBs as candidates for a two-deep and you have to list them 1-4 based on what you have seen… are you going to tell me that your feelings for #s 3 & 4 are going to be glowing and at the same level for #s 1 and 2?

      Of course not. And you’ll be “kidding yourself” if you think you would.

      My opinions on these two QBs is that while they are good recruits I don’t see starting positions for one of them (DiNucci) and maybe starting but not being a star player for MacVitte. And as I said MacVitte and/or DiNucci may get jumped over by Pickett once his redshirt year is done. Who knows…?

      That is honesty my friend, not bias.

      What Pitt fans do – and wbb mentioned it above – is see stardom in a QB just because they like the kid personally. we want the young player to ride in on a white horse and save the day… call it the Dorsett/Marino syndrome if you will.

      We saw that with Mark Myers a few years back and lately with Chad Voytik.

      I watched both of those kids in many open practices and said just the opposite – that while they may play the fans shouldn’t expect stardom from either of them, especially Voytik. And that is just what happened. I didn’t curse them – they just were not really talented enough.

      But Pitt fans who pin their hopes on a particular kid don’t like me doing that at all- just as you are showing now with MacVitte.

      Hell, they even went so far as to say I ‘hated’ Voytik even though I had 3 or 4 conversations with him both on and off the field in Shadyside one evening and now just two weeks ago gave his father my contact info because I want Chad to seriously consider Coast Guard Officer Candidate school.

      With my letter of recommendation as support- and believe me I would never do that with someone I disliked or didn’t feel would be great in the position.

      So please cut out the crap of alluding that somehow I think less of MacVitte or DiNucci in any way other than their QB skills. There are no Pitt stats on Browne, MacVitte or Pickett and scarce stats on DiNucci so i certainly are not twist those in any way.

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  17. Happened to notice this info in the Pitt Spring Guide (thanks, Reed) on the number of touchdowns scored by the Pitt defense since 2000. I must admit that some of the guys who scored surprised me.

    While we all are disappointed in the performance of the defense under Coach Duzz, maybe there is some good news in the recent trend of the defensive TDs stat…

    Year — No. of Defensive TDs and who scored them.

    2001 —3 (Guzek, Spencer; Young)
    2002 –- 3 (Hayes, Moore, Harriott)
    2003 —1 (Lay)
    2004 —4 (Postell (3), Lay)
    2005 —1 (Blades)
    2006 —4 (Revis (2), Session; Mustakas)
    2007 —0
    2008 —3 (Gary, McKillop, Williams)
    2009 —2 (Greg Williams (2))
    2010 —1 (Ricky Gary)
    2011 —1 (Antwuan Reed)
    2012 —0
    2013 —1 (Anthony Gonzalez)
    2014 —0
    2015 —3 (Price; Maddox; Whitehead)
    2016 —4 (Galambos;Maddox; Whitehead; Jackson)

    Nothing better than having your defense score points…

    Go Pitt.

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      1. I kind of remember Malcolm Postell. He was from New Jersey – was recruited as a running back, but ended up playing linebacker…

        Go Pitt.

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        1. I remember the name but thought I would remember three pick-six in one year … but don’t. I’m not saying that the information is wrong, just saying that I don’t recall it.

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          1. Here’s the info on Postell’s 3 defensive TDs in 2004:

            Opponent

            Ohio———–42 yd interception return
            Furman——-44 yd interception return
            @USF——–15 yd interception return

            Go Pitt.

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          2. The Major is right, not only did Postell have 3 int’s for TD’s but had a fourth int in 2004. That along with 2 int’s in both of his previous 2 years for a total of 8 interceptions career wise. Not bad at all for a converted running back into a linebacker.

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  18. ^^That’s a good one right there Major Majors.

    Are you thinking about joining in Reed’s round-table tonight? You would bring great knowledge.

    Reed will post details in a bit. You cannot win if you do not play.

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    1. Ike – thanks, but I can’t participate because I spend most nights visiting my 93 year old Mom in a nursing home.

      I do enjoy listening to the discussion you guys have when I get a chance.

