Countdown to spring camp: Three questions on the RBs

The Pitt football team is gearing up for spring practice, which is set to begin on March 15th. The Panthers are coming off of a 9-4 season in 2022, and the journey towards the start of the 2023 campaign starts with spring ball.

Pitt will have a new starting tailback in the 2023 season. Israel Abanikanda opted to leave school a year early after a superb 2022 campaign. Abanikanda rushed for 1,431 yards and 20 touchdowns and was a first-team All-ACC pick and second team All-American.

In addition to Abanikanda, Vincent Davis is also moving on and will be using his final year of eligibility at UNLV. Davis started 16 games in his four year career with the Panthers and totaled 1,813 rushing yards.

Despite losing two veterans like that, Pitt should have a good idea of what they have at running back. Rodney Hammond has over 200 carries in his career. C’Bo Flemister is another veteran back for a final season, and even Daniel Carter has some game experience if needed.

We saw last year Pitt take a more concerted effort to run the football, and with a player like Abanikanda, it made sense to get him the ball as much as possible. Can Pitt replicate that strategy in 2023? That’s one of the bigger questions we will be looking to find out as spring ball gets under way.

Is Rodney Hammond ready to be the featured back?

Rodney Hammond only has started two games in his first two years with Pitt, but there have been plenty of times where he has been the featured back for this offense. In 2023, he will have that spotlight full-time as he is expected to step into starting role left by Israel Abanikanda.

In fact, there were two games in 2022 where Abanikanda did not suit up and Hammond showed what he could do with a bigger workload. He rushed for 124 yards and a one touchdown in a win over Syracuse, and produced 93 yards and two scores in the Sun Bowl victory over UCLA. In addition to those performances, he had the hot hand in the season opener against West Virginia, where he totaled 129 yards of offense and two touchdowns.

Hammond was also a pivotal player in Pitt’s ACC Championship run as a true freshman in 2021. His 66 yards in Pitt’s win over Clemson in the second half really showed he could be a workhorse type of running back, despite his smaller stature.

All of those moments in his first two years are leading up to this season and he will get the chance to be the No. 1 back for a full year. Hammond has been pretty dependable in his career. Despite an ankle injury which required surgery in week one of the season, he returned and played in the final seven games of the year and led the team in rushing twice down the stretch.

Hammond does not have the big play potential that Abanikanda brought to the offense last year, but he has been consistent at getting the yards in front of him. He can pop an occasional splash play, but obviously heading into year three and a starting role, Pitt will need that element from him more.

It is still very uncertain at how the offense will look in 2023 after losing Abanikanda and 1,000 yard receiver Jared Wayne. The Panthers need to find and develop playmakers as the team ushers in a new starting quarterback this season. Hammond has shown he can be good player, but the question heading into 2023 is if he can do it for a full season.

Can Derrick Davis make an impact this season?

Pitt has a couple of experienced backs like C’Bo Flemister and Daniel Carter who can take carries to spell Hammond. Those two are sort of known commodities and are capable players, but the intriguing thing about the running back room, especially heading into spring ball, is really about the newcomers.

Derrick Davis is probably the most unique transfer Pitt brought in this offseason. Of course it is well documented that Davis was once a four-star recruit from nearby Gateway High School. He considered Pitt, but found his way at LSU, but after two years he is returning home.

Pitt has a plenty of experience at bringing back players that spurned them initially on the recruiting trail. Davis, along with Phil Jurkovec and Donovan McMillon are three such cases coming into the program all at once this year. Davis is a little different however because he is coming here to play a new position.

Davis was a two-way standout in high school, but was recruited mostly to play defense. He will be coming to Pitt to play running back and see if he can regain that form from his high school days. Davis did play a little running back for LSU this season, but six carries in the team’s win over Purdue in the Citrus Bowl doesn’t give much of a sample size.

He will be one of the main attractions to watch in spring for sure, just to see how he looks and moves around as an offensive player. Davis is a very sturdy athlete at 6’0” and 210 pounds, which is what LSU listed him at this past season, but he already has seemingly taken on more weight and has looked to have bulked up for the position switch.

I think Pitt can have a solid ground attack fronted by Hammond, but as we have seen in recent years, it takes 3-4 running backs to get through a college football season. It is a demanding position. Pitt needs to find a third option behind Hammond and Flemister, and all the eyes will be on Davis the entire offseason to see if he can take on that role.

Can TJ Harvison get playing time as a true freshman?

TJ Harvison is one of the true freshmen who enrolled early in January, and spring ball will be the first time we get to see what he can do. Enrolling early has been a benefit to some players over the years at Pitt and we’ve seen it happen more and more. In some cases, like Jordan Addison, it has been a huge boost to a big freshman season.

Harvison was a pretty solid recruiting win late in the cycle for Pitt. He was a three-star recruit and held offers from the likes of Michigan State, Kansas, Boston College, Colorado, Kentucky, Ole Miss, and Virginia.

Harvison met with the media in January and seems to be taking a patient approach. He is not trying to overtake the room, but rather be a sponge from the older players.

“I feel like if I keep learning the playbook and doing what I need to be doing, then my time will come and if it’s not this season, then for sure next season,” he said.

Harvison may not see the field much at all this season, but then again Pitt may need him to play. Pitt will play multiple running backs this season and he’s certainly behind most of the older guys for now, but injuries can occur. You really never know how far your depth will be tested in a season, but running back does seem like a spot where it can happen more regularly.

Harvison was a state champion in Georgia. He rushed for over 2,000 yards as a senior and was a team leader. The freshman is hoping to bring a similar approach in college.

“Just coming here and trying to be on the same page and learn from some of those older guys first until it’s my turn and when it is my turn, just be that leader I was from my high school team to help the winning keep going,” Harvison said back in January.

Spring ball is not the most exciting brand of football, because many of the starters are not going to take too many unnecessary hits. Spring is simply a bigger stage for younger players and freshman. Harvison is certainly going to be a freshman to watch in the next couple of weeks, and perhaps he can make a name for himself heading into fall camp.