Narduzzi looks to fill a significant void

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The players Pitt lost from the 2016 roster were no slouches.

Starters, contributors, all-conference players, pro prospects. They were around a long time, some dating back to the Todd Graham days, and they had names that became synonymous with the core of the team:

Bisnowaty. Johnson. Peterman. Conner. Price. Orndoff. Galambos. Caprara. Mitchell. Webb. And more.

It’s no surprise that Pitt’s captains last season were culled from that group, and it’s not a stretch to connect the Panthers’ success in the last two years with the leadership those players provided. That’s why Pat Narduzzi pointed to the absence of those players before he talked about the players who are returning when previewing spring camp on Wednesday.

“I think we’re looking for new leaders,” Narduzzi said. “One of the things that we come into spring ball looking for is, who are those new guys, those new leaders that are going to continue to lead your program?”

The answers aren’t easy to find. As Narduzzi pointed out, the 2017 roster projects to have just 11 scholarship seniors, well below the 18 the team had in 2016 (19 if you include Conner). And Narduzzi didn’t have to look too far during his Wednesday press conference to be reminded of those absences; the front row of the stadium seating in front of him was reserved for seniors during team meetings.

Nate Peterman’s seat. Adam Bisnowaty’s seat. Reggie Mitchell’s seat. Narduzzi remembered them all, and he knows those seats are now empty.

“Those are guys you miss,” he said. “Now we have new guys moving into those seats. The leadership that we had last year was pretty strong; that will probably be the biggest role that you have to fill with those guys.”

Of course, Peterman and Bisnowaty and Dorian Johnson and the rest played significant roles on the field and the coaches will need options to replace those contributions. But the off-field impact is nearly as important, and that’s what the coaches are searching for. Of those 11 scholarship seniors, six are returning starters: receiver Jester Weah, center Alex Officer, defensive end Rori Blair, defensive tackle Jeremiah Taleni, cornerback Avonte Maddox and punter Ryan Winslow.

A few more of the seniors will likely move into starting roles - like quarterback Max Browne, offensive lineman Jaryd Jones-Smith and linebacker Quintin Wirginis - but how they adapt to and embrace the leadership roles will be a focal point for the coaches, who have been watching the players through the offseason conditioning program.

One player, in particular, showed something in those workouts.

“I’ll mention Jeremiah Taleni: he’s just come so far, it’s unbelievable,” Narduzzi said. “The kid’s really become a leader. I’m watching him in the winter workouts coach up the young guys. That’s when you see it. I’m not saying he’s a captain; we’ll find out in August or September. But right now you look at him like, what happened to you? He’s made some major strides in that.”

Narduzzi said two other key positions should lend themselves to leadership roles.

“I always look at your quarterback and your middle linebacker as leaders because they’re really talking every play to your football team. Obviously with Nathan Peterman gone, you lost a major leader there. With Matt Galambos gone…we’ll miss Matt. He was a major leader; he was a guy that led our defense. Those are two major guys and voices that our players are used to hearing every day. So those are some voids that we’re looking for.”

And so Narduzzi and his assistants will continue that search process this spring. The players voted on a leadership council at the start of the spring semester and will vote again during spring camp before choosing captains in August or September. Until then, Narduzzi and company are keeping their eyes open.

“We have some leaders that have shown through but it’s still early in the process. We don’t have to find captains or anything until the fall and it’s something we’re developing.”