in Pitt Football 455 Words

Kancey ACC Defender of the Year

November 30, 2022​

Pitt’s Calijah Kancey Named ACC Defensive Player of the Year

PITTSBURGH—A highly decorated week for Pitt’s Calijah Kancey continued today with the announcement that the junior defensive tackle has been named the 2022 ACC Defensive Player of the Year.

Kancey is the second Pitt player to win the ACC’s top defensive honor. Tackle Aaron Donald was the Panthers’ initial honoree in 2013.

Six total Panthers have won an ACC Player or Rookie of the Year award during Pitt’s 10 seasons in the conference. Last season, Pitt boasted the ACC’s overall and offensive Player of the Year in quarterback Kenny Pickett, now of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

This is the latest recognition for Kancey, who earlier this week was named first team All-ACC for the second consecutive year. He additionally was selected a finalist for the prestigious Outland Trophy, presented to the nation’s best interior lineman.

Kancey is also a finalist for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, awarded to the nation’s top defensive player. Pro Football Focus named him a first team All-American.

The 6-foot, 280-pound Kancey (Miami, Fla./Miami Northwestern) has been one of college football’s most dominant players regardless of position this season. He compiled 31 tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks in 11 games played.

Kancey spearheads a Pitt defense that leads the country in sacks (3.75 avg.), ranks seventh nationally against the run (95.5 avg.) and ranks 19th in fewest total yards allowed (319.7 avg.).

Kancey is the first tackle to win ACC Defensive Player of the Year since Donald in 2013 and only the third all-time since the inaugural year of the award in 1993.

“I am extremely thankful and humbled to receive this incredible honor from the ACC,” Kancey said. “I share this award with all of my teammates and coaches. They make me better every day, on and off the field. I’m so proud to wear the Blue and Gold with them.”

“Calijah has been absolutely outstanding all season long and is highly deserving of this honor,” Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi said. “As both a run stopper and rushing the passer, he has been tremendous. On behalf of our entire program, I want to congratulate Calijah on receiving this award. He has absolutely earned it.”  

PITT’S ALL-TIME ACC MAJOR AWARD WINNERS

ACC Player of the Year

2014, James Conner, RB

2021, Kenny Pickett, QB

ACC Offensive Player of the Year

2014, James Conner, RB

2021, Kenny Pickett, QB

ACC Defensive Player of the Year

2013, Aaron Donald, DT

2022, Calijah Kancey, DT

ACC Rookie of the Year

2015, Jordan Whitehead, S; Qadree Ollison, RB (co-winners)

ACC Offensive Rookie of the Year

2015, Qadree Ollison, RB

ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year

2015, Jordan Whitehead, S

ACC Brian Piccolo Award (Most Courageous Player)

2016, James Conner, RB

170 thoughts on “Kancey ACC Defender of the Year”

  1. Seems Pitt has a habit of recruiting players who are too small in one way or another. Aaron Donald and Calijah Kancey are undersized at 6’ tall and Kenny Pickett’s hands are way way to small.
    What can I say……keep ‘em coming

    Liked by 1 person

      1. I think you meant one guy from NYC in particular.

        Texans don’t need to brag when we have it but we’ll most definitely let you know. 🤠

        Small sized players do see their draft stock drop. Thats because for every AD, there are twenty more with a similar small and stocky builds that don’t make it. Comes down to getting leverage on your opponent.

        AD is a special exception. AD is just super quick off the line and has great hand technique.

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  3. Thanks to your support, the Pitt football team finished the season in a flurry, winning four consecutive games to earn another bowl invitation.

    The Panthers are working hard to keep their momentum rolling into the postseason and beyond.

    From a fan engagement standpoint, we are striving to achieve the same. You can provide a major assist in this effort by participating in the following survey on the Pitt football game day experience.

    The survey will take approximately 15 minutes to complete. As a token of our appreciation, upon completion of the survey you will receive a code for $10 off your next purchase of $50 or more at ShopPittPanthers.com (valid through December 16).

    Your feedback is invaluable as we work to build the best home field advantage in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

    SURVEY LINK

    Thank you for your Panther Pride and Hail to Pitt!

    Hail to Pitt

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  6. Kancy is another awesome player that exceeded all expectations, would love to see him one more time in a Pitt uniform at the bowl game. Time certainly flies when you get a great one like him or Dennis. They made immediate impacts and continued getting better through their college careers.

    Great to see him get a well deserved award.

