in Pitt Football 923 Words

Pitt’s Pro Day Next Week

MEDIA ADVISORY

From:        E.J. Borghetti, Executive Associate Athletic Director/Communications

Re:             2022 Pitt Football Pro Day

Please see below a schedule for Pitt’s Pro Timing Day at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on Monday, March 21

Pitt players will be participating in the following evaluations:

  • Vertical Jump
  • Broad Jump
  • 40-Yard Dash
  • Pro Shuttle
  • Three-Cone Drill
  • Individual Position Skill Work

The Panthers’ expected 2022 Pro Day participants with final collegiate biography links:

MM Note: FWIW I’ve added the NFL.com Combine Analysis on Pickett, Mathis and Adomitis:

Overview:

Pickett has five years of game experience and four years of starting experience for Pitt. He’s a fairly toolsy pocket passer with good mobility. He operated in a passing scheme featuring vertical concepts that created big-play opportunities but left food on the plate when he failed to play chess against the back-end of the coverage. Pickett works with average anticipation but drives the ball with good velocity, which should help him shine in pre-draft passing drills. Pickett’s touch and placement need work, but his accuracy stats were damaged by an inordinate amount of drops throughout his career. The top indicator for future success or failure will likely rest in a team’s ability to build Pickett’s trust, poise and discipline from the pocket. He can make all the throws, but he’ll only be able to execute against disguised fronts and NFL pressure if he’s willing to hang in and win with his eyes first. He carries a boom/bust label, but the 2021 tape and productivity showed off his potential to become a good starter in time.

Strengths

  • Broke Dan Marino’s Pitt passing records.
  • Comes from athletic family and bloodlines.
  • Has good size and all the physical tools needed as a pro.
  • Jaw-dropping improvement across the board from 2020.
  • TD-INT ratio went from 13:9 in 2020 to 42:7 in 2021.
  • Passing scheme required full-field reads.
  • Good recognition and decisions on combo-route throws to all levels.
  • Potential to get better at recalibrating reads with more work.
  • Worked with improved anticipation and tight spiral throwing into windows.
  • Velocity to stay ahead of closing coverage.
  • Arm strength to push deep outs without a problem.
  • Able to extend the play and win on the move with his arm.
  • Arm talent to make off-platform throws.
  • Elusiveness to escape a free runner and scramble for yards.

Weaknesses

  • Some scarring from previous protection issues.
  • Nervous feet and poise can get the best of him despite clean pockets.
  • Drifts outside pocket rather than climbing to scan.
  • Feet don’t always follow his eyes when throwing.
  • Poor placement and touch added to drop issues.
  • Finesse throws into buckets are below average.
  • Better timing would prevent contested catches.
  • Can improve at making leading throws.
  • Doesn’t throw with much of an expedited release.
  • Needs to take the incompletion instead of the sack.

Sources Tell Us

“Is he the next (Joe) Burrow or Kyler (Murray), who were early picks after being one-year wonders? Some team will try and make that connection and will overdraft him. That’s a lock.” — Personnel director for AFC team

Overview
Mathis plays with good anticipation and ball skills but lacks the top-end speed and coverage tools needed to play pure press-man coverage. While he’s played Cover 3 with some modest success in college, he lacks the traits and poise to do so in the pros. He offers short and intermediate zone-cover talent as a cornerback or dime safety on the next level. His ability to help support the run from the slot could factor in his favor.

Strengths

  • Compact and strong.
  • Redirects release with forceful shove to the boundary.
  • Crowds tight to route when phasing.
  • Maintains route feel across the hashes.
  • Can shuffle with inside or outside leverage in Cover 3.
  • Quick read-and-respond from zone.
  • Races to the catch point with efficient paths.
  • Steps downhill and thumps pass-catchers.
  • Wrap-up finisher who rarely allows runners to sneak away.

Weaknesses

  • Balance gets away from him in transitions.
  • Can’t carry speedy receivers vertically.
  • Shows too much respect against drive routes.
  • Lacks desired length to succeed from trail.
  • Panic brings loads of penalties down the field.
  • Doesn’t climb high enough up the ladder on jump balls.
  • Loses tackle angles pursuing runners in space.
  • Missed 2020 season due to shoulder injury.

MM Notes:

Avonte Maddox was rated 5.90. He went in the 4th round.

