We’ll start with the head goomba, Pat Narduzzi.  He’s underselling the passing game.  “I’m impressed with the receivers, but somebody’s gotta get them the ball.”

DL Coach / Asst head coast Charlie Partridge up next.  He’s pretty upbeat about Amir Watts and Deslin Alexandre.  rFr John Morgan still growing as a pass rusher but solid against the run.  rFr walk-on Chris Maloney singled out a somebody that “is going to play football for Pitt”.  Also noteworthy…Partridge said, “I think the O-line is coming together”.  Either this is the party line that everyone’s been told to toe, or the O-line might actually be okay.

Here is Maloney’s senior year HUDL film: http://www.hudl.com/v/28Ptme

Here’s a little Jaylen Twyman.  Credits a lot of his growth to Watts and Camp.  Gotta love to hear that.

Here’s some Amir Watts.  Funny guy.  Love the personality.  Good info on the O-line.  At least Borbley has ’em talking.  Also a great quote, “This is the first Doozie class.  This is his team”

WR Taysir Mack up next.  “Coach Whipple is just a different spin.”  “I can’t wait to see what A1 does out there, Aaron Matthews”

And we’ll close it out with fan favorite Tre Tipton.  Just  likeable dude with a good banter.  At the end he does mention that Whipple is an unpredictable playcaller…

Michaelangelo holds a degree in Travel Writing from the University of Pittsburgh. He was a former staff writer for InPittsburgh Newsweekly, and currently resides near Atlanta, Georgia. He has been a Pitt fan since 1997 after he witnessed Pitt upset #22 Miami on Thursday night at Pitt Stadium.

87 thoughts on “Pitt Fall Camp 2019 – Day 5 Interviews”

  2. Tried to past a link to Football Scoop on an article for Missouri’s new $100M football facility. OC Derek Dooley has a unique take on the ongoing facility race. Probably listened to a few words from the HC, AD, & some admin folks.

    Tried to post the link but it used a bad word (with dots) in link. Comment has not appeared.

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    1. It’s not showing up in the approval list so try posting a giant

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  3. Mack is not bashful about heaping praise and respect for the new OC. No comments like “all the OC’s I’ve played for are great coaches” instead his comments give the impression that Whipple is a different breed. I hope that Pickett, or one of the other QBs, can execute the plan, because a great play call is easily ruined by a 5-yard overthrow or missing an open receiver.

    Partridge sounded genuinely excited when he spoke so highly of the DL. If Weaver and Jones don’t double their QB pressures and sacks from last year, this year will be a disappointment.

    Nice to hear that all the players are feeling an “all for one” family atmosphere.

    All the good vibes fly right out of the room once adversity hits, but at least they sound like they are starting from a good place, probably just like the other 135 football programs in America.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. the best football players I ever say play couldnt spell cat if you spotted them the c and the t

      being articulate never won a football game

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      2. Tx — Doesn’t speak so well of those Clemson Tigers!

        But I bet AD can spell cat; maybe even Larry Fitz…

        Go Pitt.

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        1. the 2 best QB’s I ever saw scored a 15 and 16 on their Wonderlics (thats real low. I think the avg QB who wins a SB scores around a 30)

          Peyton scored a 28. Larry scored an 18 (thats before he graduated from the University of Phoenix)

          Can you name those QB’s I have in mind?
          not a trick question…just some mindless trivia showing its what you do on the field and not in the classroom or in front of media

          Narduzzi has gotten some public speaking lessons I see but I still think he’s got Meatballs for brains

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          1. Wonderlich not even close to a representation of intelligence

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  4. Tried to post the link twice. I tried to post a link a few days ago & it never posted. Just doing a copy & paste as I have done in the past. Technology is frustrating at times.

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    1. Richard, if the “bad” word is not in the text of the comment rather in the link it shouldn’t matter……. and you are right, technology is hard enough to spell let alone to understand.

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  5. What else are they suppose to say Taxing? Who believes players genuinely like their coaches? Hogwash and impossible. 😉

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  6. —I know it’s irrelevant, but the background and the Pitt gear being worn in those interviews looked awesome! Especially liked the shirts the coaches were wearing…

    — Mack was like a gift from heaven. Credit to Erie Express for recognizing his talent immediately in Mack’s first spring game. Whereas I remember thinking at that game that Mack looks okay, but nothing special…

    —How ‘bout the shout out by Coach Partridge to our own Shane Roy!
    Reed not pleased! 😊

    —Listening between the lines, seems to me like our two starting DEs need to stay healthy and take a lot of snaps…

    Go Pitt.