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  7. Watching Kancy for two minutes and it was easy to see, Calijah Kancey was destined to be a great one. Seems unfair he’ll be gone so quickly.

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  8. It still amazes me how Pitt gets so many individual awards yet the season records are mostly mediocre. Should a Pitt player get the defensive player of the year award with an 8 – 4 record and the #19 defense?

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  11. Maybe this has come up before in which case sorry for being redundant but how come Pitt Athletics doesn’t have a close relationship with Dick’s Sporting Goods (HQ Coroapolis)? Early on they moved from western NY to the Pittsburgh area. It seems like it should be pursued especially in the new NIL era. Am I missing something?

    H2P!!! TGFV. GMS

    Liked by 1 person

    2. The problem is with Dicks. Not Pitt. I worked with them in the printing bus for years. While their HQ is in PGH, few Burghers are in any management positions. Dicks goes out of their way NOT to do business with any local sports teams as they’re afraid of offending out of town sports franchises and businesses
      Really nice folks but purposely insulated from getting involved with anything Pittsburgh!

      And of course PA politicians could care less they are so thrilled to have the tax revenues.

      Liked by 1 person

    1. I think that makes three portal entries thus far, unless I am missing others. Portal officially opens Monday.

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  14. let them all leave because for reasons completely unknown to me something is going on that we have been shielded from by the athletic department and the weak Pittsburgh press corps. I would not be surprised if 3 or 4 more fly the coop giving us the lowest ranked recruiting class since the days of Fraud Graham. NIL offers can not be the only reason. Partridge is rumored to be leaving for greener pastures and I am sure a much better paycheck.

    Whoopee we signed a walk-on kicker and for all that I know he may be OK, however, we need a warm body who is a bona fide punter…the young man is being praised for his field goals and kick offs>>not for his punting.

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    2. These guys leaving aren’t getting great NIL deals. I bet most won’t make more than a grand from any deal. They’re just not all that highly coveted players.

      It’s not money that’s making them leave.

      Look at promises broken
      Look at coaching staff changes

      The NIL is really a recruiting and retention tool for the elites. No business wants a three star bench warmer with zero prospects of a pro career as the face on their box of perogies.

      Liked by 1 person

  15. Congrats to Calijah Kancey, it’s been our pleasure watching you create mayhem in the opposing backfields of our opponents. Your motor (i.e., motivation) is remarkable and comparable to our last defensive PoY, Aaron Donald.

    I wonder if that motor has something to do with the way in which you and Aaron were underappreciated by the “know-it-alls” attaching stars to 18-year-olds in high school. You can measure the man but not the heart that drives his motivation.

    Congrats also to the Pitt recruiting staff for identifying players like Aaron and Calijah and the character, talent, and perseverance that makes them the great players that they are.

    Liked by 5 people

  18. Pulled this from PSN regarding the PWO kicker offer & commitment –

    “Sauls is Pitt’s lone scholarship kicker, and with Sam Scarton walking on Senior Day signifying a potentially uncertain future, Carpenter joins a room that includes Caleb Junko — who has also handled punts this season.“

    Comment: appears Scarton does not have a scholarship, walked with the seniors and is probably heading to the portal. I hear UNC is looking for a FG kicker…

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    1. UNC kicker missed 2 short field goals which lost the last game for them… hope Scarton comes down south…. Wonder when Blue Mountain hits the road.. has Penn State in his backyard…teaming up with Drake Maye would give his career a much needed boost…..

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  20. If we had some real sports reporters in this town, they would shelve the puff pieces and find out what is going on in the Athletics Dept. There must be more to the total collapse of the recruiting class than is publicly known.

    Liked by 3 people

  21. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that this rash of decommits is happening all over the country. Unless you follow the day to day blurbs on another team, you probably wouldn’t know about it. I recently read an article about a defensive end committed to Michigan who switched to Miami. Only read about it because it made a national news source. The writer was astonished that a high schooler would leave a national title contender for a 5-7 team.

    But these are 17-18 year old kids surrounded by a slew of “advisors” whose opinions are no more informed than you or I. Maybe it is that as their senior seasons wind down, their more recent stats have generated new offers, including from the school they really wanted all along. I’m not ready to assume there is some whispered catastrophic situation with the Pitt coaching staff that all these high school kids have heard about but we have been left in the dark.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. A very depressing article….recruiting ??? nah, hold an auction to HIRE players for a year or two before they move on. College football is broken and I will start paying more attention to the have nots (The Ivies) where football is still a game although the talent level is low in almost all cases. No NIL for players at Cornell, Dartmouth, Penn etc.