Dane Jackson was rated 5.99. He went in the 7th round

Jason Pinnock was rated 5.88. He went in the 5th

I don’t believe he was invited to the combine. https://www.nfl.com/prospects/jason-pinnock/32005049-4e75-7046-17a6-92c57382f4b9

Overview
A long snapper with five years of experience, Adomitis has shown improved accuracy and overall consistency with every season. He has NFL size and gets the ball back on punts and kicks with quality accuracy, but the snap speed is average by NFL standards. He’s shown a willingness and ability to get down the field in coverage. He should find an NFL camp as a late draft pick or priority free agent.

Strengths

  • * Five years of snap duties. * Minimal hitch in snap delivery. * Improved snap speed over last two years
  • * Snaps are generally accurate and easy to handle
  • * Heavily involved in charitable endeavors within community

Weaknesses

  • Not the tightest spirals on a consistent basis.
  • Snap speed is average.
  • Inconsistent in 2021 game versus Virginia Tech.

157 thoughts on “Pitt’s Pro Day Next Week”

      1. MM:

        Once someone signs Jameis Winston and assuming that Garoppolo and Watson are traded, what teams will be looking for a QB in the first round? Only ones jumping out at me right now are Detroit, Seattle, New Orleans and Carolina. If Watson is traded, then Houston. Maybe the Giants. My math says 2, maybe 3 first round QBs. One of them will be Willis. The second should be Kenny, but there are lots of whispers about Howell and Ridder and Corral too. I’d say it’s 50/50 if he’s a first rounder if the two trades happen.

        Like

        1. I think that list could be a little bigger.

          For instance, Washington may have picked up Wentz, but he’s failed twice with two HC’s that were former QBs. And his leadership skills are questionable. Seems like he’s a transitional solution at best.

          The Giants and Daniel Jones…he’s had a neck injury

          Atlanta might look to get one to be in place for when Matt Ryan hangs it up – he is already 36 with 14 yrs.

          Like

  8. The speed thing on Mathis kills me. He literally ran a sub 4.4. There are faster but there are a whole lot more that are slower. Not saying he’s a day 1 or 2 guy but speed is not the issue. He lost guys vertically because he was on an island not because he was slower.

    Liked by 1 person

  9. Those “weaknesses” have to be daggers to these guys. But they do give them stuff to work on…

    Whitehead signed with the Jets for $14 million – two years, I think…

    Go Pitt.

    Like

    1. I am a JETS fan (living in fan pain for umpteen years) J…E…T…S JETS JETS JETS
      Whitehead is a winner and will help the boys in green if he can stay healthy. H2P!

      Liked by 2 people

  11. I thought Whitehead was a target for the Steelers. His price tag seems about right, so not sure what the issue was.

    Like

  13. I thought Collier was starting to show some potential. Not sure if his leaving is good or bad..

    Like

  15. Xman lead Indiana to an NCAA tournament play in game victory over Wyoming.

    He started along side former Pitt guard Parker Stewart. X had 10 points, played fast on offense with 7 assists and only 2 turnovers. His D was very disruptive and instrumental in the Hoosiers victory last night.

    Shooting wise, X was 1-2 from 3 point land, but 3-13 overall. He was 3-5 from the foul line.

    I believe the Indiana coach is only in his first year with the Hoosiers. Mike Woodson is a former Indiana BB player.

    Like

    1. Good for X that he left a toxic coaching staff and landed at a program like Indiana and is contributing. Woodson definitely has coached him better than the Pitt staff ever did.

      Like

    1. This is going to be the norm everywhere I think. It is going to be tough to rebuild the roster every offseason at most schools. When you have an incompetent staff as Pitt has at the moment, it will be even more difficult. The NCAA will regret allowing this one-time free transfer and the fans will come to hate it after wanting it because “a coach can up and leave at any time.”

      It was nice in the 2000s watching Pitt develop four-year players but those days are gone. I’m going to miss seeing a guy like Lute Olson and Jim Calhoun rebuild programs that are highly competitive over the course of two decades.

      Too bad Pitt didn’t want to win in hoops dating back to the 1950s and had this proud tradition because I don’t see this program having any success in the current landscape. The last FF amazingly was in 1941. Having a chancellor who just shrugs his shoulders at the current state also doesn’t give me warm fuzzies about Pitt’s place in college basketball.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Or football really. It will be interesting to see how Pitt fares in FB when all the Covid rule exceptions are stopped. I agree with the commenter on another article who wrote that if there were no Covid extra years Pitt wouldn’t have had the season we did as Pickett would have been gone.

