Narduzzi on recovery, the running backs, linebackers and more

Pat Narduzzi met the media prior to Pitt's practice on Wednesday and talked about the emphasis on recovery, how the running backs have looked and a lot more.

Here's the full rundown of what he said.

Narduzzi: Working into number 8. We had the day off yesterday - a well-needed one. The great thing about our football team is, Chris Hanks, our trainer, said that it was the most guys in recovery that he’s ever seen since he’s been here. So that’s a great thing. We emphasize - you teach and you teach and you teach our guys how to take care of your body, but they’re really trying to do that, so we hope that keeps up because you can take care of yourself out there, but if you don’t really take care of your body, it will eventually run down on you.

So we’re looking forward to our guys going out and competing again today. The thing about our kids right now is, the last two practices - really the last three - is they just go out there and they’re competing with each other. That’s what I love about them: it’s back and forth. Offense wins a period, defense wins a period, offense wins a play, defense comes back and to me, that’s how you get better. If it’s a total domination, one side or the other - in the past, when I first got here, there were some of those days where, as a head coach, you hate it because the offense looks great and the defense looks bad or vice versa. So it’s nice when it goes back and forth because you know you’re getting better and the kids are coming back from adversity.

What happens in recovery? What kind of things do they do?
Narduzzi: Great question. It’s cold tubs, hot tubs, getting rolled out by the trainers, the strength staff, just all of those different things, stretching - all of that stuff where you think it’s your day off and you just want to lay in your bed all day, that doesn’t help you. Just laying down doesn’t help you. So it’s really just taking care of your muscles.

How much evolution have you seen in that area even since you got here seven years ago?
Narduzzi: It seems like every year the kids buy in more and more to understand how important the recovery is. And the people, your strength staff and your trainers are doing a great job taking care of them and they like it, and the next day, they go out and feel better, they go, ‘Okay.’ But it’s hard to get everybody to get into that. It’s like, we had 54 guys - at least 54 guys - after Monday’s practice. But that’s a good thing. It’s just encouraging more and more.

What did the running backs show in the practices with full pads and some real contact?
Narduzzi: Izzy’s had - really, all of them have looked pretty good. Izzy has shown the ability to make the explosive. They’re doing a good job reading where to cut and all of that, but Izzy has popped through there a couple times, which against our defense is hard to do. But he’s got the - once he gets past the linebackers, it’s a race, and not many people are going to win that race against Izzy.

Yesterday, a number of players announced an NIL collective for the team. What are your thoughts on it?
Narduzzi: Yeah, I don’t know much about it. I don’t get involved in it. I’m not supposed to be involved in it. If our guys are smiling, then I’m happy. I want our guys to be happy. Our big collective is Alliance 412; that’s the one I pay a little bit more attention to. Some of these little initiatives - it’s great to line our kids’ pockets in some of those different ways.

It came out on Monday about the coaches’ poll at number 16; what are your thoughts on that? Is that where you’re supposed to be?
Narduzzi: Where we’re supposed to be - we’re supposed to be - like, there shouldn’t be a preseason poll. Take last year’s preseason poll, look at it and go, ‘Okay.’ Look at the before and after. I’ve never done it, but to me, the preseason poll means absolutely nothing. I want to know where we’re going to be late December, early January. That’s the one that matters. True or false?

If our guys are looking at that, good luck to you.

But you like the mention, the recognition?
Narduzzi: Not really. I want the recognition at the end. It doesn’t matter. It’s preseason. That’s like saying you’re a great reporter before you wrote anything or said anything. It’s like, that’s great, you like the recognition, you haven’t done anything. To me, it’s all about ’22. That ranking is based on the 2021 season. That’s what it is. So, thank you Kenny Pickett, thanks Damarri Mathis, all of those guys that played for us last year. Thank you for the preseason ranking. Now we’re going to find out what these guys got.

The other day you mentioned Slovis is expected to be back in full today. Is that still the case?
Narduzzi: Yes sir.

On the matter of the running backs, I don’t want to say, ‘Are you surprised that everybody came back?’ But you have three guys, they all carried the ball a lot, they were all due to come back - in a lot of situations you wouldn’t get all three back. Somebody would look to leave.
Narduzzi: And add one with C’Bo.

Right. Are you a little surprised that you were able to hold onto all of those guys?
Narduzzi: Not really. It’s all about the culture you’ve built and kids are happy here. They like getting coached and they know - you know, someone hasn’t appeared to be ‘the guy.’ When you rotate three guys back there last season and you bring in a fourth, it’s like, we’re looking for somebody to be the guy, to take it over. James Conner, was there many people rotating with him? I don’t think so. He became the guy. I’m waiting for someone to be the guy and then he comes off the field when someone needs a break. So we’re looking still to see who that guy is. Who’s consistent? It comes down to consistency.

Is there someone how didn’t start last year at linebacker or play a lot that is sticking out so far when you guys put on the full pads?
Narduzzi: Good question. Linebackers. Tylar Wiltz has done a nice job. He has shown that he’s a football player. Solomon DeShields, again, is a work-in-progress and is doing a nice job. He’s so much better than he was in the spring. But guys that didn’t play last year - Tylar would be one of them, Nick Lapi is doing a nice job as a walk-on, I’ll mention his name. I’m going to forget someone without the depth chart sitting in front of me. I think I mentioned Aydin Henningham as well already at some point in the last seven or eight days. That’s would be another guy I’d mention who has done a nice job really learning several positions as well.

At the end of the season, you had a championship team, but at what point before that did you think to yourself, ‘I think I have a championship team’?
Narduzzi: Not until after we won that championship.

You didn’t feel anything in training camp?
Narduzzi: I knew we were good, but it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter.

Do you have the same feeling now?
Narduzzi: I think we have a good football team. So we’ll find out. But you have to go play. You have to go make the plays. You have to be a close-knit team and you have to stay healthy.

Speaking of linebackers, Buddy Mack transitioning from more of a safety role to the linebacker room - how’s he doing with that whole thing?
Narduzzi: Yeah Buddy’s another one I should have mentioned with the linebackers. He was a little banged up at the end of spring, still trying to recover from that. He’s not back to where he was, but he’s out there going. I just think it’s him having confidence in his ability to go play right now. But he’ll be a guy that will appear here before it’s all said and done. He’s a guy that’s going to play linebacker for us this year, I think.