Welcome to the Redshirt Diaries, my twice weekly column filled with news, notes, thoughts, analysis, opinion about all things Pitt and Pitt related. I have had a great deal of fun doing these and hope you enjoy them too.
* The transfer portal closes tonight at midnight which means barring any late last minute decisions Pitt's final tally in terms of men's basketball players retained is three. Pitt has held on to forwards Cam Corhen and Amdy Ndiaye and guard Brandin Cummings. That's it and to be more specifically Pitt is returning approximately 17.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game on a team that averaged 75.9 points per game. In the old days that would be considered devastating but that's sort of the way of the world. And quite frankly Jeff Capel has operated like this way before the NIL turned the transfer portal into free agency. Look at his first few seasons here where it seemed like every year he was recruiting a new team. It isn't the same now but in many ways it is. And I saw this number - if you add up the outgoing guys, Pitt has lost 692 games of experience. That is incredible to me. Now they have brought in Dishon Jackson and Nojus Indrusaitis from Iowa State, Barry Dunning Jr. from South Alabama and Oregon State guard DaMarco Minor. It is not an exact science because they didn't play at Pitt but if you add up all of their production you are talking: Dunning Jr averaged 15.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists, Jackson averaged 8.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, 0.6 assists, Indrusaitis averaged 2.1 points, 0.4 rebounds and 0.2 assists and Minor averaged 9.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game for a total of 35.6 points, 16.8 rebounds and 8.7 assists per game. The Panthers are still not a complete roster but they are getting there. As I wrote the other day, there is only one shooter in that whole bunch and that is Cummings but Dunning Jr. and Indrusaitis might provide more shooting than their numbers from last season would indicate. The other thing is the growth potential for Cummings, Indrusaitis and even Dunning Jr. in terms of their production given their maturity as players and expanded roles. I do think Capel needs three more players and then two more of the "scout team/practice player" variety so it won't shock me if when the dust ultimately settles he adds a total of nine players (he already has four).
* The numbers are starting to come out and one reason Pitt is slow right now in terms of adding guys is Pitt's administration is being cautious about spending on payroll. That is definitely par for the course but one reason were are seeing so many of these schools adding players that appear to be out of their price range given their NIL history is a number of schools have green lighted their coaches to shop as if the revenue sharing is finalized and in place. Pitt won't do that and has been cautious to allow that kind of speculation because it is how Pitt operates. It took Pitt two full years of kicking and screaming to embrace NIL to begin with and there are still too many people in power who aren't comfortable with the new landscape of sports. That doesn't mean Pitt isn't going to be competitive for players and isn't going to adopt the revenue sharing model, it just means Pitt is behind again on this stuff. If I have one criticism of Pitt traditionally and in recent years it is this - too many in the administration and around the university spend way too much time with their head in the sand and clinging to these pipe dreams about how Pitt is an Ivy League school competing in the ACC and doing things the right way. I have always been mystified about some of the decisions that get made and how slow Pitt has been to adapt to things merely because they want to continue this charade that they are some sort of school way above the fray. A great example is when Pitt won the ACC in football - it should have been a boom for raising money, building a war chest, creating a collective for the coming NIL storms and instead it wasn't because key people didn't believe it was necessary. Pitt had all the momentum in the world and didn't capitalize on it. One key player, whose name shall remain anonymous, believe all the talk about NIL and paying players was a "fad that would go away." Again, Pitt has since hopped on the train but it is a lot easier to make the case coming off a championship than coming off disappointing seasons. And this is no different - some schools have actually gone as far as saying they are moving forward with revenue sharing payroll models with or without a finalized settlement. At Pitt, a few people have told me while there is a plan in place it isn't necessarily a very well organized plan that is going to take off the minute the settlement is final. Keep this in mind when you are reading about these basketball teams with $12-$15 million payrolls already - many of them are doing so because they are anticipating what their revenue share model will be and spending as if it is in place. Pitt isn't doing that, at least not yet and that probably can answer some questions.