        I’m glad he had that extra season and for the 11 wins but just wonder if we’ll slip back to the 8 win ceiling seasons…

        BB is just screwed for now and for the future. Good transfer players won’t want to come to a program that has basically collapsed over the last five years. Won’t be any better next year then another crap hire will keep us at a lower level of play…IMO that is.

        Liked by 3 people

        1. Definitely with football though that landscape started changing when the money started getting bigger in the early 2000s and it became all about your facilities and fancy perks to recruit kids.

          With these conferences now making insane money except the ACC it is going to make it even tougher to compete. That will be fine and dandy for Pitt’s administration as it will be happy collecting ACC checks that dwarf what the Panthers made in the Big East. The SEC just split $771 million and once Texas and Oklahoma join that figure will eventually reach a BILLION.

          If Pitt is an 8-win program again then we fans should just accept it unless the administration wants better. I won’t hold my breath on that. Gallagher is already annoyed with athletics so I just hope he keeps his snout out of it for a while. Of course, he’ll have to approve the next basketball coach and Sir Patrick is already 0-2 in six short years with hires, and just on the men’s side. The women’s program is just as bad.

          Liked by 1 person

        2. Hard to see Pitt slipping back to 8 win ceiling. Yes last year was an outlier and the stars aligned but Pitt looks very good this year and seems to be recruiting at a somewhat higher level. Championships will be hard to come by but good football should be the norm. Pitt should have great lines this year and some exceptional skill players. Two tough teams to start with but the usual customers after that.

          Liked by 1 person

    1. Heard Coach Duzz on a radio interview yesterday. He seems to have improved somewhat in this department. Seems way more relaxed now and not trying as much to be clever or funny and missing the mark…

      Coach talked about how he had to be up in the booth to see what he needed to see to call defenses. Something that always puzzled me about Coach Whip – though I presume he had his spotters up in the booth…

      Go Pitt.

      Like

  20. Tim Benz is THE worst journalist in Pittsburgh. His articles almost always consist of what fans discuss on Twitter. Sometimes, he writes about what Mark Madden discusses. Trolling Twitter for an article is as far away from journalism as one can get. The Trib has become a joke.

    Like

  21. NRS, that would be some front court lineup, but wouldn’t help with outside shooting or free throws. Probably not with turnovers either. They need a pg badly and better shooting from behind the arc.

    Liked by 1 person

  22. The last time I ever called a radio talk show was to Tim Benz the day after the ‘slide play’ in 04. He called the play the turning point of the game, and I called to dispute him. Told him that the slide play was right before halftime, but since Pitt would go on go take the lead in the 3rd, it couldn’t have been the turning point.

    He hung up on me

    Sent from my iPhone

    >

    Liked by 2 people

  23. Dokish made the point that Pitt BB players have transferred out like crazy .. while Pitt FB players seem to love it here and stay put. If Duzz has done anything, I guess it’s creating the family atmosphere that the players frequently talk about

    Aside from OLB, the question mark this year is a new QB and OC. And it doesn’t help that the first 2 games are versus WVU and Tenn.

    I think (hope) the QB play doesn’t have to be near as good as last year, but good enough to have Pitt’s wealth of skill players (WR / RB) be productive

    Sent from my iPhone

    >

    Like

    1. WVU lost quite a few players to the portal and will also have a new OC and QB. Most likely a freshman QB.
      TN will be a tough game.

      Like

    1. Before 21 season a fire sale – 34 out (both schollie & walk-ons) So far this year, 14 out, 5 in.

      Yes 2’nd season.

      Liked by 1 person

  25. @natebailey4

    There were only 8 teams in the 1941 NCAA tournament. You had to win ONE game to get to the final 4. PItt beat North Carolina 26 – 20 and then lost to ultimate champion Wisconsin 36 – 30.

    Thanks for the laugh. Just what I needed today.

    H2P!!!

    Liked by 4 people

  26. Up until the late 50s or so, the NIT was more prestigious than the NCAA. I assure you I’m not making this up

    Sent from my iPhone

    >

    Liked by 3 people

  27. If you wiki NIT you will see … up until at least the mid 50s, the NIT was most prestigious showcase in college basketball …

    And apparently it was because the NIT had much more press coverage. It also had more teams while the NCAA only had 8 teams

    Sent from my iPhone

    >

    Liked by 1 person

    1. i would stretch that into the late 60’s to early 70’s. The NIT was special because it took place at madison square garden, right?

      did we make the cbi tourney? Saw we were ranked outside the top 200 in the final rankings.

