What has Pitt offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti seen from Phil Jurkovec and the rest of Pitt's offense? He broke it down for the media on Tuesday, and here's everything he had to say.

How would you compare what you saw from Phil when you coached him at Boston College and what you see from him now?
Cignetti: When you go back to 2020, he was just learning the offense. He was getting another opportunity to be the starting quarterback. So think about going through 2020, 2021 and he even played last season and now all the reps he got this spring and fall camp, you can just see the experience in the system, the accumulation of reps. I am so impressed with him.

First off, we know he’s a great leader, we know he’s tough, he brings that Pittsburgh grit, his teammates have great respect for him. But he’s done such a great job just making the right decisions, you know? He understands the play designs, he understands all three phases, whether it’s the run game, the protection or the passing game, in terms of running the offense. The checks that might happen at the line of scrimmage. And I’ve really been impressed with his accuracy. I mean, he’s playing great football and I’m really proud of him.

How soon after you knew your starting quarterback was going to leave did you go to Pat and say, ‘Let’s look at Phil?’
Cignetti: Well, we were actually bringing in Phil before Kedon left. We wanted Kedon to compete with Phil, and obviously he didn’t want to. You know, I love the quarterback room. Christian is doing a great job; I love where he is. He is very talented. He is getting better every day. He has three years of eligibility, which is so exciting for the program. And Nate Yarnell is in the same situation. Nate won a football game for us last year, he’s had a really good offseason and camp and he’s improving every day. The quarterback room, I’m so pleased with it, and you can see we have a young freshman in Ty that - his upside is really nice to have and he’s only going to get better.

You’ve had a couple weeks to see this crop of freshman receivers in camp; have any of them kind of set themselves apart from the pack?
Cignetti: I could talk about all of them. First off, the recruiting staff and the coaches did a great job recruiting and evaluating these young men. I think you can see that Kenny Johnson is a special, special wide receiver and person. You look at the scrimmage the other day, he’s very explosive, he’s fast, he’s a big-time playmaker. Zion Fowler has unbelievable ball skills. He’s probably the closest thing I’ve been around since I was with Mohamed Sanu at Rutgers, for college football. He’s competitive. He’s smart.

When you take a look at the other young guys, unfortunately they’ve had some injuries, but Lamar and Izzy Polk have been outstanding for us. They had a great offseason, great summer. So when you look at those four guys, man, I think we did a great job evaluating them, I think Coach Underwood’s doing a great job developing them and they’re getting better every day out here.

What’s Bub like as a leader?
Cignetti: I think you just saw it in your interview. I was so proud watching him. He’s positive, he brings great energy out there on the field. We saw it right away in the spring: he was coaching the perimeter. So what’s that mean? Not only does he have leadership, but he has knowledge. He understands the system, not only what to do but how to do it. The fundamentals and techniques. Bub’s a leader. I love Bub, man. I’m looking forward to seeing his great season.

I’m sure last year you could see the physical skills he has, but how much has he put together the consistency and the details?
Cignetti: You know, it all started in the spring. He had a great spring. Really, the bowl game. He had a great bowl game, great bowl prep, great spring/summer. I’m very pleased with where he is. You know, Bub’s different: he’s big, he’s strong, he’s explosive. It really shows you how important it is to have time for development. Remember, Bub came in last year - what? In the summer time? He’s been here a full year now and look how he has grown, not only as a player but as a person in Coach Narduzzi’s program here because there’s great culture. And Coach Underwood has done a great job developing him. The skill development part of college football is so important, and I think Bub’s a great example of that.

How would you assess Gavin Bartholomew this camp?
Cignetti: Wow. So impressed. Now look, I’m really impressed with all of our groups, but I think the tight end group and Coach Salem, they’ve probably made the most improvement from where we were to where we are now. Gavin, I am very impressed with. He’s in great shape, he had a great offseason program with Stacc’ and the guys in the Ironworks. He’s lean, he’s fast, his blocking has improved, his route-running has improved and I think you saw the last play of today’s practice, he made a great touchdown catch on the back line, man. I mean, I am very impressed and looking forward to using Gavin this season.

What’s the challenge of switching an offensive identity? We hear a lot about the explosiveness of the passing game and you guys were a ground-and-pound offense last year; what’s the challenge for a coordinator in flipping that identity in a single offseason?
Cignetti: Well, I’ve been blessed. I’ve been around great coaches: the guys I’ve been around, great coordinators, great mentors. And every great coach I’ve been around, they’re going to play to the strengths of their players. You look at us last year, the strength of our offense was the running game. We had a new quarterback, we were developing the perimeter, but we had an offensive line and a backfield that we felt was elite. This year is a little different, because those wide receivers are back, we’ve developed young wide receivers, the tight end group has gotten better, the running backs know the system and we have quarterbacks that not only can play in the pocket, but now they can extend plays. Plus, I mean, you see our guys: they’re 6’5”, they’re 6’6”, and they can sit in that pocket and deal the ball. So when you look at the makeup of our offense, you know, the scheme hasn’t necessarily changed a whole lot, but probably how you call the game is going to.