Pitt held its annual spring game on Saturday at Heinz Field as the Gold team defeated the Blue squad by a score of 10-7. The two teams combined for less than 300 yards of offense, as Pitt held out many stars and took a conservative approach to the game. Despite the relaxed atmosphere of the spring game, there were a few things that stood out.
Here are five takeaways from the 2022 Blue-Gold game.
Carter’s World
If there was one player that stood out offensively on Saturday it was Daniel Carter. The Pitt junior running back was named the Ed Conway Award winner ahead of the game, as the team’s most improved player of the spring. He lived up to that billing by rushing for 72 yards and two touchdowns. Carter lined up for both teams on Saturday due to a shortage of backs available. He took advantage of the extra reps and looked solid throughout the game. On both of his touchdowns Carter was able to break multiple tackles and showed a physical style that perhaps Pitt has been missing in the backfield recently. He is listed at 5’10” and 240-pounds and showed off that physical frame throughout the game with plenty of yards of contact. Pitt returns three backs that rushed for over 500 yards a season ago and the competition for caries will be a challenge, but Carter equated himself very well on Saturday. He should have a defined role as a fullback at the very least in 2022, but it looks like he can do more than that.
The quarterbacks played, and that was about it.
Pitt has two quarterbacks currently vying for the starting job and there has been a competition throughout camp between Nick Patti and USC transfer Kedon Slovis. The actual status of the battle has been shielded away from the media and fans, but Saturday was the first look many got to see the two play in a game setting.
Simply put, there was not much to take from either performance. Nick Patti completed a 55-yard pass to Keyonta Mumpfield on his first attempt, and went 3-of-8 for the remainder of the day. He had another long competition to Jared Wayne mixed in there however.
Slovis went 10-of-21 for 64 yards and toss an interception, and really was closed to being picked off again later in the game. The USC transfer did have a likely touchdown that was dropped by Gavin Bartholomew at one point in the first half.
All in all, there was not much to be learned from the performance for either player. The offensive lines were split and jumbled, which led to poor protection and threw off the timing for both players. I still believe Slovis is out ahead of the race and had the better spring overall, but I’m also not expecting Pat Narduzzi to name an official starter after today either.
Sack party
The Pitt defensive line has been among the best in the country for the past three seasons now. Given that they were going up against a pair of offensive lines that were mostly patchwork on Saturday during the spring game, the group dominated just about as anyone could have expected.
On the day Pitt totaled seven sacks with four for the Blue team and three for the Gold. Pitt senior defensive end John Morgan was a menace all afternoon for Gold with two sacks and three quarterback hurries. Of course, sacks were effectively counted as just getting a hand on the quarterback as both Slovis and Patti were in red jerseys meaning they were off limits to live contact.
Either way, the Pitt defensive line feasts on teams in the ACC year after year, so going against Pitt’s offensive line that was split in half and missing three starters total was hardly a surprise. In any event, the group looked impressive and should yet again be a strength of the team, and one of the very best in the country.
The transfers say hello
Kedon Slovis is the most noteworthy transfer on the Pitt roster currently, but the Panthers have a few more new faces that entered the program this offseason, and they also made their presence known on Saturday. On the first play from scrimmage Konata Mumpfield got loose for a 55-yard pass from Patti and showed he may be a capable playmaker alongside Jordan Addison. Mumpfield was a freshman All-American a year ago at Akron and looked fluid in his movements on Saturday. He had apparently caught another deep ball later in the game, but the play was blown dead for a sack, much to the displeasure of Patti, who joked about it in the post game press conference. Either way, he showed off some promise for the first time in front of Pitt fans and Mumpfield looks like another weapon on what is already a very talented offense.
Shayne Simon also stepped up on Saturday. The transfer linebacker from Notre Dame picked off Kedon Slovis as he jumped a route in the flat for a second quarter turnover. Simon is in a competition to earn a starting job at linebacker, but at the very least he should be able to provide meaningful reps for this team right away, whether as a starter or a reserve. He also posted a game-high five solo tackles on Saturday for the Gold team.
What’s Next?
Pitt concluded its spring football without a hitch. Pat Narduzzi said in the postgame that the team not only avoided major injuries on Saturday, but throughout the 15 days of spring football. The college football calendar turns from this point forward for both the players and the coaching staff.
The players will now focus on finishing out the semester and from will mostly workout with one another in team organized drills as they are away from the coaching staff. The quarterbacks and receivers will likely work on passing routes and seven on seven type segments up until the team officially reports back in the summer.
As for the coaching staff, the main focus will now be turned towards recruiting almost exclusively. The Pitt coaches managed to host a number of impressive prospects during the spring, and will continue to do as much through the end of the evaluation period.
From this point forward, you can expect to see the coaches on the road much more now visiting different states and out on the proverbial recruiting trail. Under Narduzzi, the Pitt program likes to operate quite a bit in the month of June. The coaching staff will host official visitors, unofficial visitors, prospect camps, and team camps in one of the busiest months out of the year in the college football calendar. That is what is next on the horizon for Pitt football with fall camp looming for the 2022 season in early August and the renewal of the Backyard Brawl against West Virginia set for September 1st.