* On the football front, Pitt is looking hard at defensive linemen, running backs and receiver in the transfer portal. I am told there could be as many as six running backs on the line and at least three who are going to visit. They have already reached out to three defensive linemen we have written about and of course Hykeem Williams visited Monday and is the first of several receivers slated to come through. Running back seems to be a priority and it should be as the running back room is very thin behind Desmond Reid. The one good thing is Pitt has retention as its priority this week. Friday is the last day of the transfer portal and Doug Whaley and company are working really hard to make sure there is no stone unturned to keep the current team intact. I was told this is really the focus and I agree with it. I know there is a lot of pressure to go get new guys and a lot of competition for them but one thing Pat Narduzzi is really big on is retention of his players. He thinks the strength of his program is the development of players and he points to the number of NFL players he has produced as evidence. That's why although he has adapted and is trying to play the game like everyone else, he is still not a fan of this transfer portal stuff. He has built a career on bringing guys along year after year and watching them mature into starters and stars. It is why his strategy remains retention first, adding guys second. And it is also why his staff is still one of the hardest working staffs in high school recruiting. Those old school traits and tendencies can be a detriment at times but they can also be a strength. As I mentioned yesterday there are rumors that two prominent players are considering transferring. They have until Friday to leave but I was told there is a very good chance neither are going anywhere. That is by far the biggest statement about how much they learned last year when they lost five key players after the spring.
* I was told by one of the coaches that the sales pitch for retention isn't just about money, it is about long-term career goals and career earning potentials. Without saying names (although he told me names and you can figure them out) Pitt lost a guy to Colorado and one to Texas A&M. Both got about $100,000 K more than they would have gotten at Pitt. Both ended up having extremely disappointing seasons and barely played. The one at Texas A&M went from starting and playing about 600 snaps in 2023 at Pitt to a backup role and he played only about 40 snaps at A&M. The other played in four games and was a non-factor at Colorado but would have been a starter at Pitt. The message is simple - "OK you get $100,000 more to go to an SEC team. After taxes thats about $55 K. After your agent gets his cut let's say you have about $40 K left. Had you stayed at Pitt, played in this defense one more year, you would have started, got all the exposure you needed and probably would have gotten drafted. The minimum salary for an NFL rookie is $800 K. Is it worth it to jump and leave for $40 K or something?" That is the sales pitch, essentially using last year's defectors as a cautionary tale. I do believe there is something to be said about that and I believe that Narduzzi and company can make up for the disadvantages they have in payroll by making that kind of an appeal. It is amazing, though, how little winning and starting matter these days in the era of "get my bag."
* Karl had a story about Christian "Deuce" Lawrence, a receiver from Thomas County Central HS in Florida. He is a three-star guy who "cut" his list to six and Pitt is one of the six teams he is now considering. He will visit at least five of them Pitt, Wake Forest, Cincinnati, Virginia Tech and West Virginia and also is considering Purdue. This probably makes me old man yelling at clouds but I have to get used to this thing where we are excited that Pitt - or any school - is in a kid's top six. I know it is this world that we have ventured into and all that but in general until a kid is down to his final three, I really just can't get all that excited about it. The other thing is Pitt is at a disadvantage money wise to at least three of those schools and so again, it will be a testament to how well Narduzzi and company can recruit and appeal to a prospect's desire for playing time and all that other good stuff. Lawrence would be a good addition to Pitt but he doesn't solve their immediate needs because he is a 2026 but again, high school recruiting is still a priority for this staff.
* Someone had asked me about the status of Jay Kuntz as Pitt's general manager and so I did some digging. The story broke that he would be Pitt's general manager almost two weeks ago and there hasn't been an official announcement from the school. Some people have gotten concerned that it isn't going to happen or something happened to prevent it or whatever. I can tell you that from what I have been able to gather nothing has happened, nothing has changed and Kuntz is still on track to be Pitt's general manager. It is a tricky position to hire for and the other thing is there are some details many schools have to work out about the position. But I talked to someone close to Kuntz yesterday and he told me that as far as his last conversation with him goes, it is going to happen it is just a matter of the details falling into place.
* I think I put this out there before but if I didn't - if you want to be involved in a great cause for Pitt student athletes and see lots of Pitt alumni and people around the program, consider getting a foursome to play in this Dick Groat event. Details are:
* Don't forget tomorrow's chat and also I will open up a thread for mailbag questions as well. This is our first week of structured programming and we will continue to tweak it and work on it as we go forward. I will have my next Redshirt Diaries on Friday. Thanks for reading and participating.