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  19. One thing to consider in the QB merrygoround is that MacVittie is the best running QB of the bunch. So if Duzz wants to have a red zone run option available to mix things up MacVittie would seem to be the one. Pickett will redshirt, because the Duzz would never waste a year with this kid riding the pine. So we are down to Browne vs Dinucci to start (Browne wins), with Dinucci and MacVittie available for back up based on the game situation. Unless MacVittie flat out beats Dinucci out…

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  20. In my own opinion here. I think Narduzzi likes to keep his players in the dark as much as he likes to do the same thing to the media.

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  21. What on earth are we going to be able to tell in the first 4 games?

    We play the National runner up in fcs, a top 3 team in Penn State, a Top 5ish team in Oklahoma State, and a Top 25ish team in Georgia Tech. We play the hardest opening schedule I may have ever seen and could easily be 0-4.

    Blaming or switching QB’s for experience is impossible the first 4 games, we don’t have a single tuneup game to even try the new and younger guys. Even if Browne is the #1 QB at this time, we cant even get anyone else on the field because the schedule is dam near impossible the opening 4 games.

    Unless we just throw our hands up and say forget it and try multiple guys even if we go 0-4. Pitt has the dumbest athletic directors in the Universe. This is exactly the death-wish Max Browne got at USC, he goes up against the best defense in college football in 10 years in his 1st start ever followed by another Top 10 defense in Stanford. Silly.

    Darnold is the real deal, but we know nothing about Browne considering he or no one else at Pitt ever gets a tuneup game. Experience matters, but we over-schedule every single year and just throw our team into the lion den day 1.

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  22. For Gods sake, please schedule 1 tuneup game in the future, if not 2 to start the season. Our team could use 3, but I think we are going to get blasted with this schedule. In 2019, the staff finally wised up to pump the brakes and say we are crazy for doing this. Everyone from the players to their mother to ESPN said we are ^%^% crazy with this scheduling that has killed the team with injuries and losses . We dont need this shit. 4 straight years in a row we have crucified ourselves with the schedule. Get 3 tuneups and 1 power team, the end.

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  23. Well said, Anonymous. Looks like a typical Pitt year coming up. They over schedule to put fannies in the seats. PSU will have revenge on their minds for sure, and it is Ok State that is shaping up to be the must win game. Given all you describe, it has to be Browne starting. There is no time to nurse made freshmen.. If Browne gets hurt, a 6-6 season could be a reality.

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    1. Absolutely agree, there. The sting and bad perception of losing to psu and Oklahoma State will be gone if we win the coastal.

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  25. Browne and McVittie on the 2 deep. I saw DiNucci play a few times in HS. I would call his style of play as unconventional, but successful at that level. I saw him play in the spring game last year, and in the bowl game against Northwestern. He doesn’t belong in a D1 program in my opinion. If he’s in the 2 deep, we are indeed in trouble with the talent level at that position.

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  26. FOR TONIGHT’S ROUNDTABLE CALL-IN…

    Alright guys – we’ll take the first 3 or 4 callers starting at 8:00 pm (make it about 5 minutes early to login.)

    Here is the info to get into the Bluejeans meeting
    Roundtable 4/5/17
    07:30 pm – 09:00 pm

    +1.408.740.7256
    Enter audio code on your phone
    457547#

    Meeting ID
    377080111

    Meeting URL
    https://bluejeans.com/377080111

    SEE YOU AT AROUND 7:45 OR SO….

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  27. Stop thinking so deep Reed. I was strictly talking about your thoughts on their QB skills. I did not intend to speak on your opinions and how you feel about the young men personally. That never crossed my mind.

    BTW, Doyle is scheduled to visit PITT this weekend. A high school QB PITT AND Shawn Watson have been recruiting for 2-3 years.

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  29. Anon – some fans feel that YSU is a ‘tune-up’ game this season but 10 i don’t trust opening games… we usually play down to the lesser talented opponents and 20 YSU is nothing to sneeze at.