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      1. IMO, it be a good thing for the “house of cards” to crumble…..I want pure college ball…you know what I mean…from the characters who are on teams who can’t do the academics (real academics) to the millions/billions spread across this “special population” People have lost their collective minds.
        College prepared me ,professionally, to take my my place in society to be able to care of myself/family and to make a positive contribution to society. No scholarship money, no loans, and obviously no NIL and no transfer portal as I was given ONE opportunity to go to school, complete the process and get to work..I worked my way through school like so many others…I really don’t care how the chips fall…I would be just as happy playing all the military schools, JMU,WVU, Orangeman, Buffalo, Cincy, Marshall ect…

        Liked by 7 people

      2. But talent levels are all relative. If every player on the field runs two-tenths of a second slower in the 40 than the comparable positions at Clemson, you still have the same exciting plays, they just occur a tad slower.

        Go Pitt.

        Liked by 3 people

  23. If we lose 3-4 more commits, will you think differently? I would like to find a website that tracks decommits from P5 programs. I know that we are not alone in losing commits, but in our present situation facing a difficult schedule and having extremely talented players headed toward Sunday paychecks our outlook for future success is somewhat negative.

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      1. Thanks. We lead the ACC with 7 saying see ya later. Interesting however, to see that PSUX is also losing 7 players (mostly 4****). College football is completely broken.

        Liked by 2 people

  27. Lady Panthers lost to Illini last night…not a surprise because Illinois has a very good team.
    We have some talent, but no height and I defer to Dan when it comes to coaching. I suspect that Coach White will be seeking a new position after this season.

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    1. A very bad loss which truly exposes White as a bad recruiter.
      In addition, He has to stop trying to play everyone. He’s a terrific coach but I don’t see more than 3 ACC wins. I’m a huge believer that women should coach women! Let’s go get a good one!

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  29. Illini women’s team has 6 players over 6Ft tall…we have 2. Recruiting has been an issue for Coach White.

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    1. I went to that game. ☹️

      The difference in talent level was wide and obvious. Pitt does suffer from lack of a center, but the main difference was quickness. Illinois moved the ball really well and had open 3s and many layups. We generally had contested shots because their players closed so quickly.

      Still, we shot 45%, which is pretty good for us. But we were out-rebounded 36 to 22. Ouch.

      Coach White has been playing 3 freshmen a surprising number of minutes. Trying to improve on our dreadful shooting percentages from last season, I presume…

      Go Pitt.

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  30. ^^^^ Out of 50 decommits so far Pitt has three of those. Looks like Cincy is taking a hit with their HC leaving.

    On another note:

    Pitt won’t get any recruits via big NIL enticements for a few reasons, one being the donors are already very tight fisted (next to last in ACC in athletic donations almost every year) and certainly won’t pony up big $$ for HS recruits or portal transfers.

    Secondly, at last look there were more PSU alumni in the Tri-state area than Pitt alumni. What business in their right mind is going to antagonize a majority of potential customers by throwing money at their rival FB program & players?? None.

    Well see the micro-level player endorsements like “The Big Kedon” hamburger and Pickett endorsing the local Oaklander Hotel.

    Face the facts here; outside of diehard Pitt fans & Pitt itself no one really cares about Pitt football, especially when a poll on the interest of sports in the area put Pitt 5th behind Steelers, Pens, Pirates, Penn State…then Pitt.

    Liked by 5 people

    1. The report you are looking at is only for players decommitting since 11/16/2022. As I said when I replied to isnore99 comment (at 9:35am), you have to look at individual teams to see the true scale of decommits.

      So, the NIL backing companies backing Alabama have no problem antagonizing Auburn fans. Or South Carolina and Clemson. Or Florida, FSU, Miami, UCF and the list goes on. It has nothing to do with PSU or WVU fans. It’s because Pitt is a PRO town.

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  32. To add to BigB’s hankering for the old days:

    If you check Pitt’s football roster, there are now 44 staff positions listed. 44! This includes the coaches, grad assistants, trainers, video folks, etc., etc. etc. Makes me wonder how many a place like Alabama has, but I’m too lazy to look it up (and they probably don’t list them all anyway…).

    With all these employees, I guess the Pitt football program is good for the Pittsburgh economy…. 😊

    Go Pitt.