      Like

  28. Preston Lavant class of 2021 Rivals 5.5, 3-Star has entered the transfer portal. He was a LB.

    Like

  29. Anyone know what’s the status of the Steelers replacement GM? I saw Riddick interviewed, then radio silence…

    Like

    2. It won’t be announced until after the draft since Colbert is staying on through it.

      The job is going to be split between Kahn and Brandon Hunt with Colbert as an advisor having more say considering he will be “retired.”

      Like

  30. I’m guessing the Steelers stay internal for their GM hire, despite them interviewing like 40 people…. Would prefer to see them bring in some fresh eyes from the outside.

    Go Pitt.

    Liked by 1 person

  31. They probably know who the hire is going to be, but are waiting until after the draft to announce.

    Like

  32. Pitt baseball lost to Youngstown State 5-2 today.

    YSU is a northern D2 school. 😉

    In other action, Pitt softball was shutout by psuX 6-0.

    Like

    1. I thought women’s softball was going to become a power because that is the sport Heather played in college?

      Like

      1. She did and I believe it was at Michigan.

        She pulled a Scott Barnes (supposedly a basketball guy) with Softball.

        This MAC coach she hired cannot recruit nor coach at the P5 level.

        Like

    2. This is the first year I’ve hard core followed Pitt baseball since the games are on ESPN Plus. I’m hoping this new found fandom isn’t a mistake haha.

      Like

  35. It appears that one of the question marks, back- up TE, maybe by committee — Renda, Wright and/ or Mimes. I was unaware that Kyi was injured

    I would keep my eye on Renda who put on some weight in his redshirt frosh year. He lined up at both TE and WR at IMG and has receiving skills, but have no idea what kind of blocker he is

    I do know that there is emphasis on the run game this year. Also know that in short yardage situations, you have Zubovic, Concalves or Jacoby coming in for the 6th and 7th lineman

    Sent from my iPhone

    >

    Like

  36. We need more than a backup TE – we need someone to play Krull’s spot and allow Bartholomew to keep doing what he was doing in the 2 TE alignments.

    Looks like we could use a ready-to-play TE and Star linebacker from the portal…

    Go Pitt.

    Like

  39. Iowa reminds me of every
    Pitt team to make the Ncaas. Can’t score enough to overcome a good shooting team. Congrats JoeL. Richmond looks very good.

    Liked by 2 people

  40. My ESPN bracket name(perfect so far) thanks to Richmond Spiders and JoeL:

    “Pitt was it – Fire Capel!TVax1”

    Like

  41. So Capel is the #17 highest-paid men’s college basketball coach in the USA at 3.53 million. That Heather Lyke, she is something, isn’t she?

    Like

    2. She pays him that much because he out-strategized all other coaches by not signing any players for the coming year! Awesome Baby!!! Who does that?? Our guy!!

      Like

  43. Good showing by our Pitt wrestlers today – two 1 point losses by Cleary and Harvey. The other 4 dominated their matches and move one step closer to their NC.

    Liked by 1 person

  44. Watching the tourney, every Pitt fan can see how hopelessly our BBall program is behind the rest of the country.

    Like

    1. I posted last week about how great Coach Becker is at Vermont. He is in his mid-50s and is a lifer at UVM. There is NO chance that he will ever leave. To his credit, he has traded his great lifestyle for less money. Heather MUST conduct a search for a REAL basketball coach to replace Capel because next year has a chance of being even worse than the Stallings Sewer.

      Liked by 1 person

  46. Update wrestling news: all but one Pitt wrestler lost yesterday. Cole Matthews is the lone undefeated Panther vying for a NC. Our two guys who lost in the finals last year were beaten by tOSU guys. Nino seeded 5th lost to the 21st seed and Wetzel seeded 10th lost to the #7 ranked guy in his weight class.

    It’s tough to get to the finals in the first place, but I would have thought our guys would have been carrying a higher ranking based on last year, but they both had underwhelming seasons this year.

    Like

      1. Not to a championship though – 3rd place is the highest they can now achieve as long as they don’t lose.

        In positive news today with wrestling, our lone Panther with a chance to win it all beat the #3 ranked wrestler. Cole Matthews is an All-American with that win – he is focused on a NC now.

        H2P!

        Liked by 2 people

        1. Rivera was 26-0, a three-time NCAA top six finisher and four-time All-American when he was defeated by Pitt’s Cole Matthews.

          Rivera was also ranked as the 3rd best in the 141lb weight class. Yikes!

