The Narduzzi – DiPaola banter continues…

INTERVIEW VIDEOS

Head Coach Pat Narduzzi

Safeties Coach Cory Sanders

Safety Jazzee Stocker

Quarterback Davis Beville

Linebacker Kylan Johnson

Linebacker Cam Bright

 

PITTSBURGH—The Pitt football program resumed its 2019 training camp on Tuesday morning at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on the South Side of Pittsburgh.

Head coach Pat Narduzzi met with reporters prior to the session, while safeties coach Cory Sanders and several players fielded questions at the conclusion of the workout.

 

Head Coach Pat Narduzzi Transcript

 

Opening Statement:

“We had a nice scrimmage Saturday. Most importantly, we stayed healthy. Nobody is too banged up. It was a 136-play scrimmage, so we got after it. I was really happy with the way our offense ran the football, which was obviously not the case in the scrimmage before. They put some things together. Todd Sibley ran the ball well. Vincent Davis, a puppy, showed that he’s going to be able to play for us this year. Is that going to be the third game, fourth game? I don’t know. But he did some nice things as a running back. Overall, I was happy with where we came out of it.”

 

On how Vincent Davis will be utilized:

“TBA. We still have two weeks to go until game time. We’ll find out. That’s in reference to everybody. The depth chart has not been set. They’re still fighting every day. We have a pretty good idea after the second jersey scrimmage, which is the most important scrimmage that we have. But you still have to go out and be able to adapt to game-planning.

 

But obviously, [Vincent] knows what he’s doing. He’s done a nice job of hitting the holes and twisting and spinning. He’s just been good. We’ll continue to see how game-ready he is going to be. It’s a few weeks away. I don’t see him playing in the opener yet, but we’ll see.”

 

On Mychale Salahuddin:

“Mychale is still resting right now. To his defense, he’s been out for a year. All of these other guys have been running around. He’s been out. He didn’t particularly hit the holes like you’d like him to, but that’s kind of expected. He’s been out for a year. It takes time. Things happen fast back there. There’s probably a lot on his mind. I’m happy with where he is right now, me personally. We’ll see from there.”

 

On the linebackers:

“There are some guys that can play at that position. If I had to say that there’s a banged up group right now, it’s probably that group. Maybe it’s because of all of the running that we’re doing as far as run game. Elias Reynolds has had a good camp. Kylan Johnson has really had a good camp. Cam Bright has been solid. There’s separation but still a lot of work to do.”

 

On how the defensive line performed in the scrimmage:

“Patrick Jones continues to progress. Deslin Alexandre played well. Jaylen Twyman has been outstanding as well. Again, the rest of that defensive line, especially inside at the tackle spots, has been really solid. Another guy that keeps progressing daily is Habbakkuk Baldonado. He’s progressing to the point where he is going to be a factor this season. He has proved that he can be in our top four.”

 

On if they’ve decided on a backup quarterback:

“Not really. Nick Patti and Jeff George are doing a fine job. They’re both battling. We’ll see. We’re getting closer, but we’ll hold off on that.”

 

On the difference in meals selected by the new team nutritionist:

“We’re getting more deserts this year (laughing). I’m trying to stay away from those, but I still go with the chocolate chip cookie when they’re available.”

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.

82 thoughts on “Pitt Fall 2019 Football Camp – Day 16”

    1. There is a luncheon on Friday and I’d bet it will be released before then. Was trying to hold off on a predictions thread until the two deep comes out…

      Like

  3. Good to see pre-seaon hype is not being shoveled onto KP..I literally believed every word last year….I hope Whipple is a good passing game-dayOC /QB coach or was UMass’s passing numbers inflated due to the fact they couldn’t run the ball and ended up with a pathetic record (we were the opposite-had inflated rushing yards mainly due to no passing game in ’19) I, for one am holding my breath. UVA has good athletes, a proven HC and ready to break the PITT curse…They could beat us as could quite a few others. Need to get out of the blocks strong.

    Like

  6. I was going to post this: couple things here”

    Why did he wait so long? This could be a wasted season?

    So PITT gets a psu player that’s been practicing with their team for 3 years. That’s good.

    Like

  9. No, JP didn’t play much until last year but even then was pretty much a special teams player. jimmie “one finger” wanted him for two reasons. One because he’s from PCC and Two… so PITT wouldn’t get him..

