Pitt opened spring practice 2020 on Monday and it was the first time the team got on the field to practice since December. It's still early in the college football calendar, but the 2020 Pitt team does have a little bit of buzz this offseason and most of the headlines are on the defensive side of the ball.

Among those headlines:

2019 breakout stars Paris Ford, Patrick Jones and Jaylen Twyman all opted to remain in school rather than pursue the NFL. Senior leader Damar Hamlin was granted a fifth year of eligibility. And Pitt is set to return to key players that missed all of last season in Rashad Weaver and Keyshon Camp.

But a question remains: What about the offense?

Any optimism on that side of the ball starts with Kenny Pickett, who is set to be the program's first three-year starting quarterback since Tino Sunseri did it from 2010-2012. Pickett is coming off a 3,000-yard passing season but is looking for more consistency heading into his final year as the team's starting quarterback.

“Just playing faster," Picket said after Pitt's first spring camp practice on Monday. "Playing faster and getting more explosive plays and being much better in the red zone. That was an emphasis today in meetings and we talked about it briefly. We didn’t hit it today on the field, but as spring goes on we’re going to have a lot more periods in the red zone and emphasize that area. So everyone needs to improve, just their skill set.

"Spring is a great time to focus on the fundamentals, because when we get into the season we kind of focus on game plans and stuff like that, so as long as we focus on getting better every day, we’ll be alright.”

Pitt struggled mightily in the red zone last year, tying for 90th in red zone efficiency in the country. The hope around the Panthers is that the second year under offensive coordinator Mark Whipple will help iron out some of those problems that persisted last year.

“I would just say understanding the offense under our second year under Coach Whipple and having the year that we had in the pass game," Pickett said. "Being able to throw it a bunch and be able to get a lot of reps, practice - I think that helps everybody grow. I think Nick (Patti) and Davis (Beville), they’re benefiting from it. Joey (Yellen) joining and he’s a smart kid; he’s coming from a different program and he’s learning from me and I’m learning from him and vice-versa. I like when new guys come in because they’ve seen things I haven’t seen, so I can learn from them. It’s been working really well.”

Pitt should have a stable situation behind Pickett and moving forward with Patti, Beville and Yellen. Pat Narduzzi believes it is the best his quarterback room has looked since taking the Pitt job in 2015, and Pickett agreed.

Still, the key to the offense this year may be what surrounds Pickett. The Panthers brought in some speedy freshmen skill players along with graduate transfer tight end Lucas Krull to add to a cast of receivers that include promising players like Taysir Mack, Shocky Jacques-Louis and Jared Wayne.

“We had a pretty good day together," Pickett said of his receivers. "Today we kind of picked up where we left off. I think Jared did also a really good job. Having Lucas out there was great. Jordan Addison, the young guys did a really good job. They opened some eyes with how fast they are, Aydin (Henningham) and Izzy (Israel Abaniknda). So it was great to see those guys. We put in a lot of work. We were throwing three times a week, so coming out here we really didn’t skip a beat. All the hard work’s paying off.”

So the Pitt defense has high expectations and Pickett is ready for his third year as the starter. It's March, but does Pickett feel any added pressure heading into his final season? The veteran quarterback downplayed that, noting that it's always been there.

“There’s pressure to win every year," he said. "There’s pressure to win every game. You want to win every game, so if you attack everyday the same, nothing really changes."

There's a long way between now and Pitt's season opener on September 5 against Miami (Oh.). For Pickett and his teammates, they are just taking things day by day for now.

“I’m really confident in how hard I work and how hard we work as a team and as a unit," he said. "It all started two months ago. Once we hit and when the season comes around, you’re just kind of focused and ready to go and you’re focused on winning one game at a time, so if we do that I think everything else will take care of itself.”