          Like

          1. The #2 ranked wrestler was beaten earlier today by the 15th ranked guy and #1 Nick Lee from psuX won.

            Would love to see Cole knock off the cow tipper in the finals.

            Go Pitt!

            Like

  47. Chris Payton transferring. Pitt had five low-post players on the team this year. Two are coming back next year, assuming Hugley doesn’t leave.

    Like

    1. It appears Hugley is staying, which is great.

      Nike, Horton, Femi and Burton all won’t come back and Pitt already is recruiting portal guards from George Mason and Drexel. Three should be back is my guess.

      Pitt just reached out to forwards out of The Citadel and WVU (Bridges).

      Hoping six guys return out of Hugley, Nike, Femi, Burton, Santos, Horton and Will.

      Liked by 1 person

  49. With Capel bringing in mostly Senior transfers to win immediately, Collier and Payton must have figured they would see no court time. So it makes sense, even if they liked it at Pitt, to transfer somewhere where they could play.

    Like

  50. If UK fires John Calipari, would he retire or come back to coach Pitt?

    If he has an early-out again next year, could be good timing…

    Go Pitt.

    Liked by 2 people

  51. With the signings the Steelers have made, I would not be surprised to see them draft QB Willis in the first round, if he’s there at their spot…

    Go Pitt.

    Liked by 1 person

  52. PITT BASEBALL ⚾️ Relies on Home Runs to Earn First ACC Win Against Virginia Tech, 4-3

    Like

  53. Iowa State was 2-22 last year and are now are heading to the field of 32. It can be done. But under Capel???

    Like

    1. Most likely not under Capel, but I think this is going to be the norm in college hoops now.

      The portal will change so much as teams will be good and make a run then maybe disappear due to graduation, NBA deflections, portal losses and have to start over and take a step back.

      College hoops is going to miss coaches who stayed in one place 20-25 years and developed players. I think coaches are going to bounce around more or will be fired like Capel will soon because they cannot recruit or build rosters year in and year out in this age of basketball.

      Like

      1. Someone gave the example of Iowa State’s turnaround season – last season they had single digit wins, but rebuilt the team through the portal and made the NCAA tournament – yesterday they manhandled the 6th seeded LSU, mind you the Tigers (of LSU) were without their HC.

        The opposite would be Oregon State who made a deep run in the NCAA tournament last season and only won 3 games this season. Winning only 3 games is hard to do –

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Yeah, I think they’ve ruined college sports – at least for those of us who really enjoyed watching a raw freshman come in and then see them mature and learn and become a big contributor…

        Might as well have a portal for the coaches now too…

        Go Pitt.

        Liked by 1 person

  55. Pitt wrestling had a disappointing day yesterday – everyone lost and only Cole Matthews is still in the running for a top 6 finish. Cole lost to a higher seeded tarheel and seemed to wrestle conservatively – if you ever watched HC Gavin wrestle while at Pitt, he was very calculated and conservative – that is how Cole wrestled in the match last night, that if he won, would have put him in the championship match. All season, Cole wrestled with passion, fire and a drive to dominate – Remember, Cole was the ACC champion, yet in his chance to win it all, he lost to a 14 seeded ACC foe.

    Our two guys who lost in the championship last season did not even make All-American status.

    In 5 seasons at Pitt, HC Gavin is 38-28 overall and 10-15 in the ACC. Pitt should be better than that.

    Like

    1. Pa is the # 1 state for H S wrestling and WPIAL has been dominating the state lately. College wrestling is not costly to run. Maybe someone can explain to me why Pitt is so average? No Acc title . No Ncaa champ since 2026.Again Pitt should be much better than that.

      Like

      1. We hired a coach who was an assistant, not a proven head coach. There is a pattern to Pitt’s hiring madness. And it really is maddening…

        Was at dinner with a psuX wrestling fan. They may get 5 champs tonight – Pitt with none and a best finish at 5th place.

        Not very good in my opinion.

        Like

  56. In watching the tournament you notice how many teams do not have shooters. My analysis is that most power 5 coaches recruit athletes and not basketball players. Most recruit off the AAU circuit that focuses on above the rim slams, quickness etc. when you watch these games the smaller schools who cannot get a top 150 recruit get these gym rats that are not the best athletes but basketball players. Can’t understand why coaches don’t recruit a few of those that can knock down the 3 consistently. Of the games I watched only ND and Villanova in the P5 had players that were excellent shooters plus most of the smaller schools had a few shooters, not the best athletes. I am sure Pitt could have gotten a shooter out of the intramural league that could shoot better than anyone on the team. Although these would most likely not be starters you can bring them in, set screens for them and let them knock down the shots.