    Liked by 1 person

  33. Maybe we have entered an era where teams like Pitt, who can’t land and hold on to the 4 and 5 star high school recruits, are better off with known commodities from the transfer portal. Not so much the elite team bench warmers looking for an opportunity to see the playing field (they are still a crap shoot) but the MAC team proven good player looking to move up in competition or the proven starter who gets surpassed by another after sitting out with an injury. If you lose a few commitments, use those scholarships on TP players rather than searching for diamonds in a picked over field of rough at the high school level.

    Liked by 3 people

    1. I agree Farmers, scouting for the over looked good players at the smaller conferences should be the past path for Pitt going forward. And since Narduzzi likes to play the senior citizens on his roster Pitt should be able to find some of the same at the smaller schools.

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    1. At 6-3 and 235# as a Soph., wonder if he just couldn’t put on the weight to play DE?

      His size is like the DEs we had when Walt was here…

      Go Pitt.

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  35. Well then you need to give fans a reason to give. Tight fisted to me means a fan doesn’t want their good money chasing a mediocre product. That’s smart practice.

    Again, only elite players receive big time deals. NIL is not the reason why Pitt can’t recruit or retain non elite players. I don’t think two and three stars require any money. That’s who Pitt recruits.

    Pitt does have a problem or future one in keeping their best talent from being poached. That’s where booster club monies should go.

    Players will continue to select a school based on other factors that override money unless it’s money brought in on a brinks truck.

    Can you tell me that Pitt has a great game day atmosphere for recruits and players

    Can you tell me that Pitt runs a modern college offense system

    Can you tell me that Pitt is ever in the playoff discussion or even will be in 2024 when it becomes 12 teams

    Can you tell me that narduzzi and his staff are good at recruiting and know how to sell Pitt and close the deal

    Pitt has a problem with recruiting. Always since Wanny. We all know the wpial isn’t what it used to be. But there’s still plenty of talent in the quad state region and a well established pipeline to Florida since the Walt Harris days.

    So it’s not our job to give Pitt the answers and provide solutions. But the problem can be largely fixed over a reasonable time period. However I only see it getting worse despite decent success in the acc, still known as a b-ball conference.

    It’s not all money guys and gals. It goes far deeper and broader than that. Money is the tip of the iceberg.

    Focus on what you can control and position yourself to be in control. That’s my two cents. Anything more will be a consulting fee.

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  36. It seems that some of the guys are leaving because they will never see the field if they stay.
    That is not a bad thing.

    How Pitt reacts to losing this year’s class will not be realized for a year or two. All of this can be overcome but it is a major concern that Narduzzi’s success has been based on recruiting 3 star D-linemen and having Partridge coach them up. Pitt led the country in sacks this year after a slow start. This applies to other positions as well. If players are no longer patient enough to wait their turn or concerned that portal guys will push them back on the bench we have a new paradigm. Another hurdle to overcome

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  37. OT and probably only of interest to ErieExpress — I occasionally get e-mails from the Pitt baseball team about what’s going on. The last one made me think just how much things have changed since I played… It’s about team conditioning – something we just did pretty much on our own in my day. Here’s what they do now:

    “2022 Omaha Challenge: Each year our team does a multiple day test of strength, skill, technique and mental toughness as our last competitive team event of the semester. We split up the roster into four teams, and let the guys compete individually and as a team. At the end of the challenge we crown an individual and team winner. As much as these tests challenge the student athletes physically, we find mental toughness is the difference maker and shows who can continue to push themselves when their body is physically tired. Some of the exercises that were apart of this challenge were a pull up bar hang, max distance on an assault bike, tire flips, sled pushes, farmers carry, among other things.”

    Photos and video on Twitter at @Pitt_BASE. (I wonder if I could have lifted that tire!)

    Go Pitt.

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  38. No worries about kids that got no PT hitting the portal. There are going to be hundreds of them from all over the country. The trick is replacing them with another transfer kid with the same potential.

    I think the staff is doing pretty good with portal evaluations.

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    1. Pitt lost a ton of kids last year to the portal and most were replaced with better players. I’m not really accounting for Addison. Pitt lost him to $$$. I think Narduzzi will find some contributors.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. NRS…I’m thinking about switching band-wagons after suffering through 9.5 games of Slovis….how would you like to be a back-up QB on a Duzz coach team….but I bet he gave Nick a few snaps at the end of the blow-out Miami game as a small toked of his appreciation for the work, effort and loyalty that Nick showed to the Nard-dog..the BigGuy

        Liked by 2 people

  41. This formally broke but everyone saw it coming.

    The chances that Pitt is one of the twelve is low. Not impossible but very low right at the present and foreseeable future. Now that can be fixed or at least the odds improved but it will take rolling up the sleeves and creativity. Not two of Pitts strong suits.

