Jordan Addison was nervous when he enrolled at Pitt for the spring semester. Coming out of Tuscarora High School in Maryland as a three-star recruit, he was worried about knowing the playbook and where to line up at first, but those concerns have been put behind him.

“When I first came in I was a little worried, but over time the guys took me in so now I’m a little bit more comfortable," Addison told reporters on Tuesday. "Coming in early helped me with the playbook, so I think everything is going well now.”

Addison has been the talk of the program throughout fall camp. Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi normally tries to keep the expectations for freshman relatively low to not put too much pressure on a young player. For Jordan Addison, he’s done anything but that.

Narduzzi had reveled Addison has been working on the first team, he mentioned he might be as good as Maurice Ffrench already, he could be a leading candidate to be the return man, and oh yea he compared him to Pro-Bowl receiver Antonio Brown one time as well.

The preseason hype has been real, but Addison isn’t letting it get to him.

“I think that’s great,” Addison said of the comparisons. “But you know I just try to stay humble and just focus on myself. I think the comparisons and everything are good, but I just keep working.”

Those initial concerns as a new freshman have gone away quickly for the wide receiver. The NCAA allowed teams to get together in July for a walk-through period to make up for the lost time when spring practice was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The walk through period helped a lot, because I got to focus on the little things, little details where I line at and it just helped me put everything together,” Addison said of that July period.

Now, Addison is ready to make an impact as a freshman. The worries of not knowing where to line up are gone, and now he’s playing with confidence. He’s even developing a practice rivalry with perhaps Pitt’s best and most vocal defensive player, junior safety Paris Ford.

“We definitely got a little something going on at practice,” Addison said of lining up against Ford. “He gives me a couple of plays and I’ll get him a couple of plays.”

He can compete with Ford, but can he talk like him?

“No,” Addison said with a smile. “That’s not in my game.”

The Maryland native is fast approaching his debut that is coming on September 12th with a 4:00 p.m. kickoff at Heinz Field against Austin Peay. The reality for him is starting to set in as the date approaches.

“I’m excited, little bit nervous too but I’m ready to go,” Addison said.