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  8. Here’s a link to the extended highlights of Pitt vs VA (2018):

    It’s about 20 minutes long.

    Both Pitt and VA were able to pressure the opposing QB.

    Pitt’s running game was far superior to VAs, and the difference in that game.

    VA has some speedy receivers.

    VA’s QB was not great on that night…

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    1. Agreed Dan. I think UPitt was correct in pointing out the difficulty we could have in stopping the Cav’s QB on a dry field in nice weather.

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      1. Not a bad point Dan and Joe and I guess Upitt. I would like to know how many of UVA’s O-Line are going to return this year? I believe PITT’s defensive front 4 will be able to put lots of pressure on opposing QB’s all year. That will be the key, imo, in this first game of the season. It’s important that PITT jack up Perkins early on in the game when he decides to run the rock.

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  10. Interesting tidbits from PSN:

    —The starting 3 WRs today were Ffrench, Mack and Butler-Jenkins.

    —And KP threw a TD pass to Aaron Mathews that was a back-shoulder fade. A back-shoulder fade to a 6’4” WR — crazy, radical stuff…

    —KP also threw a couple balls that should have been picked off…

    Go Pitt.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. don’t go too crazy about every aspect of practice. Remember, it’s a double-edged sword. A couple of balls that could have been picked off also could be really good coverage by the DBs. I’m not being facetious … but it’s almost like I prefer that practices are shut-off to the press. A little knowledge can be dangerous.

      Liked by 1 person

  11. USA Today did an article on the ACC power rankings on Tuesday. Of course Clemson was #1. Here’s the remainder of the conference in order: Syracuse, Miami, VT, Florida St, Virginia, NC State, Wake Forest, BC, Pitt, NC, Duke, Ga Tech, Louisville. Gave Pitt 500-1 odds to win the ACC, tied with NC, ahead of only BC (750-1), Duke and Wake Forest (2,000-1), GaTech (5,000-1), and Louisville (25,000-1).

    The writeup on Pitt predicts they “will make a bowl game, take a top-ranked team down to the wire, play beyond their expectations on D, frustrate the fans with a stretch of spotty play and contend in the Coastal Division race in November.” Oh, and it has them ranked at #63 in USA Today Sports’ summer 1-130 rankings of the Bowl Subdivision.

    Probably about right, especially about the “frustrate the fans with spotty play.” Now how hard could THAT have been to predict??

    Liked by 5 people

  12. If the “take a top ranked team down to the wire” is in the ACC Championship game…😎
    Haha.
    Thanks Annie…good stuff.

    Major, your last point above is what concerns me…unless those were great defensive plays and not sloppy quarterbacking.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Mike’s a young guy, so I was left wondering if he was talking about a Nintendo character or the definition we older folks know.

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      1. Haha no but that’s a good one

        Etymology: Probably alteration of Italian compare, godfather, from Medieval Latin compater. … Goombah (sometimes Goomba) is a slang term regional to the New York area used to describe an Italian-American. It can be mildly derogatory, but not on the same level as dago, guinea or wop.Oct 6, 2015

        As an Italian I’m allowed to say this

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  14. Those interviews with the reoccurring BEEPS every few seconds were unwatchable because of that. Somebody needs to bone up on their video production skills.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. LOL Dr those beeps were annoying as hell and had me complaining out loud to my cpu screen.

      I watched that replay of last years UVA game, thanks Rocky Raccoon. Actually I had forgotten the great games by Darrin Hall and Dewayne Hendrix two players that were always maligned around these parts. Hall had an absolutely great game by any standards. Can’t cut my butt.

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  15. Hope they play as well as they interview. Really like-able guys.

    The defense is loaded with mature, talented, experienced guys. Not many obvious weaknesses, with good depth in most places.

    The O-line should be getting better playing against a solid d-line. However, they are still the biggest question along with KP.

    Going with a more balanced offense means there will be more turnovers this year. The D needs to get its share to offset.

    Virginia should be a heckuva game. We need a really strong crowd for what could be the game of the year.

    Liked by 1 person

  16. Since I am a Varsity Letter Club Member, it looks like I can invite my friends to join me using this site for individual tickets.

    fevo.me/2ZGXORv

    Ticket prices look pretty good, I bought Club Seats.

    Liked by 1 person

  17. Looks like we are golfing at Willowbrook Friday 8/30 with an early afternoon vote time yet to be determined.
    Please RSVP to me at
    lokarfr@gmail.com
    I know Bernie and his buddy Whiskey, JoeL and Al are locks.
    I’m good as is Gordon who was able to get a discount rate of $40.
    Hoping for 8-12 players.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. By the way this is Willowbrook Country Club near Apollo PA, not to be confused with the 9 hole course near Belle Vernon.