    I really don’t see this new playoff system lasting for more than five years. This expanded playoff will only hasten the formation of a super league of 32. Pitt had best be strategizing and planning on how to get in. Right now they stand on the outside looking in.

    What any conference would like to see is a strong commitment to football and the potential for expanding the TV audience.

    https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/01/sport/college-football-playoff-expansion/index.html

    What is Pitt doing to commit to football excellence?
    What is Pitt doing to grow and nurture the fanbase?
    What is Pitt doing to farm a sustainable donor base?

    And if the BOT would never go for it, then restructure the BOT by going private.

    My birdies are singing that the next Chancellor will be a business savvy person. Not some career bureaucrat. She’s probably already run the ROI on the new MPC.

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    1. Unfortunately, a 12-team playoff should work well for PSU.

      They can lose to OSU and Mich and still get in…

      Go Pitt.

      Like

  42. Pitt’s average home volleyball attendance was 1,726 this season. That is a new record. There is lots of room for improvement as the new arena will seat 3,000.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Again, best way to improve attendance with students is bribery. Just like tonight’s soccer match at home for a chance to go to the College Cup, soccers Final 4.

      For Olympic events, reward students with certain credits based on the sport, day and opponent. Call it dynamic crediting.

      A student shows up on a school night to see ladies soccer against a non acc school, student receives 30 credits. Students school card is either swiped or scanned or it can be a downloadable app. Easy technology.

      If that game was against an acc school, maybe only 20 credits. All depends on the demand and need.

      For tonight’s elite eight match, I’d give the students 100 credits since I’d want a full house. 15-20 bucks may just convince some kids to show.

      Students can then use these credits for meals around campus with various vendors and sponsors, use it to buy merchandise, other school supplies, etc

      30 credits might be worth the equivalent of five dollars. Keep banking the credits until they accumulate a set amount, say 100 credits or about 15 dollars, and then you can cash out.

      Forces a student to attend several games of their choosing before redemption.

      Bank then starts reaccumulating.

      At some point, students actually will like the experience and you won’t need to bribe them. Maybe just free fantas once inside.

      Liked by 1 person

      2. I don’t know about the soccer game tomorrow afternoon, but I understand that admission to the WVB Tourney at the Pete this weekend is free to students.

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  43. So, we are playing Wofford in 2023 and their head coach will be former Pitt OC Shawn Watson.

    Josh Conklin left Pitt to take the Wofford job. He later hired Shawn Watson as OC. When Conklin couldn’t win and stepped down or was canned, Watson took over during last season.

    The Pitt connections are just weird…

    Go Pitt.

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    1. Thinking he’ll go to Syracuse and reunite with the OC?

      Pitt might be looking into the portal if Slovis leaves. Jurkovec reuniting with Cig makes sense. A senior, so Nate Yarnell gets one more year of development.

      Former Panther Wendell Davis entered the portal again. Two total tackles at Northwestern this season. I remember the sky falling on here when he left the team after the Miami game. He got yelled out for blowing a gap on a Miami TD run and left.

      Liked by 1 person

    1. People are saying Pitt cannot play in that game due to the interference with the academic calendar. I wouldn’t mind it. Better chance for nine wins and the players get the rest of the year off.

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  50. Now that Slovis has been “coached up” he’s a hot commodity for poachers.
    Or does he just want another change of scenery?

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    1. Of course the stories coming out now that Slovis isn’t too well liked by teammates, etc. Some are pointing to an interview this season where he basically named just one teammate when the topic was about his transition to Pittsburgh, his teammates, etc.

      I can see him not liking it being an Arizona kid. Whatever he decides the coaches need to fill the QB room. Jurkovec for one year makes the most sense. He just needs to get healthy and work on his mechanics.

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    1. Well Flowers just announced for the NFL so BC’s best is leaving. A lot depends on what the coaches think of Yarnell either way, but Pitt needs a QB that will play multiple years.

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        1. Terrible for our fans to travel out there. Need a fresh bowl game after 3-0 to OSU and the Stanford loss. Forgettable.

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          1. If you are referencing losses, we pretty much can’t go anywhere, Navy, Northwestern etc.
            Sun has best chance of being warm, and a PAC team, strongest adversary.