    Bo Pellini is one of the best in the business and YSU won 12 games last season. If you remember we played them two years ago and won by only eight points.

    We should win that game but with a rebuilt OL and a new QB it may be closer than we want.

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    1. When Pitt last lost to YSU the Penguins were returning 21 starters. I think this YSU team lost some talent, including two D-ends who are going to be drafted. One possibly by the Steelers early, Derrick Rivers.

      The Penguins have their quarterback returning, so it will be a tough one. The Pitt O-line should have its way with a rebuild YSU front. There are four Pitt O-linemen returning who have been through the wars already.

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  30. Alright guys – we’ll take the first 3 or 4 callers starting at 8:00 pm (make it about 5 minutes early to login.)

    Here is the info to get into the Bluejeans meeting
    Roundtable 4/5/17
    07:30 pm – 09:00 pm

    +1.408.740.7256
    Enter audio code on your phone
    457547#

    Meeting ID
    377080111

    Meeting URL
    https://bluejeans.com/377080111

    Like

  33. What does anyone know about this kid Doyle. What has he done. I totally believe they should bring in at least one QB this recruiting year. With Browne gone, can anyone say that we have a future star on the roster? Pickett may be the real deal, but what if injuries occur? There won’t always be a good senior transfer sitting out there for the choosing.

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  34. I think a major chill pill for all is called for. Guess which Pitt QBs who all of us have never seen in action at a D1 level?

    Doyle, Pickett and MacVittie

    Guess who we have seen on a very limited basis?

    Browne — 3 games as starter; the rest as mop-up. 112 total career passes
    Dinucci — a little over 1 quarter of action.

    None of us have a clue who are the best QBs except for maybe Browne due to his experience.

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    1. Don’t get me wrong … it’s great to speculate about prospects, that’s what we do as fans. But it is getting too personal, and as I am trying to point out, we have very little info to go on.

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  35. Reed is correct. Only conference games matter. I would have taken a PSU loss last year in exchange for a conference championship.

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    1. true, but it’s important from a recruiting perspective that we are at least competitive with PSU. They will always out-recruit us, but we need to show that the program merits major consideration.

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  36. Many believe if PITT can land Doyle it would go a long ways in easing the loss of local QB Jurkevic to ND. He’s been a prime target for PITT and others going on 3 years now, including Watson while he was at Indiana. They have known each other for years. .. but so does Canada.

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  37. Any chance Jurkevic will flip to Pitt? Things aren’t going so smoothly these days under the golden dome..

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  38. ^^ The kid was born and bred on ND football. I highly doubt he would flip even if they get rid of Mad Man Kelly, the sicko.

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  39. Speaking of QB’s, PITT’s Watson and Narduzzi have had some talks with a 6’4″ 200 lbs Qb from Jacksonville Fla, Riley Smith. What makes this more interesting is that Smith goes to the same high school as Nate Peterman attended, whom Riley looks up to like a big brother. PITT hasn’t offered just yet.

    Is there really any doubts PITT will give out a scholarship to a QB next year? imo, they will.

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    1. Ike, if all the QB’s offered by Pitt this coming year accept we may have to start a couple of them on the defensive line next year. 🙂

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  40. Can’t for the life of me find out where Schnieder transferred to.

    If you remember he left right before it was announced Browne was coming in… or right after maybe.

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  41. Narduzzie has said he likes 5 QBs on the roster so with Browne one and done we will recruit a top QB this year. Hopefully one of the two just mentioned. Nardo continues building a PROGRAM not just finding bodies. H2P

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  42. Reed, I like the stash, but you would look real good with the full white beard! The ladies would love you (even more than now)! 🙂

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  43. Very true jrn, PITT is looking at one specific QB and they are trying their best to tighten the screws on him. We will see what happens this weekend,

    Other QB’s with PITT offers.

    Joe Milton, 6’4″ 222 lbs from Fla. < big kid, has medium interest but has tons of offers from the bigger boys. This won’t happen.

    Chase Wolf, 6’2″ 197 lbs from Ohio. He has interest in PITT and has visited the campus.

