Pat Narduzzi discussed Jeff Capel, Heather Lyke, Kenny Pickett and more in his post-practice press briefing Thursday. Here’s a rundown of what he said.

Narduzzi: First of all, I hope you guys have a great Easter weekend. We gave the guys off Good Friday and the weekend like we did our first two years; we weren’t able to do that last year with some scheduling problems. So I’m happy that our guys got a little time away here the next few days - not from classes, they still have to go to class.

So Happy Easter to you, and we got a good practice in today. Very energetic and we got some things accomplished. I can’t wait to go back and watch the tape.

What do you think of your new counterpart in the basketball program?
Narduzzi: Jeff seems like a great guy. Obviously, just now getting a chance to know him and hopefully we’ll get a chance to spend some time together in the next few months before he gets really, really busy and I get even busier. But he’s got his work cut out for him and I think we’ve got the right guy for the job, without a doubt. I mean, Heather did a tremendous job of being patient. Sometimes people don’t have the patience to know what’s going on or feel it; everybody’s got different guys throughout the country that they’re going to hire. But she’s a pro and she did a heck of a job at getting, really, the right guy, and I think he’s going to be a great fit for Pitt.

How much can a healthy and successful basketball program make an impact on the football program?
Narduzzi: I think it always helps. I think football, when you’re winning and beating people, it helps basketball, and I think the same thing. When they’re winning and people are hearing “Pitt, Pitt, Pitt” when they put on ESPN when it’s not football season and they’re seeing the University of Pittsburgh winning and beating people in the ACC and playing for - getting in the Tournament and watching Selection Sunday, I think it all matters.

I want him to invite me to the Sweet Sixteen one day and say, ‘Coach, come on, let’s go.’ Say, ‘Let’s cancel practice today and go to the Sweet Sixteen.’ I’m looking forward to that and success on both ends helps everybody.

We talked to Shawn Watson and he had a lot of praise for Kenny Pickett; it almost sounded like he’s exceeded his expectations. How impressed have you been by what you’ve seen out of him?
Narduzzi: Kenny’s done some great things. I’m a defensive guy so, you know…and we’ve got to protect the quarterback. I think it comes down to that. Kenny’s done a nice job; I don’t want to underscore anything he’s done, but I was - the bar is up here, he’s still got a ways to go in my opinion. But he’s a super kid, he’s working his tail off and I think he can be a great quarterback. But you know what? You get measured on game day, and it’s still spring ball. So Coach Watson, he’s a quarterback coach; of course they’re doing good.

To go back to Charles Reeves and Grant Carrigan from Tuesday in terms of them being as big as they are and playing that position - do you want them to stay at that size? Do you think they can realistically do that?
Narduzzi: I think they can. It’s not like you’re looking at some chubby guys out there. We’ll lift their shirts up; they’re just big dudes and they run pretty good. Are they going to race down the field and beat everybody one-on-one? No, but I’ll tell you what, they physically - I can push off of you a little bit and there’s a lot of things you can do with that size in your route if you know how to control your body. They can box people out, big time. I think Coach Capel could use them under the box, too, there.

You said about needing to protect the quarterback; how is that coming along up front?
Narduzzi: I think it’s going good. I think, defensively, it’s challenging. Rashad Weaver’s been just a bear to deal with, trying to protect against his pressure one-on-one and then when we blitz. We had a blitz period today that was a little scary just because of how fast they are on defense right now. They know what they’re doing and it’s not easy to pick them up for an offensive line that’s as young as ours is right now. So it’s a work in progress but we’ll get there because there’s a lot of good coaching going on and I have faith in what we’re doing. There are some things, protection-wise, that you have to pick up when you have six and seven guys coming, so it’s not easy. I think, overall, when I look at it compared to where we were a year ago, we’re right there or better. So I feel good. We’ll be able to protect Kenny.

You said Wheeler’s been having a good camp?
Narduzzi: Wheeler’s been having a great camp. Rashad Weaver’s been having a great camp, but Weaver was the one I think I said. But Wheeler’s been playing really good, too; Central Catholic product, you know those guys are built. Been impressive this spring, so far.