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  54. The big question is who plays/doesn’t play in the bowl game.
    Izzy, Kancy, Haba,Dennis,Pitt needs a win. Nine so much better than eight.

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    1. At least the team dropped that farce of “We not me” this season. That was ridiculous.

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      1. They actually did not drop that line – Duzz used it in a recent post game presser or two.

        Players have also…

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    1. I can’t stay neutral in this situation being a Pine-Richland grad. If Phil wants to come here, embrace him with open arms Nard. Slovis seems like a really nice guy, but he only had two good games. If he wants to go to the draft, let him go!

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    1. losing the monster TE #0 might have something to do with the decline too, what was he like 6’8″ or something?

      I swear I watched a couple of UVA games early and they had a receiver that looked like he didn’t care if he caught the ball or not, seriously odd looking interactions between the WR and Armstrong on and after a couple of plays

      Like

    2. Let Duke play Oregon State.

      Pitt v UCLA is pretty intriguing, but Cancey is officially out and likely Izzy too. Lose that bowl game due to a lack of good players and it is just more negativity on here with Narduzzi’s 1-5 bowl record.

      Now these Slovis to Missouri rumors and he might be gone after his last final exam. Not ideal to fly all the way out there to get beat badly.

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  61. True story–about 5 years ago I was at a Panera Restaurant in York wearing a Pitt sweatshirt and a voice called out asking did you go to Pitt? Well, in the course of conversation with a very nice tall guy I discovered that he was Jurkovec’s Dad. He was in York with his daughter for an athletic tournament. I asked him about Pittas as a destination and he was VERY noncommittal, so I bluntly said that I was hoping he would not play for the Nitters and the smile from his father was my answer…no way was he going to Happy Valley. I do not know Jurkovec’s religious background, however, I have been told that he comes from a family well-grounded in the Catholic faith…Notre Dame was perfect for him and after things failed to work out BC was a solid Jesuit choice. Jurkovec as we all know has a tremendous natural ability that has been hindered by a series of injuries, I have no idea why he didn’t play at South Bend, but in Chestnut Hill, he was surrounded by a team that was subpar, and not the best possible situation for him with an OC who was unable to bring out all his talents.

    If Jurkovec can recover from his injuries I believe that returning home to the 412 would be a good thing for him, but the obvious question is how would things work out with Cignetti who is less than creative in handling QB’s Cignetti will not be fired!!

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  63. Pitt and UCLA in the Sun bowl would be a battle of the “scripts”. I would love to see what Pitt’s D does against UCLA’s scrambling/running QB (DTR). If Dennis, Haba, and Kancey sit out I fear it would not be a good way to end the season, but if they decide to play would be a great match-up.

    A transfer QB learning a new system doesn’t seem to be a good idea at this point. If Slow-vis leaves (which I consider a marginal loss) either Jurkovec or Yarnell would be the best choice since each at least understands the Cig70’s offense. Although handing off 2/3 of the time doesn’t sound all that hard to understand.

    LoneStar – I love your passion and sometimes your ideas, however until Pitt can overcome what almost every Pro city-based college team has to overcome (UCLA, Miami, Pittsburgh, Northwestern, Rutgers, Temple, etc.) attendance and game day atmosphere will always suffer.
    I was at the last Pitt home game, an important win against Duke, it was a terrible turnout followed the next day by a relatively full stadium for the Steelers.

    How many football fans can invest two full days of their lives during the holidays to football games. Sadly, like all the other city college teams, the pro sports typically win out.

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    1. The college game and pro game appeals to two different groups. Unfortunately the Pitt group is smaller than the steeler group because the Steelers have won more and they’ve done a much better job marketing the team and growing and nurturing supporters over the years.

      As simple as reducing the capacity of the stadium would do wonders to improve the atmosphere for a Pitt game. It’s a world of difference when your venue is filled at 90 percent capacity instead of 50-60 percent…based on real fans in the seats and not tickets sold.

      Tarp certain sections of the upper deck. Force fans down and closer together. There’s no mask police anymore so Pitt can do that. You’ll also notice the stadium becomes louder and there’s more energy.

      And for the fans that overlap, make the Pitt experience a better one than the Steelers. Pitt has a hard time competing against the Steelers because many yinzers would rather watch bad steeler football around drunk idiots who start fights and cuss like sailors.