    Like

  10. I don’t get this at all. We are already over the limit on schollies. Our backfield is deep.
    Why is he coming, why so late? Doesn’t make much sense.

    Like

  11. ^^ Just another case of a local kid leaving their home town and going on to regret it. Hey local kids, you make an NFL roster if you go to PITT and not sit on the bench your whole career. Stay home, make money in the NFL. Case in point, yes again, Robert “Escalade” Foster. I know he made an NFL roster but the money he lost by not playing much down in alliebama and them not throwing him the ball when he did would have bought his entire extended family an escalade.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. True story ike. On the flip side he does have a national championship ring…

      Like

  12. OK, I get it, he has two years left and is a walk-on.
    Probably has a good grad school in mind, Pitt’s strength is graduate programs.
    Also coming to his home town.

    Like

  13. So now, will JP be giving Pitt intel on the Nitters, or will JP be feeding info on Pitt back to Crappy Valley. Such intrigue!

    We probably have a better handle on what PSU’s defense will do, while PSU might be more uncertain about what Coach Whip is cookin’ up…

    So which side planted this guy in the other’s camp???

    Time’s sure have changed – now you can get an immediately eligible grad transfer with two years to play!
    Scratch my head…

    Go Pitt.

    Like

    1. I like the way you think MM. and if you want to go real cloak and dagger, let’s assume he’s legit for Pitt. Okay now we have a real recruiting weapon every time we go up against penn state for a local kid. Johnny P is never going to tell a reporter how it really is to play for Franklin , but you can be damn sure he’ll tell a recruit.

      Liked by 1 person

    2. If he has any integrity he wouldn’t pass PSU intel to Pitt. Then again, if he had any integrity he wouldn’t have gone to to PSU in the first place.

      Liked by 3 people

  14. Why would you take somebody who could not make it at Penn State… I don’t see where we gain anything… Wonder how our Australian punter is doing… to use the words of our beloved president “He was a disaster last year …a total disaster.” He did seem to turn around the last few games though… We’ve been blessed that PITT was some great kicker’s…

    Like

    1. I read he was not “consistent”. And then in one of the interviews narduzzi was like “well we just need someone who can show up in the morning feeling good and play well”. From a guy who has had his share of late nights in Oakland…What do you thing THAT means…

      Like

    2. Kind of a stretch here but Narduzzi may gain a little PCC cred out of this pickup without giving out a scholarship? It’s important that Pat Narduzzi reestablishes the local ties with the WPA high schools and their head coaches. This isn’t always back an or white, it takes a little gray matter

      Like

      1. Also at 6’ 215, he feels like the kind of guy they might flip to linebacker for next year. As long as he hasn’t lost a step after that knee surgery…

        Like

  16. Maybe another Randy Reutershan… Johnny Majors called Randy” the most dynamic special teams performer I have ever seen!”

    I never new Randy coached Wr’s at PITT under Jackie in 1979.

    Liked by 2 people

  17. Seems to me there’s two sides to this. It’s a positive that JP reached out to Pitt and Pitt was willing to let him come back to his hometown team.

    On the other hand, does this send a message to locals being recruited by Pitt that if you want to explore going to ND or PSU, you can do that and if it doesn’t work out then Pitt will allow you to come back later…

    That said, I guess I’d do what Pitt did…

    Go Pitt.

    Like

    2. I also read that JP had three knee surgeries and is coming off a total reconstruction. Now I’m sure the orthopedics at PSU are perfectly adequate for most people but I’m also pretty sure that the orthopedics at Pitt are world class. And that includes post-op care, training etc.

      Hail to Pitt

      Liked by 1 person

    3. Well in this case Major it looks like Pitt let him come back on his dime. That’s far different than if Pitt gave him a scholarship to come back now.

      Liked by 1 person

  18. MM… there’ 2 sides to each coin flip/ decision… that why I am so darn indecisive to add to my list including procrastination and forgetfulness.

    Like

  19. Maybe we will get a few of those good players from WPA who went elsewhere return home through the transfer portal… “ Prodigal PITT Sons!”

    Liked by 1 person

  21. PN refused to answer the question the media put to him about if the kid has been given a scholarship or not. Here his his response verbatim:

    On whether Petrishen is on scholarship:

    “Right now, he’s starting off as a football player. How about that? You guys always want to talk about money and injuries… He’s a football player. I don’t want to categorize him as anything. He’s a football player. He’s a guy we offered out of high school, but we didn’t get him. In the end, we got him back and hopefully he can have a great career here in his last two years.”