    Liked by 3 people

  58. You will start to see “Portal Camps” popping up at various venues for football and basketball players who are sitting around eroding their skills, binge watching netflix and eating bon bons. Problem with portal players is that universities cannot tell what they are getting since they haven’t had eyes on the athlete students since high school for the most part because these kids go into the portal after lack of playing time as first and second years. Last good action for many was as a senior in high school.

    Like

  60. Pitt baseball losing 7-1 in the 3rd inning with our #2 starting pitcher vs VT who are 0-4 in the ACC.

    Like

  61. Cole Matthews wrestled his way to a 5th place win this afternoon.

    The season is over and Pitt with one All-American in Cole (1st time) – we were expecting four AA’s and a few in the championship round.

    Princeton with 2 finalist, psuX with 4.

    Like

    1. How did the grapplers do this year? I saw the coach is 38-28 with a bad ACC record, but what were the numbers this year? I don’t follow them and only started following the womens vball team because they had a very good run. I usually don’t have time to invest in a losing program. That, more than battling the professional sports teams for dollars is the bigger problem.

      Something really stood out to me today and I chuckled. With 18 minutes left in the second half and immediately following a UNC basket with the clock running, the inbounder rolled the ball slowly in bounds to the guard. He let it roll for about 7 seconds (with the clock running). Just an example of todays kids not understanding time place and circumstance. I see this way too much! The pointguards think they are smart, but probably not. I get it if the clock is stopped and begins on the first touch, no problem.

      Like

      1. The wrestling team was 8-6 this season and 1-4 in the ACC in HC Gavin’s 5th year with two national championship runner-ups from last season on the roster.

        Like

  63. In our game at North Carolina, Horton was 5 for 5 from the three. That kind of success seemed to open up all our other players to score as well. I don’t think they could double Hugley and he had his way with Bacot.

    I agree that there should be room on every roster for a pure shooter or two. I have mentioned previously a Jake DiMichele who is a senior for Our Lady of the Sacred Heart near Pittsburgh. Used to be that hitting 1000 points in a high school career was a big deal. I believe Jake has over 2500 and his team is in the State semifinal today. He is 6’3” and it seems like every time I read a write up on OLSH, his stats include 4 or more three pointers. I recently talked to a couple of friends who coach high school basketball locally and they said Jake is not a D1 player, maybe a D2. I respect their opinion and am sure they know what they are talking about. But I can’t help but wonder.

    I watched Villanova play Creighton for their conference championship. With about 3 minutes left in the game, Nova was down by 1. In their next two consecutive possessions, they set an outside screen for their 6’3” guard, Gillespie. He drained both 3’s. Game over, Nova wins the championship. In my opinion, not every guard has to be able to drive to the basket to be a valuable contributor.

    Liked by 1 person

  64. I can’t remember underdogs playing as hard as those this year. Davidson,
    St Peters, UNC, Creighton et Al. Many near death experiences for the big boys.

    I’ve never been a Sean Miller fan, as a person or a coach. I’m rapidly unbecoming a Capel fan.

    Like

  65. If for whatever reason Capel was out at Pitt tomorrow and you could have your choice of any of the losing coaches in NCAAS so far,
    Who would you take for Pitt?

    Like

    2. He hasn’t lost yet but I would love to see Jay Wright in front of the Pitt bench.

      Like

  66. Pitt baseball losers to a VT team that was 0-4 in the ACC

    22-6

    HC Bell who was a former assistant/pitching coach cannot seem to assemble a pitching staff. The #2 starter surrendered 7 runs and the bullpen gave up 15.

    You cannot make this stuff up.

    Remember Pitt lost to Youngstown State this past week 5-2.

    Sad…

    Like

  67. Joel, I feel your pain. Friars are pouring in 3 point shots while the Spiders are ice cold. Providence is an example of a small school that is well-coached.

    Like

  68. Over on the Lair, a few encouraging words about the Pitt scrimmage from someone who was there.

    He liked the look of: Cig’s offense; Izzy’s running; Slovis’s throwing; the aggressiveness of the OL; and the TEs…

    To me, any good news is good news…

    Go Pitt.

    Liked by 4 people

  70. OT: BB transfer portal – this big guy from Temple entered the portal late last week with 3 years of immediate eligibility.

    Arashma Parks is a 6-9, 230-pound Power Forward from Cleveland, OH. Big John probably played against him in
    HS.