    Carter Bradley 6’3″ 195 lbs and interestingly enough, he’s also from Jacksonville. This young man has some good offers as well.

    Here’s another young man without a current offer but looks good. Cross Wilkinson from Wheeling. 6’2″ 200 lbs with only a couple offers. Marshall and Toledo but he lists PITT, WVU and YALE as some of the teams he’s interested in.

    This list may not be all inclusive.

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  44. Pitt Locker Room today: Pitt Building Depth In The Secondary, is a must read. Lot’s of the same names we have discussed in the past couple of weeks. I just get the feeling that this Ffrench kid is so talented that Pitt is desperate to find a place for him to get on the field more often.

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  45. Let me ask those bitching about the unnecessarily difficult OOC early schedule for this year, which I agree with is very tuff, if after week four, the Panthers are 3-1, does that change the the attitude?

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  46. jrnpitt

    Can you give a link to the article? So far Google has let me down. Thanks.

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  49. speaking of DBs, here is a tweet from earlier:

    Brian Batko ✔ @BrianBatko
    He’s said it before, but Pat Narduzzi reiterated today that Therran Coleman “really stands out” at cornerback. Was close to playing in 2016.

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  50. Anonymous… agree with you.. play the Bigs and beat the Bigs… a reason to get pumped! For my entertainment dollar , I want real competition not rent a win games… and lose to one of those FCS schools- well that brings on the lowest of lows.. not much upside but lots of downside! D1 should play all big boys.. I refuse to spend $1.00 watching our team playing little schools

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  51. Reed: Perhaps young Mr. Schneider moved on to his “life’s work”, as Chuck Noll used to say.

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  52. Got a lead on tix for the PSU game….sitting in enemy territory .. $110 per ticket . Thinking I may do it.

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  56. @Anonymous – It doesn’t change anything in my opinion. Why would our old AD be so stupid to schedule the way he did. Look at Dairy College, OSU, Alabama OOC. The big boys don’t play big boys. Get it? It is a scheduling scam. The only one that took the bait when the NCAA came out and said that OOC scheduling would be important in determining playoff contestants, was him. He couldn’t figure out that you don’t get into playoff discussion with 3 losses on your schedule.

    All the ones that made the playoffs scheduled easy OOC. If we go 3-1 in OOC and 6-2 in ACC, we don’t make playoff. If you want to make the playoff you go 4-0 in OOC and use the ACC overall strength of schedule to bring up your resume’.

    Trust me. I am not whining. You play who is on your schedule. But when you are trying to build a program, you need more 9-3 records than 8-4 against the toughest competition. 9-3 makes it easier to recruit because you tell the recruit that with you in the lineup, you are worth an additional win and that may get us into the playoff. We need you for that. You share the Championship dream and let the kid feel like he would be a valuable get for the program, the missing piece if you will.

    NO 4 or 5 star thinks that him committing to the program of a 7-5, 8-4 team believes that he is the missing piece. As an example, Urban used to have a puzzle of a player with a National Championship Banner with the year the kid would matriculate to the school. He would give it to the kid completed and make them put it together while on the recruiting visit. The kid would put the puzzle together and then go to the coaches and say “i am a piece short”. Urb would give him the final piece which was of course the piece that had the head shot of the recruit as the final missing piece, The lightbulb would go off and the kid would feel they were the missing piece to a national championship. The NCAA now prohibits that, but the concept is the same. You sell the dream that the kid is the missing piece.

    And for those arguing that scheduling tough OOC gets more fannies in the seat, doesn’t study attendance. Our attendance stays about the same no matter who is on the schedule. All that being equal, you need to schedule for wins.Did anyone notice that the Dairy has convinced everyone that they are back? They are back if you look at their record. Now look at their OOC. They should not lose. At that point they only need to play “up” once or twice per year. If they win both they are in the NC discussion. Who talked about their easy ooc? Nobody. Why? Because they controlled the message of how great they were because they beat OSU and Michigan St. and the public and talking heads believed it. Stupid@steve pederson. Understand scheduling@ new AD.