    This is why EJ tears his hair out when PN starts talking. It is as if PN either doesn’t know Pitt has fans who care and want to know details of the program (like important stuff like is Pitt going to cut a DB, force him to transfer or maybe accept a walk-on offer in lieu of a 2019 schollie?) or PN just doesn’t care what fans think.

    Like

    1. Or maybe Pat just likes to have a good time with the media types and the fans. Pretty damn boring if he gave a straight answer all the time, IMO

      Liked by 1 person

    2. Narduzzi doesn’t want to say that the kid is a walk on because then people think if Petrishen is not on scholarship that he must stink. No way is Narduzzi going to say that about a kid who will go to battle for him.

      Liked by 1 person

        1. One literally walked on as a freshman and the other is an upperclassman transferring from another school who isn’t on scholarship. Narduzzi played it right with Morrisey as it is always a great story when a kid walks on and earns a scholarship. We see it every year now as it is a big production with the announcement. Pitt did it with Medure and Batman and Texas did something just the other day for a kid.

          Like

  22. Mike, just checked details about this website. I’ve paid up to cover the WordPress site until May of 2021 – yes that’s not a typo….did it by accident but figured what the heck, its not killing you yet so you’ll probably stay sane until then.

    I called WordPress and there’s really no easy way to change it so….Buy me 100 beers next time we meet.

    To all you POVers…I’m setting aside time to draft a “Reed’s Take on 2019 and why we will lose to both Ohio and Delaware” article for next week.

    Stand by for heavy rolls….

    Like

    1. Well thanks Reed. If we lose to Ohio and Delaware all bets are off on my sanity

      Like

        1. Haha. I’m fully expecting to see some SOP this year. Though I’m holding out hope that I will not. Ohio’s QB is legit and scary. If we lose in an upset that will be the one

          Like

          1. FWIW, it’s certainly not inconceivable that Pitt starts 0-4. Panthers will likely be underdogs in 3 of the games and the 4th is a classic trap game sandwiched between the ACC opener and PSU

            But Delaware is not a loss

            Like

  23. Can’t figure out why we’re taking a non-starting, injured Nit who turned us down a few years ago.

    I had hoped Wade made a similar inquiry while in the transfer portal and Pitt told him to get lost.

    Like

  24. To Reed, tell you what, I’ll slip you a fifty for the POV expenses if you come up to the UVA game if I actually make it myself (which I plan on doing) or would you rather have 50 beers? I’ll split the difference with Mike. If I don’t make it, I’ll send you the $50 through the mail. Going to be a big Fran tailgate and lots of good people and good times.

    Narduzzi could have sidestepped the question a little more eloquently than he did but I don’t see the real big deal? Maybe there is a private ongoing issue with a player? Point is, we really don’t know and probably aren’t supposed to. Just a wild guess.

    Back to Reed, I’m not taking that bait with your second comment. I honestly do wish you would give us all a lot more of your insights and opinions here on the POV.

    Hope to see you on the 31st old friend of mine. ike

    Like

  27. I suspect that Coach Duzz dodged the question because it wouldn’t surprise me if Pitt found a scholarship for the grad transfer —- just not an athletic scholarship.

    Imagine the coincidence that some Pitt grad school just happened to have an unfilled scholie available…😊

    Perhaps a scholie with a CC connection… 🤔

    Go Pitt.

    Liked by 2 people

      1. ^^ That’s a great point John and Bill. Speculating is a close relative to assume something…… We all know the joke from there.

        Like

  31. just read an extensive article from Raleigh News & Observer about new ACCN. It points out how the Big10 and SEC has distributed substantial more money to its teams over the past few years than the ACC due in large part to their dedicated networks. However, the success of the ACCN is more of a puzzle due to the disparity of the schools (See excerpt below). It concludes that ACC Basketball will dominate CFBB even moreso but it remains a question mark of the overall success of the network and ACC.

    …
    McCollum’s answer reflected one of the ACC Network’s most foremost challenges: the question of how to appeal to a broad audience with divergent interests. The SEC Network’s identity, after all, is narrower. The culture of the conference is rooted in football, in the games and the stories that surround them but also in the mythical fanaticism that transcends state borders and school allegiances.