    Note to Capel & Heather – find the NIL money necessary to get a guy like this, the PF from Brown and a PG with good ball skills (high assist # with low turnover #) – there is a PG from Michigan in the portal who appears to have been recruited over.

    Liked by 1 person

  71. I don’t think Xavier would be included in a “win at any costs” type of program. This should be a wake-up call to Pitt’s Administration (looking at you Gallagher), that it is okay from a public relations standpoint, to think outside the box. Yes, Miller will be suspended for a set of games (probably 10-15) in the Fall, but who cares?

    I have additional thoughts about how to recruit the portal most effectively, but I am not giving them up for free to Pitt as historically, they fail to follow good counsel from the POV collective.

    Like

  73. Coach is saying all the right things about LB depth, but he has to be concerned with this area due to all the losses at this position since last season.

    Like

    1. I wouldn’t be surprised to see SirVocea play a lot at the Star position this season – especially in those first two games. Brandon George in the middle with Simon at Money…

      We seem to have some good athletes vying for the Star spot, but we know you better know your stuff at that position…or here come the TDs on wheel routes…

      Go Pitt.

      Like

      1. That’s a a pretty good assessment of the LB position MM. I think that lineup would work also.

        Like

  74. Pitt wrestling finished the NCAA tournament by placing 24th.

    Last year’s team finished 10th and pretty much returned the entire team that was at nationals last season.

    Like

    1. It was a disappointment much like men’s soccer. A moderately slight regression. Men’s soccer is borderline elite with coach Jay. Wrestling will always be good given the talent rich WPA region. Gavin is a good coach. Just wasn’t in the cards this year.

      Pitt is stuck with Capel for another year since no booster came to heathers rescue. My sources also say that none is willing to put NIL money in the pot for transfers as long as Jeff’s the coach. Jeff and his bro are dead men walking.

      Heather is royally flushed screwed. Nice black mark on her resume. Thanks Santa. No chance of a Big Ten job now. But an albatross around Pitt’s neck for the foreseeable future.

      Did the Nitter BOT and Gallagher hire this lass? Accountability anyone?

      Liked by 1 person

  76. So according to PSN Pitt recruiting scorecard Capel has looked at seriously 9 portal prospects. I’m not going to list them but they include 7 athletic forwards, one shooter and one point guard. Only 5 of these are ACC caliber in my opinion.

    But, I think he should be looking at 9 shooters and point guards. Athletic forwards are a dime a dozen!

    Not to be negative !

    Liked by 2 people

  78. Capel’s not leaving so I suggest we here refocus on Pitt FB. It is the topic of this thread ( and much less depressing)

    I see Pitt is bringing in a WR from Texas who maybe the program’s faster player … complements of our recently departed WR Coach (already forgot his name). There is a plethora of skill players on the Pitt FB team this year .. unlike the BB team (oops)

    Sent from my iPhone

    >

    Like

  79. Pitt baseball lost again today to VT 7-1

    The Pitt starting pitcher Corcoran gave up 3 runs in 6 innings of work and the bullpen gave up 4 runs in 2 innings.

    Not bad for the starter, not good either but horrendous for the bullpen.

    Thank you coach Bell, may I have another?

    Like

  80. I doubt more than two pitt players will get drafted. A few will get camp invites. Fewer will land on the practice team. I can name fewer than five NFL coaches who will attend Pitts pro day. That’s what two and three star recruits get you. Will the gates be locked for this event?

    Pitts MO has historically been to find assistant coaches on the cheap. That’s just bad business practice. Will Pitt ever learn? Highly unlikely.

    Pitt now has ACC money but this hiring practice mentality still unfortunately persists.

    Oh and women’s softball isn’t much better than men’s baseball. Heather forced out the Pitt coach that could actually compete in the ACC.

    Like

  81. Through the years, Jay Wright has had a handful of offers to leave Nova, I assume for much better money. His teams rarely beats itself

    Many of you remember Scottie Reynolds hitting that shot at the buzzer to advance to the Final 4. I remember Nova going 21-22 from the line

    Sent from my iPhone

    >

    Liked by 1 person

  82. anyone else think it’s ridiculous having the head coaches pulled away from their team during timeouts to give TV commentary response to a court reporter

    grabbing them as they run off at the half is enough, this is stupid and ridiculous

    of course I’d be perfectly happy to see Capel having to be put in that situation during the tournament, of course because THAT would require he be in the tournament 😦

    maybe they can tear him away from his busy off season putting together that next great pile of recruits, seems he might have more than enough time to spare there

    Liked by 5 people

  83. Soooooo….the “best conference” in BB is getting their butts waxed in the Tournament and the “worst” has by far the best overall record. Stuff it pundits…

    Great to see the B1G lose 3 straight this afternoon. Wisconsin is down 6 now in the 2nd half. Go Iowa St.

