As you’ve probably seen, Pitt has had four alumni (well… former players.  Not all of them graduated.) placed on the 2010’s All Decade Team.  Two of them played under Walt Harris (Revis and Fitzgerald) and two under Dave Wannstedt (Donald and McCoy – Yes, technically Donald played under three different coaches but I’m giving Wanny all the credit here, Revis also played under Wanny but was recruited by Harris so Harris gets the credit.)  While this is all well and good, it begs the question if we will see any of Pat Narduzzi’s players make the all 2020’s (or beyond) team?

So far the answer is probably not.

Here is the list of Pat Narduzzi players drafted (and I’m being generous and including players that were recruited by Paul Chyrst).  While there are some fine players on this list, I don’t think any of them stacks up to the likes of the four listed above.  Perhaps Narduzzi’s best chance is converted Tight End Brian O’Neill (not recruited by Narduzzi, but in fairness it was the ‘Duz who converted him to a Tackle.  Yep this is kind of inconsistent with what I’m doing above, but since ‘Duz put him at tackle it’s a bit of a unique situation.  Perhaps I’m being too generous.)  While O’Neill is only in his second year, his NFL pass protection is pretty good.  Per Wikipedia:

O’Neill was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the second round (62nd overall) of the 2018 NFL Draft.[8][9] He entered the season as a backup tackle behind starters Riley Reiff and Rashod Hill. He made his first career start in Week 6 at right tackle after Rashod Hill was moved to left tackle in place of an injured Riley Reiff. He maintained that starting role the rest of the season over Hill after Reiff returned from injury to play left tackle. Through 25 career starts, O’Neill has yet to allow a sack on Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins.

To be fair, none of Narduzzi’s 2019 seniors have been drafted yet.  Also the ‘Duz retained the services of Paris Ford, Damar Hamlin, Jaylen Twyman and Patrick Jones in 2020.  All of whom could all make an impact in the NFL this decade.  None of the Pitt players on the 2010’s all-decade team were drafted later than the second round, so keep your eyes on draft position going forward.

Year Round Pick Overall Pick Player Team Position
2019 5 14 152 Qadree Ollison Atlanta Falcons RB
2018 2 30 62 Brian O’Neill Minnesota Vikings T
4 17 117 Jordan Whitehead Tampa Bay Buccaneers DB
4 25 125 Avonte Maddox Philadelphia Eagles DB
2017 3 41 105 James Conner Pittsburgh Steelers RB
4 8 115 Dorian Johnson Arizona Cardinals G
5 27 171 Nathan Peterman Buffalo Bills QB
6 16 200 Adam Bisnowaty New York Giants T
7 16 234 Ejuan Price Los Angeles Rams LB

Putting Boyd under Paul Chryst

2016 Round:

2

 Pick:

24

 Overall:

55

 Tyler Boyd Cincinnati Bengals WR

 

Here are Dave Wannstedt’s players.  Yes there is some blurring of lines here but you get the idea.

2014 Round:

1

 Pick:

13

 Overall:

13

 Aaron Donald St. Louis Rams DT
4 35 135 Tom Savage – Paul Chryst xfer Houston Texans QB
5 6 146 Devin Street Dallas Cowboys WR
2011 1 26 26 Jon Baldwin Kansas City Chiefs WR
2 5 37 Jabaal Sheard Cleveland Browns DE
5 18 149 Dion Lewis Philadelphia Eagles RB
5 19 150 Jason Pinkston Cleveland Browns T
7 23 226 Greg Romeus New Orleans Saints DE
2010 6 13 182 Nate Byham San Francisco 49ers TE
7 20 227 Dorin Dickerson Houston Texans TE
2009 2 21 53 LeSean McCoy Philadelphia Eagles RB
5 10 146 Scott McKillop San Francisco 49ers LB
7 31 240 LaRod Stephens-Howling Arizona Cardinals RB
7 42 251 Derek Kinder Chicago Bears WR
2008 1 19 19 Jeff Otah Carolina Panthers T
4 10 109 Mike McGlynn Philadelphia Eagles G
7 44 251 Kennard Cox Buffalo Bills DB
2007 1 14 14 Darrelle Revis New York Jets DB
4 37 136 Clint Session Indianapolis Colts LB
6 7 179 H.B. Blades Washington Redskins LB

Here are Harris’ contributions.  It’s interesting to note that prior to Walt Harris, Pitt had not had a player drafted for four straight years.  Such was the state of the program he took over.  Savior of Pitt Football is not too light a term for Walt, and we all owe him a debt of gratitude.