    The ACC is different. Outsiders may label it a basketball conference, the way McCollum described, but its identity is not so easily defined. There are large state schools with football-mad followings, like Clemson and Florida State. There are schools like Boston College and Pittsburgh that compete, often in futility, for attention and support in markets dominated by professional sports.

    In North Carolina, both UNC and Duke are national brands because of their basketball tradition, and rivalry. Yet even the state’s four ACC schools don’t necessarily share a unified culture, the kind that stretches in the SEC from Alabama to Arkansas, and south into Louisiana.

    So what, then, will be the identity of the ACC Network? And how will the network handle the inevitable conflicts that arise, the reality that if it caters to one group of fans, another will undoubtedly cry bias or, perhaps worse, tune out?

    Liked by 1 person

  32. Here’s an objective thought, when Narduzzi was asked if he would pick JP’s brain about any psu game planning……………. Pat simply said NO, we have enough tape on them. So………… sometimes it may be necessary to keep one’s mouth closed so they don’t stick their foot into it.

    Liked by 1 person

  33. Reed.. my office manager has been paying insurance on a truck I traded in during 2015…WTF.

    Get your a$$ back on hereSTIR THE POT…LOCK THE GATES… we need all the POVerts at the tailgate.

    Jay91.. heavy lifting to do at the tailgate.

    UPitt.. is he a DICKSOCK OR NOT…

    Latko Bros.. my dynamic duo from New Castle… let’s drink in TedParking lot 5A next weekend before our Charlotte destination..

    POVert Mation… time to stop with being a positive or negative… it’s time for some PITT FB… let it go andCHEER ON OUR TEAM… weez all we got( heard that somewhere along the way down that yellow brick and brightnlie road)

    Time to CIRCLE THE WAGONS!!!!!!!

    Liked by 4 people

    1. Good pre-season speech, BigB!

      What you wrote sounds good. (until that first loss… ☹️).

      If only we could win them all…🎅

      Go Pitt.

      Like

  34. I am fired up… can’t spell…Jeanie B is trying to get me to drink wine in there aint help’n the matters

    Like

  36. Off topic… Attended Freshman Convocation today at the Pete. Daughter is a Freshman Engineering student. Anyway, both HCPN and HCJC spoke passionately to the incoming students. I thought that they both did a real nice job with their respective messages.

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Congrats, Eric.

      And congrats to your daughter!

      See her at the tailgate…👍

      Great to here that the coaches addressed the freshman.

      Hail to Pitt!

      Like

    2. Congrats Eric and thanks for the insight. I believe they are both well liked on campus!

      Like

  38. Lots of passionate commentary on the POV lately, somethings telling me a PITT football regular season kickoff is coming real soon!!

    Like

    1. Ike: To quote the great Barry Manilow, “It looks like we made it”. I’m crossing fingers that I remain healthy for another couple weeks and am able to make the trip. Looking forward to being in my seat when we crush the Hoos! Of course, that will be after I attend a very important tailgate.😀

      Liked by 4 people

  41. I have been looking forward to an ACC network for years. I think it will make the ACC more competitive in many ways. Not just for the live action, although that will really help sports other than Football and Basketball get recognition, it will help recruiting and marketing. It will also be a great outlet for programs from the vaults of all these schools. Football from the glory days of Pitt, Syracuse, the Flutie days of BC will educate the original schools. The great games of Miami, FL ST and Clemson will be worth watching. Great basketball games from the vaults of many schools. All of this will help the Conference identity. Also kids from all sports will get more recognition if done properly.

    Most importantly the B1G and SEC won’t be the only ones broadcasting into kids homes that are deciding where to go.

    I would love to see Pitt develop a show about the Pop Warner and Jock Sutherland years so they can be better remembered.

    So many possibilities.

    Liked by 2 people

  42. Folks, would appreciated some prayers for my daughter who is about to pop with grandchild #3…pray for healthy baby and safe delivery for mom…also add a word or 2 to get #3 out of the womb and onto land before August 30th…Pup has a POV week-end planned…Thanks POVert Nation…

    Shout out to the Latko Bros. from New Castle !!!!!!

    UPitt either get your A$$ back home or get on here…miss ya.

    Annie, what’s for desert at the tailgate…?

    Liked by 2 people

    2. You got it Big B. All prayers for a safe and healthy delivery of your third!

      Like

Comments are closed.