Practice #4 is in the books. The interview focus was Defensive Line. Here’s 10 things I took away.
- Pat Narduzzi is underselling Patrick Jones. So is DL Coach Charlie Partridge. “Is he ready to be an everyday starter?” was the question. The unanimous answer was “Not yet”
- Devin Danielson, David Greene and Tyler Bentley were three young guys mentioned by Partridge, when asked who might be able to contribute.
- Rashad Weaver’s pass russ got “more appropriate” as the season went on, per Partridge. To extrapolate, he explained that young DL often only have one move, and when other teams figure it out, they tend to shut him down. Players that can change it up as the season goes on see more consistent success. Weaver was able to do just that.
- According to Partridge, “We are a vertical attack defense”. That means they want to see all four linemen in the backfield. If Pitt can get that to happen consistently this defense could be fun to watch.
- Deslin Alexandre is being played exclusively at end, and Chris Maloney was mentioned as a walk on that bears some watching. Partridge also mentioned that some DT’s were being cross trained at end. No names were mentioned. My guess is Jaylen Tywman is one of them.
- rsFr QB Nick Patti made his debut on the interview circuit, and he’s a pretty good interview.
- According to Patti, all the QB’s are getting more reps at practice. Whipple mentioned something to this effect when he was interviewed during the offseason. It’s one of the main reasons why most of his quarterbacks tend to develop, especially after a few years in the system. If we can keep Whip around for more than a year or two, this will really pay dividends down the road.
- According to Patti, Whipple “puts the quarterback in better situations”. Not sure what this means exactly, but reading between the lines I would think it means that Whipple’s play design is better than his predecessor.
- rsSo Jaylen Twyman will be wearing #97 this season. The Duzz said it’s okay as long as his work ethic matches that other guy… BTW, Twyman is listed at 300 but said he’s down to 285.
- 3 out of 3 Pitt players picked Duke to win it all.
Hail to Pitt
pittpov.com 