in Pitt Football, Spring Practices 51 Words

Spring Game Thread

If (like me) you are not able to attend the Pitt Spring Game but can watch on the ACCNX (ESPN+) streaming platform this thread is for you. I am also assuming that is on 100.1 FM if you want to just listen.

What do you want to see? Who looks good/bad?

63 thoughts on “Spring Game Thread”

  1. Annie had a comment on Pitt’s WVB second scrimmage. It was held up in WP and I just approved. One of the last 4 comments on prior article (Clemson Production Lost).

    Liked by 1 person

  2. I don’t want this thread to go to far before I thank Richard for his last great, informative article on Clemson. Richard, you can’t be beat. I’m so wonderful you are on our side!

    Liked by 6 people

  9. A big thanks to Wolfe and Fran and the JoeL clan for the tailgate. It was great to see some of the POV celebs – including Commander Reed…

    Go Pitt.

    Liked by 4 people

  10. Can’t wait to hear comments from those who were there. Saw a bit of it on ESPN + on my phone in between golf shots.

    I’m sending off a letter to Heather
    asking for at least one sheet of paper with Pitt players numbers on it for live games at Acrishure….. Since we no longer print programs! For what we all give and pay for tickets it’s the least Pitt can do!

    Liked by 2 people

  11. As for the game – well it was kind of a typical spring game. After a few plays, I was wondering why I had been looking forward to it…

    Some observations:
    —In that initial TD drive, I thought Christian V. looked really good. He has a nice live arm.
    —Phil J. threw a nice deep ball to Bub, but since our WRs rarely high-point the ball, it was broken up. Why do our WRs let the ball come down to chest-level before trying to catch it? Lynn Swann not pleased.
    -In warm-ups, for what they’re worth, CV appeared to have more velocity on his passes than PJ.
    —Carter ran hard and was tough to tackle – same as last year’s spring game…
    -Bartholomew didn’t suit up. Renda may help some but he’s on the thin side for a TE. Looks more like a receiver TE than a blocker TE.
    —We had several passes to the backs – hope that continues…
    —Junko absolutely bombed one punt – the rest of the punts and punters did not impress…
    —The young WRs look like excellent athletes and look like they may be good with some experience…

    How often have we had to sit through a Pitt spring game in a hot, blazing sun…

    Go Pitt.

    Liked by 9 people

  12. I was shocked on the walk-on QB’s TD run at how bad Johnson bit and lost containment. Jimmy Scott, Okunlola, Fitzsimmons and Neal look like the next wave of young defensive linemen.

    Polk and Seymour will be fighting for PT in the fall.

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Cignetti says Gavin Bartholomew was having a great spring prior to his injury. He added that he’s excited about the team’s tight end room.

      Liked by 1 person

  16. I never get concerned about anything that I see on the football field during a spring game. They are actually becoming harder and harder to watch. What I didn’t like seeing and there is plenty of time to rectify are lots of skinny arms on this team.

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  17. Have full faith in Michael Stacchiotti, the current Strength and Conditioning Coach.

    The improvement, especially with the Offensive Line, has been noticeable since he took over for the last guy whose main responsibility was keeping watch over Narduzzi on the sideline and keep him from getting into fights with the Refs.

    Granted, Dave Andrews has since gone to having success with Iowa State and continues to be talked about as one of the best in the business.

    But, in my opinion, it’s not even close. The results the past few years would seem to lend some support.

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  18. Now as for “linebacker” Luke DelGaudio… that ATTEMPTED tackle of Daniel Carter near the Goal Line was pretty WEAK.

    He might need to consider spending some more time in the weight room… or possibly switching back to Receiver.

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  19. Going back to Bart (Gavin Bartholomew ). I’m sure Wlat had good info on Bart “Gavin Bartholomew” being upset and planning on joining the portal, but something obviously changed his mind. Any news on what changed his mind to stay at PITT? $$?

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  20. Speaking of LBs, no one who watched the Spring game had much to say about the linebackers. Did they show up and play? Nothing much in the newspapers or in the post game comments from players or coaches, other than DelGaudio can’t tackle, which is not a very good trait for a linebacker. Is this position becoming a weakness for the defense? They don’t seem to be recruiting many linebackers.