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    1. Huff, many good points but Bama, OSU and PSU don’t have to worry about empty seats. They can and have gotten big crowds no matter what directional schools they play. Another thing is that WVU was ranked last year because a remarkably easy schedule. They played 3 ranked teams and were beaten by all of them by double digits.

      My beef last year was that we had 2 murderous 3-game runs (PSU, at Ok St and at UNC) and (VT, at Miami and at Clemson). Now this year, almost the whole month of September is a challenge.

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  57. @wwb – I like old Pitt players in high school coaching. Gets them to push their star players towards Pitt. WVU has multiple ex players as High School coaches in Flurrrrrrida.

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  58. With all due respect wwb, if we want to call Youngstown State a challenge then another Chuck Noll paraphrased quote is in order. If we can’t beat YSU then we have problems and “they are great”

    Again, if YSU is a challenge? What game wouldn’t be?

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  59. from a PG tweet:

    Pitt transfer Cam Johnson’s offer list:
    Florida
    Ohio St
    Texas
    Kentucky
    Michigan
    Arizona
    Iowa St
    South Carolina
    Baylor
    Ole Miss
    Marquette
    TCU

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  60. Is anyone else having difficulty with the Pitt Athletic website? All year the videos all play at the same time and the site freezes up. It also seems that there is less content and coverage. Did they already cut the budget?

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  61. That is a pretty strong list WBB. Especially for a guy that UPitt says is physically challenged.

    Really sad to see him go, just another example of the epic fail going on.

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  63. Huff – Alabama played USC last year. Look at ND’s schedule. Clemson played South Carolina and Auburn. If you want to be a playoff team you have to play an formidable out of conference schedule. PSU got left out last year specifically because of their OOC. When Pitt scheduled Oklahoma St. they were hoping for a borderline top 25 team. They didn’t know they’d be a top 10 team when they added them to the schedule in 2013.

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  64. That list is very impressive. One ironic twist is that PITT is hosting a shooting 3 point shooting guard from??? Baylor. A graduate senior. All their stats are fairly similar. Of course I would rather have Johnson.

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    1. I think he would fit in with Michigan perfectly …. but would think that he will strongly consider both Arizona and TCU for obvious reasons.

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  65. The loss of Johnson was terrible. I guess KS tried to talk to Johnson but lost out. Johnson must have saw something about the new team he did not like. I agree with Johnson.

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  66. Cam is a smart young man who is actually transferring out as a grad student. I half believe him when he says it’s not about the coach but more about the rebuilding process about to take place at PITT. I wish him lots of luck.

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  67. Reed,
    Schneider quit football to become a superintendent at an apartment building in Indianapolis.

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  68. Tossing, you are making my argument. South Carolina was 6-7 last year with victories over Massachuesetts, west carolina, east carolina and a 4-8 Missouri Team. Why do you think they are a strong opponent? Looks like a cupcake to me and they lost to USF. Clemson beat them 56-7.

    Clemson did play Auburn and barely beat them for an OOC win, which is my point. They had one tough OOC game and it was Auburn. Unless of course you think South Carolina STATE and Troy are good. They schedule three easy OOC opponents and one game that could go either way and would be classified as a very good OOC win which was Auburn.

    Alabama OOC was WESTERN KENTUCKY, KENT STATE, Chattanooga and USC. Read that list again! Three easy OOC and one game that won’t hurt them if they lose and will help them if they win. These teams rely on their conferences to get them strength of schedule.

    OSU and Dairy did the same thing as previously written. Dairy used the easy schedule to convince the lazy media that they were finally back and it worked. Our AD must figure out what the other AD’s already have. ND plays the same type of schedule every year. Most of their opponents are easily beatable per the point spreads. The difference is they are also playing with all 4 and 5 star players. You get those recruits by winning. It’s not about fannies. We won’t average 60k fannies regardless of schedule. People want to see winners. A couple 9-3 and 10-2 seasons with top 10 finishes will sell tickets if that is your concern. Mine is winning. Winning gets you better players to actually win more..

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