      I’ve never had a bad experience at a Pitt game except for the outcome. But yes I’d prefer a smaller more intimate stadium with a connection to campus for an even better and more memorable experience. And I don’t worry about parking or transportation. Todays Oakland is not tomorrows Oakland. And many venues in many sports transport fans in via rail lines and shuttles from remote lot parking areas. And don’t brush off the gondola 🚠 concept for moving people.

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        1. Many venues do it and it’s well done. Granted harder to pull off in a 100k stadium. Blue tarp areas with signage would look far better than bright yellow seats.

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      2. I agree tomorrow’s Oakland will be different but sadly it will be because the tax-exempt juggernaut that is UPMC will take more and more of the land for it’s own use and squeeze the college even more than it has already.

        We have identified the enemy and it is us. I appreciate you don’t worry about parking and transportation, but if you attended 6-7 games a year you might think a bit differently.

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  66. Interesting that a major reason WVU fired their AD was his thoughts on the transfer portal.
    “When speaking to Lyons on his way out, Gee brought up conversations about the transfer portal and NIL. Lyons said he believed the portal was the responsibility of the coaches, while Gee said the athletic department needed to be “more aggressive” in all categories.”
    Gee is correct. Why would an AD tell his boss such a thing? The portal is huge now. An AD has to support their coach anyway they can. Mostly $$$. Recruiting visits are going to double now. High school kids plus transfers. Adapt or get crushed.

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    1. I didn’t know Gee was prez there.
      Quite the publicity hound. When he ran tOSU it seemed he was on TV every day.

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  67. Armstrong would never come to Pitt with Cignetti as the OC. Jurkovec might but who knows what his relationship is with Cignetti after playing for him at BC. Slovis leaving makes sense with the Cignetti run focused Offense not his cup of tea IMO.

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    1. I don’t agree since Armstrong is a running QB, who hopes to be a pro. I don’t think he comes to Pitt because of the lack of great receivers not because of Cig.
      A running QB benefits from the running game.

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  68. I would say that the athletic department needs to hire the right people to recruit NIL supporters and this should be seperate from the normal fund raising staff.

    Liked by 1 person

  69. It sounds like there is a major disagreement in college football over how to handle NIL, and colleges who get this wrong are going to suffer for a long time. The big problem is a lack of guidance from the NCAA, so some colleges will take advantage. From the loss of recruits it appears that Pitt still hasn’t figured this out.

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    1. Pitt didn’t lose three star commits or bench roster kids to NIL. May the QB and definitely Addison. That is it.

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  70. I doubt Pitt even recruits those two QBs. It will be the Slovis Cignetti bore fest again next year. Pitt needs an athletic FR or SO QB to go with the skinny spaghetti armed kid.

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  71. NIL is used for those elite high school recruits and transfers. That may only be 40 percent of your team. I’m Pitts case, it’s under ten percent. I think we’re making too big of a deal on NIL. I’m more an advocate of transfer fees like they do in soccer. If usc wanted addison, they would have to pay Pitt for him since Pitt spent the money in developing him. And then they pay Addison on top with NIL.

    I don’t think Pitt would receive any compensation for slow foot Slovis.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I agree there should be compensation when a kid is poached with big bucks. The problem is that it is all under the table so how do you know what a kid is really paid?

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      1. Compensating a school could follow a schedule. Starters are obviously compensated more. Those players in the top of the league in stats are compensated more. Should be relatively easy to do.

        But the player will also get paid monies on top from the poaching school. Then the poacher must decide if the NIL and transfer fee is worth it. I think USC got a bargain with Addison.

        But Pitt did get screwed because they trained and developed Addison and made him in some part the player that he is today.

        I’d sue the ncaa over transfers with no compensation. Schools have rights too. Litigate it to death.

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    1. He’d be a great addition. PSU wants him and can offer way more in NIL to secure him.

      Where’s Tepper with some NIL money for Pitt?

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      1. Tepper has given huge sums of money to Carnegie-Mellon///The Tepper School of Business. I have no idea as to why he seems to shun Pitt.

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  74. I don’t know what Pitt spends annually on recruiting high school students, maybe $1 million? It doesn’t seem like money well spent any longer. Maybe it would be better spent recruiting transfers – seems like that should be permissible in this new era.

    There are many very successful law and accounting firms below the top tier who no longer recruit straight out of college/law school. They let the big firms recruit and train and then pick up seasoned professionals eager to succeed. Perhaps that’s the new model.