2006 Round:

3

 Pick:

1

 Overall:

65

 Charles Spencer Houston Texans T
6 5 174 Josh Lay New Orleans Saints DB
2005 6 35 209 Rob Petitti Dallas Cowboys T
2004 1 3 3 Larry Fitzgerald Arizona Cardinals WR
2 26 58 Shawntae Spencer San Francisco 49ers DB
2 29 61 Kris Wilson Kansas City Chiefs TE
5 15 147 Claude Harriott Chicago Bears DE
6 23 188 Andy Lee San Francisco 49ers P
7 46 247 Brandon Miree Denver Broncos RB
2003 3 6 70 Gerald Hayes Arizona Cardinals LB
6 32 205 Torrie Cox Tampa Bay Buccaneers DB
7 47 261 Bryan Anderson Chicago Bears G
2002 2 31 63 Antonio Bryant Dallas Cowboys WR
5 18 153 Ramon Walker Houston Texans DB
5 30 165 Bryan Knight Chicago Bears LB
2001 3 18 80 Kevan Barlow San Francisco 49ers RB
2000 3 15 77 Hank Poteat Pittsburgh Steelers DB

Finally, it’s worth noting that Pitt topped the all decade team.  (Tied with Cal) and helped the ACC to the #2 ranking among conferences:

SEC, Cal and Pitt lead the way on NFL’s All-Decade Team for 2010s

 

 

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.

43 thoughts on “Pitt lands Four on NFL All-2010’s team”

  1. impressive but more amazing that the football team didn’t do better with the talent that we had.

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  2. the all-decade team has a bias to begin with. Revis probably shouldn’t be on the list. Here’s the comparison of this past decade’s stats between Revis and Steelers’ CB Joe Haden.

    Darrelle Revis: 15 picks / 67 PBU / 2010-2017

    Joe Haden: 27 PICKS / 137 PBU / 2010-2019

    Now, if the decade went from 2007 thru 2016, Revis would have been unanimous … no comparison, But there’s the bias … if a player starts his NFL career later in the decade, he has less chance of being selected.

    Also consider …. had Revis or Donald not been from the Pgh area, would they have attended Pitt? (BTW, both were Rivals 3-stars)

    Harris did his best recruiting charge landing Fitz, no doubt. He was major get who grew up in Minnesota, and Harris allegedly beat OSU for him …. Harris’ rep for being a passing guru must have really helped. Like Fitz, Shady came from a prep school and allegedly PSU quit recruiting him after his Harrisburg high school days. Wanny snatched him

    Finally, were there any other Western PA area players listed here? Gronkowski came here from Buffalo to play his final year at Woody High but he was already committed. I didn’t recognize anyone else.

    My guess is that Paris Ford has the best chance of any Pitt player making the 2020s list

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    1. Curtis Martin didn’t make the 2000s all-decade team despite gaining 14,100 yards which is 6th on the all-time list (and 4th in 2010 when the that team was voted on.) The reason …. he played from 1995 to 2005.

      Instead, Edgerrin James, LaDamian Tonlinson, Shaun Alexander (?) and Jamal Lewis (?) were voted in. Again, if the decade went from 1995-2005, Curtis would have been unanimous

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  3. Last time I saw Gronkowsi he looked too small to play tight end at Woodland Hills again. hmmm?

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  4. The 2000s all-decade team included no Pitt player. The 90s team had Doleman and Stepnoski on the 2nd team.

    The 1980s team had Covert and Grimm (1st team) and Fralic (2nd team). Oh, where have you gone Western PA linemen?

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  5. Meanwhile, in the last 20 years the stillers drafted 2 Pitt players from that rather impressive list. Go figure.

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  6. Twenty guys on the list whose names I din’t recognize. My interest in pro football is going down fast. Happened to me with baseball 30 years ago.

    I watch the Steelers and some games with those Four Pitt stars.

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  7. AD the only one to play four years. Revis 3, and the other two 2 each.

    If Dorsett would have been allowed to leave early no Championship.

    Another reason Pitt has no chance for greatness.

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  8. From the first touch of the ball, Fitz and Shady were far above any that had played for Pitt in a long time.
    Not since Dorsett did a guy have the lateral moves that Shady had. Exciting every time he touched the ball.
    Fitz was in a class by himself the first catch he made and went on to make circus catch after circus catch.

    The only guys to come close since those days were Boyd and Conner and neither of those guys have any chance for decade recognition in the NFL.

    The fact that Walt and Wanny were able to convince those guys to come to Pitt is the most amazing part.

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  9. —I remember Walt saying that Larry F. called him the night before letter-of-intent day, but Walt said that when he went to bed that night he had no idea whether Larry was coming to Pitt or not…

    —Love the fact that the Steelers get two on the NFL All-Decade Team (Brown and Pouncey), while the Pitt Panthers get four…

    —Those 4 Pitt players, talk about big-play guys… While it was great to watch all of them, and you can easily think of amazing plays made by each of them, my favorite to watch was Shady…

    Go Pitt.

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  10. The stats that wwb (wbb) posted are like all stats by themselves. In my mind, there needs to be another stat added to show the true picture. I would like to see Haden’s & Revis’ targeted opponent receivers. If that number are basically the same (per game, per year(s), per career, etc.), I’m sorry but I would go with Haden over Revis. But I am happy for Revis & Pitt as it stands now.

    Two good articles in a row.

    BTW – On my laptop, the latest article is showing up below the previous article. I have found that clicking on the triangle in the middle of the WordPress bar puts the latest on top & all other articles in proper order.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Rich, you are correct. The fact is that due to injuries, Revis only played 2 games in 2012 and 5 games in 2017 of which he started only 2. So in reality, he really played a slight bit over half the decade. But he was without question the absolute best in his first 5 years …. 2007 thru 2011.

