Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi met with the media following Thursday’s spring practice. It was the eighth practice of spring ball, and the Pitt coach had plenty to say. Here is a rundown of his remarks.

Narduzzi: Alright, another good day. I guess the first thing is we always talk about attitude and I love the team’s attitude. They come out, they have fun, it’s energy, enthusiasm, and as we’ve gone through these practices they’ve become better practice players. Half of coaching is teaching guys how to practice with the right tempo because they’re trying to compete and get jobs. I said after practice today the worst thud player — which means stay off the ground — the worst thud player is PJ O’Brien. So you can put that in your ink. He’s the worst thud player by far, so we still have got to coach him up a little bit.

Questions.

Does a bad thud player translate to a good Saturday player?

Narduzzi: He does. I would rather have to turn him down, then turn him up. So it is, it is a better thing. My dad always used to say, ‘hey don’t go half speed, go full speed’ a coach will always rather to have to slow you down then speed you it. So it’s a good thing, but if he gets somebody hurt it’s a bad thing. OK? But again, I’d much rather have to turn him down then have to get his motor going.

You were saying that about Mathis last year…

Narduzzi: Well Damarri was out for a year and then for like a year he didn’t do it and didn’t know how to it. Sometimes playing football it’s hard on defense because you’re trying to do it the right way, but you’re right Damarri was a guy.

Who are some other guys…

Narduzzi: Bad thud players? He’s the one that stands out. Everybody else is once in a while. PJ is like every two plays. Stay up. So PJ is all the time right now.

What are you expecting from O’Brien this season?

Narduzzi: I anticipate him playing a lot of football. I mean he’s a lot better than he was last year at this time. He’s really got a whole year in the process now. He’s really into his second year because he came mid-year last spring. So this is the second spring for a guy that played a lot of ball for us this year. We just expect him to continue to get better. He’s so much more knowledge right now than he was.

How are the quarterbacks looking?

Narduzzi: Quarterbacks are looking good. Kedon and Nick are really playing well right now. It’s a great battle right now. We’ve got two quarterbacks that we can win with.

Where do you think the defensive line is right now?

Narduzzi: Dayon is a world of where he was last season. Dayon is playing at a high level right now. If I had to say there’s another bad thud player, it’s Dayon. He had a bad thud yesterday and caused a little one on one scrap, but Dayon is playing well. Again, you know who the older guys are so I won’t mention those guys. The other guy that is really playing well inside is Sean FitzSimmons. He’s really playing well. He’s playing at a high level for just a — he should be going to the prom here in a month. He’s like this everyday: consistency. He hasn’t hit a wall yet at practice, so that’s a good thing.

Who was Dayon’s scrap with?

Narduzzi: It was him and Daniel Carter. Again, it’s all part of the education.

How long did it last?

Narduzzi: You get real tired, one on one, it gets real exhausting. So probably 15 seconds, then they’re both exhausted. If you guys have ever wrestled, wrestling is not too much fun.

You have those five offensive linemen back, but also a lot of guys that have played a lot behind them. How is that competition going?

Narduzzi: It’s going good. We’ve got a couple of guys that are out, just you know. Ryan Baer, he’s pushing at that backup position left tackle spot, so he’s doing really well. But we’re getting a lot of guys work ‘cause we’re going 1s, 2s, and 3s. So our depth is really good, which is great. Everybody is getting a ton of reps. We’ve got a lot more reps today than we’ve been getting just because of the tempo. We’ve got some no-huddle, tempo-stuff going in, so that’s good.

Who is pushing at the backup center behind Drexel?

Narduzzi: We’ll rotate some guys in there. Kradel will be in there. Zubovic will be in there. Terrence Moore is doing a really good job, that’s another young guys that’s getting a ton of snaps right now.

What is it looking like on the side next to Kancey?

Narduzzi: I would say right now the three starters are Bently, Devin (Danielson), and obviously Calijah. Those would be right now the top three.

Will you be at Heinz Field on Saturday?

Narduzzi: I’m hoping, weather permitting. It might have to be a hurricane for us not to go to Heinz, because we don’t get to go there very often. I’d like to go to Heinz. The field drains well…wet ball drills. But we’ve got to make that decision tomorrow based on the weather. So we’ll either be at Heinz or indoors.

Probably a premature question…

Narduzzi: Probably. Next question.

When do you plan to declare a quarterback?

Narduzzi: I don’t know. I haven’t thought about it. Just waiting for — I love the competition and we’ll see. Like I said, we’ve got two good ones.