    Liked by 1 person

  21. Watched the Phil J. post-game interview. He talked about how Bub Means “attacks” the ball. Hummm. I look forward to seeing that in the fall…

    Forgot all about Mumpfield, who didn’t play, and I forgot to check out speedster Che…

    Was kind of surprised at the glowing review of some of the young players in the PSN article. I still need to learn their numbers, but sounded encouraging.

    I have been a PJ O’Brien fan for a while. He tends to make mistakes being overly aggressive, but plays with great energy…

    Go Pitt.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. ^ John. pretty sure Che is taking football off this year to concentrate on track? Not positive, and doesn’t sound permanent if true.

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      1. ike – thought I saw somewhere a reference to Che being back to return a kick. If so, I missed it…

        Go Pitt.

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        1. You’re right John. I’m positive Che returned a kick. Caught it near the end the end zone. Ran into the EZ and tried to use his speed. But I believe they called the play dead.

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  22. I had a great time with the tailgaters – thanks all!

    Part of what shows the POV being so popular was my walk back from the Press Gate to Fran’s tailgate is that I got stopped at least ten times by people who know me from the blog.

    I truly think that those connections are less about me than the quality and substance of the blog, it’s readers, commenters and writers…

    I’ll attend more games this fall then in the past two years but it is obvious to me that I have to buckle down and do some studying about our players. I don’t recognize any names on the current roster!

    Liked by 4 people

    1. Reed – we need your take on the QBs! You have been a good QB-performance prognosticator…

      Course we didn’t get to see a whole lot of them yesterday.

      Go Pitt.

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    2. Reed, the blog is great but take my word for it it is your humanity that is the primary connection with those POVers who greet you so enthusiastically.

      Liked by 2 people

  23. Pitt baseball knotted in a 6th inning 1-1 tie. The pitchers for the Panthers just walked in 2 runs with 1 out in the bottom of the sixth.

    Throw a strike and you might get a double play.

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  24. Pitt volleyball beat Kentucky 3-1 today to finish spring ball 3-0. I have no idea if the grad players played. They weren’t in the starting lineup. Juliana Dalton was not on crutches as she walked to the bus ( saw that picture on twitter).

    Liked by 2 people

    1. It appears one of our outside hitters was playing the middle as well per the starting lineup. It may have been Vazquez Gomez if I am reading the lineup correctly. Cam Ennis was dressed and on the court per the photos of the match. I did not see Serena Gray in any of the photos. Saw the photo of Dalton without crutches. Hopefully a good sign.

      Liked by 1 person

  26. One other thing about vb- I did see a man last week on the sidelines who was helping with warmups- perhaps a new volunteer coach? None was announced as far as I can find.

    Liked by 1 person

  27. April 15, 2023​

    Pitt’s 2023 Conway Award Winners Announced

    PITTSBURGH—Pitt head football coach Pat Narduzzi and his staff have selected the 2023 winners of the Ed Conway Award, presented to the most improved players of spring drills.

    Senior tight end Karter Johnson is the offensive honoree, while sophomore defensive end Nahki Johnson is the defensive recipient.

    Karter Johnson (Pickerington, Ohio/Pickerington Central) enters his second season with the Panthers after transferring last year from Butler (Kan.) Community College. During his Pitt debut season, he played in 12 games, making two starts, and totaled six catches for 89 yards (14.8 avg.).

    “Karter has really dedicated himself to becoming an all-around tight end at Pitt,” Narduzzi said. “He made some really great strides this spring and I expect that to continue into his final season. His progress has been so impressive, especially considering he started his college career on the defensive line.”

    Nahki Johnson (Pittsbugh, Pa./West Mifflin) lettered as a redshirt freshman last season, playing in eight games. He totaled four tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and a sack on the year.

    “Nahki really started to flash during our Sun Bowl practices last December,” Narduzzi said. “He continued that momentum this spring and is ready to be a factor on our defensive front. Playing behind veterans Deslin Alexandre and Habakkuk Baldonado the past two years gave him great examples to learn from and he is ready to put that to use this year.”

    The Conway Award has been presented since 1975 in honor of the late Ed Conway, who served as the radio play-by-play voice of Pitt football from 1970-73. A popular sports anchor with WTAE-TV, Conway passed away in 1974.

    Pitt concludes spring drills today at Acrisure Stadum with the 2023 Blue-Gold Game presented by M@C Discount. Start time is 1 p.m. Coverage can be found on ACC Network Extra and NewsRadio KDKA (100.1 FM and 1020 AM).

