Kenny Johnson making a name for himself early on in his career

The Pitt football team opened its second week of fall training camp on Monday. Like usual, Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi started the day by addressing the media and recapped what happened with the team over the weekend.

Narduzzi was quick to point out that the offense connected on some deep passes and one of the standouts on the receiving end of those long balls was true freshman Kenny Johnson.

Johnson checks in at 6’1” and 195-pounds and is coming off of a prolific high school career at Dallastown High School in York. Johnson won the MVP of the annual Big 33 game in June and fall training camp is his first run with his new team.

It's only the second week of training camp, but Johnson is already making a name for himself among the coaches and his teammates.

“Just paying attention to the details and making sure I’m in the playbook the way that I’m supposed to and getting the extra work,” Johnson told reporters after practice on Monday. “It’s a great thing to be seen and not heard.”

Johnson’s play caught the attention of the head coach for sure, but also the quarterback who threw the pass. Christian Veilleux, who is also in his first year with the program, has been impressed with what Johnson has been able to show in his brief time with the Panthers.

“Kenny Johnson made a great diving catch on a go ball,” he explained. "It’s starting to click with the young guys. Our young receiving corps looks really good and completing a couple of those deep balls.”

The ‘younger guys’ have been a topic of discussion so far in camp, and really, all of the offseason. Pitt has ten scholarship wide receivers on the 2023 roster and six of them have freshmen eligibility. The Panthers have a pair of experienced guys like Bub Means and Konata Mumpfield, but the team is trying to find out who can compliment those two returning starters.

Johnson is one of four true freshmen on the roster, and while he did not enroll early, he seems to be grasping things quickly from film work and applying it to the field of play, like he did with his diving catch over the weekend.

“I had a go route and basically all week we’ve been talking about drive, drive, drive and getting into our drive phase and making sure we dig out of our release and I made sure I restacked,” Johnson recounted of his big catch. “I saw the ball going over and I was like, ‘Shoot, I can’t just run under this one’ and I had to dive. It was still great defense, just better offense.”

Johnson admitted the one thing Pitt wide receivers coach Tiquan Underwood is driving home to him right now is learning the playbook. Generally, most true freshmen have to cross that hurdle mentally before seeing the field. He feels the veterans have been there to work that area of his game out during camp.

“The quarterbacks have been a huge help,” Johnson said of getting extra mental reps. “The older receivers, Bub and Konata, just spending extra time with them has been a huge help.”

The mental reps are key, but so is making plays on the field. He said prior to the start of camp the quarterbacks and receivers were regularly working out three or four times a week.

“We get in whenever we can to be honest,” Johnson said of throwing with the quarterbacks. “It helps me especially, because I can bring it from the classroom to the field, but when you work on it on the field and you go out and run it, it’s natural.”

Johnson is joined by a trio of other true freshmen receivers like Zion Fowler-El, Israel Polk, and Lamar Seymore. The common thought around this quartet is that they have a lot of natural ability.

“I think they are all talented,” Veilleux said of his new teammates. “I mean, Coach Underwood, Coach Cignetti, they did one hell of a job recruiting that class. Great ball skills, speed, and just playmaking ability. I’ve seen all four of them go up and get ball that most guys can’t.”

There is also something to be gained for the young wide receivers going against the Pitt defense in practice. The Panthers have some of the best cornerbacks in the ACC, which has been helpful in getting the freshmen acclimated to what they will face when the games start to count.

"I feel like that’s the best part for them, because not a lot of teams are going to play us as physical as our guys are in practice," Veilleux said of his younger receivers going up against Pitt's veteran corners. "It’s great practice for them to learn how to get off press, how to stack properly on go routes, and how to get off a speed turn. All of that stuff is good, but that room is really talented.”

Johnson said there is a competition there, but it is also helpful learning the ropes with other guys in a similar position. He said he is roommates with Polk and the two have developed a connection.

“We’re getting super close as the practices are going,” Johnson explained. “You get to start to play more football with these guys and get those bonds.”

While everyone is working towards the same goal, Johnson does see the opportunity in front of him. Pitt has the two returning starters and Florida transfer Daejon Reynolds at the top, but there is a whole lot of playing time available after that.

“It’s a mentality thing at the end of the day,” Johnson said of seeing the playing time available. “I know that there’s a lot of young guys in the group and some veterans, so I’m trying to take all I can from those vets and learn from the young guys as well. There’s definitely an edge to it.”