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There’s always an air of uncertainty heading into any season, but Pat Narduzzi is facing a bit more than usual in 2017.
The Pitt head coach will open his third year in that position Saturday against Youngstown State at Heinz Field, and he’ll do it without more than a few key players - a list that includes last season’s leading rusher, leading passer, leading tackler and leader in sacks.
Also the second-leading receiver, the second-leading tackler, the player who was second in tackles for loss and sacks and the team’s third-leading rusher.
All told, Pitt lost nearly half of its rushing and receiving production, 43% of its touchdowns, 60% of its tackles, 58% of its tackles for loss and upwards of 70% of its sacks from last season.
So Narduzzi wasn’t exaggerating when he said during the ACC teleconference Wednesday that he “really can’t wait to see what this 2017 football team really has.”
With all of those losses, he genuinely doesn’t know what he has.
“That’s why I'm looking forward to it,” Narduzzi said. “We did lose great players. Then there's next players to step up - we have a few on the roster.”
Granted, there are some key returning players, like receivers Jester Weah and Quadree Henderson, offensive linemen Brian O’Neil, Alex Officer, Alex Bookser and Jaryd Jones-Smith and defensive backs Avonte Maddox and Jordan Whitehead (who is suspended for the first three games of the season).
But there are also huge question marks like Dewayne Hendrix, the redshirt junior defensive end who came to Pitt as a transfer from Tennessee shortly after Narduzzi was hired. Hendrix sat out 2015 due to NCAA transfer rules and then made his debut in the 2016 opener against Villanova - a debut cut short when he suffered a foot injury in the first quarter of that game.
Now Narduzzi and his staff are once again counting on Hendrix, and this time they’re looking for him to help fill the void left by Ejuan Price, who led Pitt with 23 tackles for loss and 13 sacks last season.
“I think he's an explosive player,” Narduzzi said Wednesday. “I can't wait to watch him play. People said, ‘What's he going to be like?’ I have nothing to compare it to. He played a little bit at Tennessee two years ago. He played in camp for us two years ago. We haven't turned Dewayne Hendrix loose.”
Of course, Hendrix is just one of the candidates to fill some of those big holes left by the offseason departures. Max Browne needs to step into the space left by Nathan Peterman. Qadree Ollison or Darrin Hall or Chawntez Moss or AJ Davis or Todd Sibley needs to step into James Conner’s sizeable shoes. Matt Flanagan and Chris Clark have to replace what Scott Orndoff did. A whole bunch of players on defense have to produce.
And all of it has to come together - or at least start coming together - on Saturday, when the Panthers host the Penguins, who played in the FCS national championship game last season under head coach Bo Pelini.
“There's so many new names you're going to see out there this year,” Narduzzi said. “I think it's going to be offensively, defensively and special teams - something that will be interesting to see how they handle the pressure of a game day, what we're all about.
“We'll find out who we are this weekend.”