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  30. I see where Hannah Watson has de-committed from Pitt women’s BB. She was was listed as a 6-4 or 6-5 post player and her height was sorely needed. She has decided to stay in Canada…

    I think that means the team is down to 4 returning players and 2 incoming recruits. (So at this point we can still have one player foul out…. 😊)

    Go Pitt.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Poor Hannah, she realized that she would not be able to get decent poutine in the 412.

      Verdi has an interesting problem….he does not have a team to put on the floor, I have absolutely no expectations of having a halfway decent group of players. We are going to go back to the Stallings days for our Lady Panthers for at least two years…but, I believe that there will be happy days at The Pete for men’s basketball.

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        1. Sorry to say that because of my very bad back and other family issues, I have not been to Pittsburgh for many years. I have noted that many POV’ers use Hemingways almost as a pre/post game clubhouse. You have no idea how much I miss going to Pittsburgh…a truly great town with amazing people….H2P!!

          Liked by 2 people

  31. Pitt could easily lose 3 games this year. Is a 9 win season now considered a disappointment? The expectations are really high, and rely on the performance of new and somewhat untested newcomers. We talk a lot about DE depth, but there is still a lot of inexperience they must rely on.

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    1. Seems to me we have nothing but unproven playmakers on offense and on much of the defense.

      Given that, and since 9 wins is one over Duzzer’s ceiling, I’ll take it.
      🙂

      Go Pitt.

      Liked by 3 people

    2. Pitt could lose a lot more than 3 games in 23. A lot of questionable replacements for some established stars. Replacing Kancey and Dennis on the D are just two on the D that will not be easily replaced IMO.

      Liked by 1 person

    1. I believe wwb is trying to say that Pitt’s spring game is scheduled to be replayed on ACCN at 2:00 pm on Wednesday.

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  34. I’ll be surprised if any UMass transfers that Coach Verdi might bring have an impact on the women’s BB team. Coach Verdi brought up at his presser that his UMass team beat Duquesne by 22.

    Problem is that Pitt beat Duquesne by 16 last season…. The same Pitt team that went 3-15 in the ACC.

    Go Pitt.

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    1. Looking at tape of Leggett in the morning. Beware … Syracuse is building a very good basketball program under new coach Austin. Just got a transfer portal from Auburn starting 2 guard. Mintz staying. More to come tomorrow or Wednesday.

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  38. I should have mentioned that Leggett played on an absolutely terrible URI team that finished near the bottom of the A10. As we all know better teams produce more production from players with ability. 2 more scholies are available.

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  39. My observations from Saturday’s game are in line with Major’s, but I will sprinkle in a few other thoughts.

    Feels like we will be able to run the ball this year. I also am wondering who is going to step up at WR this year. No one I saw on Saturday looked to be the next go-to. Means did OK, but echoing Majors comments about high-pointing.

    Jake Renda – although slightish for a TE, caught balls and ran well. I cannot tell if the reason he was wide open on a couple occasions was missed assignment or he was sneaky.

    Tyler Bentley had one really nice hit on one of the RBs… dropped him.

    I don’t know if Junko was the only punter out there, but if he was… they need to be looking at other folks. Inconsistent punting.

    Hard to really tell too much about the top 2 QBs…both had “sacks” given the rules, but may have gotten balls off in game conditions. Yarnell should be #3 and Dieffenbach needs a couple years of seasoning.

    Im still sunburn from Saturday.

    Great seeing core folks from the Red5A gane – Wolfe, Fran, Major, Annie, Reed, Scooter, Richman, the favorite sons of New Castle – the Lacko brothers. Award for long travel goes to Matt in the Ville, who always seems to make the trek. Solid effort, Matt.

    Im glad I don’t live near the bakery that Wolfe goes to.

    Liked by 4 people

  41. Wish I could have been at the Spring Game – hope to watch it this afternoon. A friend of mine who was at the game said CV looks better than PJ.

    He claims on the 1st drive PJ was going against the 2nd team D and got stuffed. CV then took his unit for a TD against the 1st team D on the next series.

    My friend also mentioned the scoring was confusing, but that the O really only scored 2 TD’s. He mentioned there should be concerns with the offense – not much firepower is what he described.

    The new Spring Game format generated 2 TD’s – 🤔

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    1. When did you retire? Us retirees (or at least me) constantly lose track of what day it is. The replay of the spring game is tomorrow (Wednesday) at 2:00pm.

      Liked by 1 person

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