      One of PittPov followers and major Pitt Booster is taking care of us.

      You will like the quality of the course and the speed of the greens.

      Liked by 1 person

  18. Most blogs and message boards wouldn’t think of one golf outing and now here comes the POV’s second golf outing of the summer. WOWZER! You guys never cease to amaze me.

    Had a great visit from BiggieB and the great JeanieB last night, bearing gifts of course. Either I’m dying or tomorrow is my birthday? shhh! btw JoeL. I’m on page 10 by now. Funny thing when I’m reading the Joe Namath book, I read it in his voice. It’s whacky.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Same here, Ike. Have to because he’s all over the place in his writing. Still trying to figure out how the heck he’s planning to tell his story.

      Liked by 1 person

  19. VA ended last year with a nice bowl win. But, VA lost to their in-state rival VATech in the last regular season game. VATech wasn’t great last year. VA fans were fuming mad. VA hasn’t beaten VATech in the last 15 tries. 15! That makes our loosing streak to NC seem insignificant…

    Pitt vs VA to start the season sets up as a 50/50 type game. A toss up. I’ll give VA a slight edge at QB.

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  20. Chancellor Gallagher’s opening sentence when addressing the team today: “I am sick and tired of reading that Virginia is predicted to win the Coastal Division.” I think the Chancellor is fully capable of giving the pre game talk to the team on opening day.

    Liked by 1 person

  21. Today, especially in Italian-American slang, “goombah” is a slang noun for a companion or associate, especially a friend who acts as a patron, accomplice, protector, or adviser.

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  22. Speaking of Dewayne Hendrix, does anyone know if he has signed an NFL contract? Can’t imagine he would make an active 53 man roster with any NFL team.

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    1. VoR, Hendrix in fact sign a free agent contract with the Miami Dolphins from from a sports news report from April 19 2019. Personally, I’m not surprised, he was very under-appreciated while at PITT. imo

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  24. I think the Chancellor should not comment on anything sports related. I feel like he jinxed Pitt already on August 31. Coming from the guy who literally destroyed the basketball program.

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  25. excerpt from today’s Trib article: Without being asked, Narduzzi named four freshmen who could help this season – linebackers Brandon George and SirVocea Dennis, defensive back Brandon Hill and tight end Ky Wright.

    I would caution that this is pretty premature after just a couple days of practice; maybe these are the guys who are already developed physically. I can say that after watching Farrell win the A State Title with Wright at QB and LB, I saw a pretty well built guy with agility

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  26. I believe Dennis was the last recruit of the class. He was offered after the kid from Aliquippa(who Pitt thought they had) bolted to Kentucky. Watching the Dennis tape last year I really liked what I saw. He’s a Syracuse resident no less that went to the Jersey prep school last year and was converted to a LB from playing Safety previously. I believe Pitt went to the prep school to view some tape on another player when the coaches suggested that they look at the Dennis tape first. It’s a little early but Pitt may end up being thankful the Aliquippa kid fled the coup and we used the last scholarship on Dennis.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. this is unfair but didn’t Sherill and an assistant go to a high school in Mississippi to look at another player and end up finding Hugh Green?

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      2. Yes wwb, they did go to look at another player when they came across Green. It’s probably too much to ask that Dennis turns into another Hugh Green. But one can always hope that ends up being the case.

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  27. Pitt hoops wins its first game in Italy, 60-55, over the Netherlands. X Man with 20 and Murphy with 13. The grad transfer had 7 and 5.

    Liked by 3 people

  28. Pitt will win 8 ACC games this year. Probably finish with 19 or 20 wins and a NIT invite. That’s only two years after the program was dead.

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  29. in the last 2 years, the FB team has had more conference wins than the BB team. That should change this year, I think

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  30. Watching snippets of video on PSN, I’m a bit impressed by the fast pace of the drills. Looks like you better be focused and on your toes…

    Hopefully those qualities carry into the games…

    Go Pitt.

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  31. Saw a bit of an interview with Coach Whipple today.

    Noticed he was not wearing any portable oxygen equipment — (not that there’s anything wrong with that…😊)

    Go Pitt.

    Liked by 2 people

  33. Darrin Hall carried twice for 8 yards in the Packers pre-season game. It’s a positive that he got the opportunity being that he was just picked up a week ago, but he’s likely a long shot.

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  40. This loss is hard to swallow. Pitt never catches a break. They better find a worthy substitute for Weaver fast!

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