    H2P!!! TGFV. GMS.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Recruiting will definitely change, it will now be a combination of freshmen and transfers each year. Peak’s podcast I just posted does a good job of projecting what might happen. It remains to be seen how Narduzzi adjusts to this. You still need to recruit and retain a solid base of players and supplement with the transfers. A team made up of a majority of transfers would need a very soft OOC to get prepared for conference play.

      It is the same challenge for the majority of schools. The football factories will continue to fight over the best of the best who will excell in any system, and poach the best from the rest.

      Liked by 1 person

  75. I wander if NIL kids like Addison are treated differently in the locker room. It is publicly known that Addison got the big bucks to jump Pitt for USC. No doubt many of his team mates at USC are getting NOTHING to sweat the long practices and block for the stars. Maybe they could ask to stay once in a while at Addison’s oceanfront condo.

    I watched Maye on the sidelines at UNC, and he seemed pretty aloof, sitting alone, like a spoiled rich kid with a sports pedigree. I wonder how long he will stay there. Anyway you look at it, college sports are going to self destruct.

    In my opinion, the 12 team play off structure is intended to provide some opportunities for lesser programs to sneak in once in a while. They must think it will act similar to the expanded NCAA basketball tournament that lets smaller program conference winners theoretically compete at the end for a national championship. This will also be a joke if the national rankings dictate who gets in rather than conference winners.

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  76. For $3 million(rumored Addison NIL payout) I couldn’t care less if anyone on the team ever talked to me. It will be interesting to see just where Addison gets drafted at however.—ND starting QB Drew Pynes(8 and 2 record) just entered the transfer portal. That’s somewhat of a head scratcher I would have to say.

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    1. Maybe (I know this is sarcastic) teams don’t have to spend large sums of money recruiting…let the other guygo all out and then pick off transfers after they have one or two years on field experience. We have one and done, two and done, three and done absolutely INSANE! Does the NCAA still exist?

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      2. If a choice, hopefully the Steelers draft that Ohio State receiver who has been out most of this season with the hamstring. He gained over 300 yards in the Rose Bowl last year and would be incredible in the slot. Need the Bears to keep losing as that spot is where he is being projected.

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  77. That 12 team playoff will just spur the creation of a super league. Look at my two cents for the reason.

    Boys and girls, the ncaa is dead.

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  78. Speaking of Addison, I have always wondered whether he will be able to handle the physical abuse of the NFL. Those guys are bigger, stronger, faster and hit harder.
    Otherwise he has all of the tools to be a star.

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  79. Speaking of handling the tougher NFL physicality, Izzy better be careful, as IMO, he’s heading for questions concerning his durability. I doubt that hurts him much in this year’s draft.

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    1. Izzy would be wise to stop trying to punish defenders right before running out of bounds. If it isn’t for a first down, no need to take that punishment. He does it all the time.

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  80. Mack Brown NC head coach said to a source that a “starter” came to him and said 15 schools had contacted him and all were offering money for him to transfer. Anyone want to guess who that NC starter is?—Just goes to show you how out of control the entire recruiting process has become since NIL was introduced. And folks it ain’t going to get any better anytime soon.

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  81. agree with Iek and GC on durability concerns

    imo, Addison will be good in the NFL but I’m guessing he either doesn’t run the 40 or he’s just a mid 4.4 guy but no faster

    no matter, he is extremely shifty and will do well with his quickness but I don’t ever see him a #1, so probably very good like Boyd yet faster but more prone to breakage

    Izzy imo goes very late in the draft, 5th or later and wouldn’t shock me if undrafted because of his potential for injury, hope I’m wrong

    the one thing that will help Izzy is he’s shown good hands although targeted infrequently, not sure if he can develop that shake he will need to not get pounded, his speed(great) and his strength(good) won’t be enough

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      2. quite a bit bigger and likely more durable

        but you’re right on the shake and definitely not the Izzy burst

        will be very interesting to see what Izzy does in the 40, if in the high 4.3s and everything else checks out good at the combine, maybe 4th round

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  85. I imagine certain POVers will have a field day with his last name if a certain former ND / BC QB comes to Pitt…. 🤔

    Go Pitt.

    Liked by 1 person

  87. Saw this on the Lair:

    STAT OF THE DAY:
    In 1970, Pennsylvania had 70,640 high school football players.

    In 2021, Pennsylvania had 25,020 high school football players.

    It’s all Narduzzi’s fault! 😊

    Go Pitt.

    Liked by 3 people

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