      Again, this is why I’m saying that selecting an all-decade team is flawed in itself. You can select an all-decade team each year …. next year will be the decade from 2011 thru 2020. Now that is a bit silly but it is not too silly to select a mid-decade team so deserving people like Curtis Martin is given his due (instead of being left off both 1990s and 2000s teams)

      Liked by 1 person

  11. Slick trick there Richard. On my cpu they always fell in order but after I cleaned my cpu I had the same problem. Thank You buddy. iek……..

    Liked by 1 person

  12. Shady is often considered a questionable HoF choice but I think his accolades stack up. He was the leading rusher of the decade and on the all decade team. I’m a big proponent of best of era’s being in the HoF and not comparisons to other hall of fame entries. The game changes and evolves constantly so it’s hard to compare era’s.

    Liked by 3 people

  14. Mount Washington of Pitt football greats based on my opinion would be Dorsett, Green, Fralic, Fitzgerald and AD.

    Tex

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  15. Of course it is flawed guys and for the exact reason you are eluding to. It’s totally subjective, just like the star ranking they were tagged with coming out of high school.

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  17. So I finished reading Jane Leavy’s biography of Sandy Koufax. Excellent book, IMHO. Amazing career – especially considering he had to retire at age 30.

    1961 thru 1966 records and number of complete games:
    18-13 — 15
    14-7 —-11
    25-5 —20
    19-5 —15
    26-8 —27
    27-9 —27

    In ‘63, when he was 25-5, he threw 11 shutouts! Course he threw 4 no-hitters, the last of which was a perfect game. He ended up with 165 wins — and 40 of them were shutouts.

    And for the golfers, after Sandy retired, he was in big demand to attend golf-outings that were fund raisers. At one outing a Pro told him that he would improve his swing by straightening up his left arm. Koufax replied “If I could straighten my left arm, I’d still be pitching.”

    Go Pitt.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. no doubt that was the greatest 6 year run of any MLB pitcher ever …. but then he decided to retire after the 27 win season at age 31. I knew he was having some arm issues but he never attempted a comeback. Thus, he became the youngest ever elected to HOF at age 36,

      His 165 lifetime wins actually ranks 210th on the all time list tied with Bill Sherdel, Javier Vasquez and Barry Zito.

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      1. —In 1961, Koufax pitched a complete game where he threw 205 pitches…

        —In addition to his 4 no-hitters, he pitched 9 other games where he didn’t give up a hit thru the first six innings.

        Just amazing…

        Go Pitt.

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      2. Here’s a little story I can share with you about Jim “catfish“ Hunter… I had him as a patient a couple of times… During his final year with ALS they had a catfish Hunter day in the little town of Hertford North Carolina where he grew up…The Yankees sent down a baseball program honoring Jim… In the program it reported “ Catfish” started 38 games in one of the seasons (can’t remember which year)andand completed 32 games… The next Monday when he was in therapy I said “Wow, you completed 32 game??” His response, “ Do you know how many more innings I would have pitched if I pitched every f’n one of them?……… 18 !!!!!! “ 18 innings away from 38 complete games…. kinda like Harvey Haddix tossing a no- hitter for 12 innings…..

        Liked by 3 people

      1. the podcast indeed brought back memories, especially talking about the Big East. But to get to the point ……

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  19. This is totally weird.

    TREY McGowens and Ryan MURPHY transfer out.
    So now Pitt is in the final four for Rice Sophomore transfer TREY MURPHY.

    BRILLIANT recruiting by Coach Capel!

    BTW, this Trey is 6-8 and plays guard. Shot about 37% from 3 last season… Others in the hunt are Houston, Villanova and UVA.

    Go Pitt.

    Liked by 5 people

  21. Didnt peds drop off Shady after he had to go to prep school because of a bad foot injury? good perseverance by Pitt.
    Face mask sounds cool Annie, all i got is a red bandana i fold into a triangle and wear a black stetson. Just like Tex I imagine. Someday if the cashier asks paper or plastic i will probably respond ‘all the paper your got”, then on the way to jail….
    HAIL TO PITT

    Liked by 2 people

  23. Hopefully, this pushes Shady over the line to getting selected for the Pro Football HOF. Pitt is moving up the ladder, and with Revis and Fitz on the doorstep things are looking good to further increase the Pitt representation.

    Liked by 2 people

  24. if John Prine wasn’t one of your favorite songwriters, then odds are you never really listened to him. Witty, poignant and much of the time with a good dose of humor …Angel From Montgomery, Lake Marie, Ain’t Hurting Nobody, Sam Smith … and so many more. …. but I’ll give you a large dose of humor

    Liked by 1 person

  25. Great call Wild Bill. Prine was all over the place but did everything great. off the same record. Now off to Mike’s new article.

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  26. It was unfortunate that the cards did not work out for Shady this year. After playing well early he was benched and didn’t get to play in the playoffs or Superbowl. Some exposure in the SuperBowl would have helped the HOF call. Not sure just having a ring makes any difference. He certainly picked the right team though.

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    1. The Andy Reid connection is strong. Low mileage last year may help longevity too

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