    Liked by 1 person

      1. Iowa State finished the game 0-8 with their shots and still won – that is how bad Wisconsin played.

        Like

  85. I guess there’s hope for Pitt…Iowa St. won 2 games last year and are off to the Sweet 16. Another B1G team bites the dust…

    Like

  86. Miami clowns former #1 Auburn. I like the matchups for the ACC. Could get 2 or even all 3 in the Elite 8.

    Like

  87. It appears to me that the thing that made the ACC look bad this season is that you had several really good teams beating each other up.

    Like

  88. And let’s not forget the really bad teams like Pitt who made the league look worse than it was.

    Like

  89. Pitt pro day today on ACC network at 1:30 and NFL network at 2:00.
    Apologies if already posted.

    Like

  90. anyone else winning their bracket/s?

    I enter 2 typically and both are tied for first in our group of near 90

    pure crap luck because I’ve watched and been interested in hoops far less this year due to Pitt’s failures

    guess that’s opposed to prior years where I’ve won a few and didn’t think it was pure crap luck because I actually lived and breathed college hoops along with Dixon and Pitt

    would’ve been great to see him knock out Arizona but the Zona kid hit everything late obviously and while the TCU team played well, that PG just couldn’t quite make it happen there in regulation(where I don’t think he deserved the call at midcourt btw)

    I loved SEEING what looked like old Pitt play with Miles looking like Wannamaker and their big playing well rebounding but also making put backs, while unfortunately missing one too many FT’s 😦

    Like

  91. I brought this up on a previous thread: If anyone wants to add a new roller coaster ride of emotions to their sports watching, join me in my first year of following the Pitt baseball program. All games are on ESPN Plus.
    If we had access to the games in the past, I would have watched.

    We have defeated Ohio State but lost to Youngstown State. We beat Virginia Tech on Friday and allowed 22 runs against them the next day. Every game truly seems to be a toss up and things move a bit quicker than in the majors in terms of pace of play.

    Like

  92. In the not so distant past I can remember being glued to my TV screen watching and waiting for my PITT hoops team to come on and if they weren’t on TV, I had the radio fired up to listen to Billy and Dick’s loose portrayal and explanation of how the game was unraveling. I never had to be reminded of Pitts schedule.

    Before Ben came along with many fans cautiously standing back pretty much ambivalent to his hire, the games were still entertaining with a few great players to watch. (Anyone know where I’m headed with this?) Yeah, all the way back to Charles G (BUZZ) Ridl from Irwin Pa in 1968. I had to look him up because I wasn’t sure of the spelling of Buzz’s four letter last name. Between then and now there were some hard to watch teams in there.

    There is so much more to it than that but we fast forward to Ben being called back to Cali to help with his ailing Father. His successor, Jamie Dixon with much chagrin from many of the ardent PITT fans. PITT didn’t hire their boy whoever they were at the time and Jamie was considered a weak hire. He then captured PITT fans hearts by continuing PITT’s growing national reputation.

    Then the ACC came calling with a no brainier of an offer to join their league and I do mean Their league. PITT fans had already started little by little with their usual, we need a new fresh coach rhetoric. With Dixon not enjoying the recruiting success he had in the Big East the whispers grew louder and thoughts turned to replacements for a new head coach.

    Next part of PITT’s hoops history is a little fresher in our minds…. or are they? Stallings hire was messed up from the very beginning. The way he was hired along with his ineptitude put him in the cross-hairs of the fans and administration. But the fans got what they wanted… a new coach?

    Capel on the other hand was hired with a high % of positivity from most. To cut to the chase…. PITT fans again got what they asked for. Anything sound familiar? Now I’m hearing complaints directed at Narduzzi. I hope the recitalists keep keeping it real. Or they just might get what they want in football.

    Thanks Heather for the ACC Championship!

    Liked by 4 people

  95. Speaking of Pitt BB history, how about Lawrenceville’s (and Central Catholic’s and Pitt’s) own Tim Grgurich.

    Now there’s a BB Coach. Should have coached at Pitt for 40 years. Could use him now…

    (And “Gurg” has the same roots as legendary Pitt Man LastRow…)

    Go Pitt.

    Like

Comments are closed.