MORE HEADLINES - Slovis: "This was definitely the right decision" | Pitt lands USC transfer quarterback | Pitt's offense has a chance to remain potent with Slovis | Film review: What Slovis will bring to Pitt | PODCAST: Get an inside look at Slovis' journey from USC to Pitt | Video: The OL returns | Video: Narduzzi on Pickett, the Peach Bowl and more | PODCAST: Is it all coming together?
In this week's 3-2-1 Column, we're thinking about a big week of news for Pitt and what it means for the future.
THREE THINGS WE KNOW
A big addition for 2022
Tuesday certainly brought some big news for Pitt.
No, I’m not talking about the basketball team beating Jacksonville (we’ll talk about that in a minute). I’m talking, of course, about Kedon Slovis announcing that he is transferring from USC to Pitt.
Put simply, that’s huge for the Panthers.
You know Slovis’ deal by now:
A three-star recruit in the 2019 class, Slovis was brought in to fill the space between then-USC starter JT Daniels and then-USC commit Bryce Young. But when Daniels got hurt in the first game of the 2019 season, Slovis stepped in and never looked back, throwing for 3,000 yards and 30 touchdowns on his way to being named Pac-12 Offensive Freshman of the Year, and following that debut with an All-Pac-12 first-team performance while leading USC to the conference title game as a sophomore.
But injuries and the emergence of Jaxon Dart led Slovis to the portal, and the portal led Slovis to Pitt.
USC should be set with Dart, and Pitt looks like it will be set with Slovis.
There was some competition for the Scottsdale (Ariz.) native. Notre Dame prioritized him. Nebraska did, too (I think the Pitt staff particularly enjoyed beating former offensive coordinator Mark Whipple in this one). Arizona, Auburn, Oregon State, Cal and Indiana tried to get him, too.
Why was he in such demand?
You can check out his video in any number of places, and what you’ll see is a pocket-passer with arm strength, touch and accuracy - which seems like a pretty strong combo. He’s not as mobile as Kenny Pickett, but he’s not a statue, and I think he should be able to move around in the pocket if he needs to.
The biggest thing to me about Slovis’ commitment to Pitt is that he answers the biggest question for 2022. Pickett was the key to the Panthers’ success this past season, and with the talent coming back for next year, quarterback was the biggest unknown. Nick Patti, Davis Beville, Joey Yellen and Nate Yarnell are all intriguing in their own ways, but Slovis has more experience than all of them put together.
That’s not an exaggeration: Slovis has completed 652-of-953 passes for 7.576 yards and 58 touchdowns in 27 games; Patti, Beville and Yellen (Yarnell hasn’t played yet) have combined for 198 attempts, 111 completions, 1,240 yards and 24 games played.
Advantage: Slovis. And that doesn’t even take into consideration the starts or the conference championship experience.
This isn’t to say that Patti, Beville, Yellen and Yarnell can’t do it; just that they haven’t. Slovis has. And that makes him a great option for a team that could be setting up to make another run.
Credit is due
I think we have to give some credit here to Pat Narduzzi, because he’s done something pretty remarkable:
He landed a high-quality, priority transfer quarterback, and he did it without an offensive coordinator in place.
And what’s even more remarkable is, this isn’t the first time Narduzzi has pulled that trick.
You’ll recall the last time Pitt got a USC transfer quarterback. Max Browne committed to the Panthers in December 2016 - after Matt Canada had left for LSU and more than a month before Shawn Watson was hired.
Narduzzi got Browne to commit and enroll, even though Browne didn’t know who the coordinator was going to be.
That same month, Narduzzi managed to hold on to Kenny Pickett’s commitment despite the coordinator change. Pickett also enrolled in January so, like Browne, he came to campus with the offensive coordinator’s office empty.
And most recently, Davis Beville enrolled at Pitt in January 2019 while Narduzzi was still working to replace Watson. Mark Whipple was the eventual hire, but Beville had been on campus for a few weeks by the time that move was made.
Taken together, you’ve got a four-star high school prospect, another high school recruit who was getting a late push from schools like North Carolina, and a grad transfer quarterback looking to play his final year of college football: all three enrolled at Pitt without an offensive coordinator. And now you’ve got one of the top available quarterbacks on the transfer market doing it again.
So yeah, I think Pat Narduzzi should get some credit here.
Really, it started in December 2015/January 2016. At that point, in the aftermath of Narduzzi’s first season at Pitt, the Panthers had a commitment from Thomas MacVittie for the class of 2016. When Jim Chaney left to be offensive coordinator at Georgia, a few other colleges saw an opening and tried to get MacVittie as a January flip.
But Narduzzi personally took over MacVittie’s recruitment, and while Canada was hired in early January, the head coach’s involvement was key to keeping MacVittie in the class.
Narduzzi said he learned something that year about the need for the head coach to be involved in quarterback recruiting, and it’s hard to argue with the results. Whatever MacVittie or Browne or Pickett or Beville ended up being - and clearly Pickett ended up being pretty good - there’s no question that Narduzzi’s reputation as a recruiter should get a few bonus points for what he has done in landing quarterbacks without a coordinator in place.
Taking stock of the roster
Somehow getting a big-time transfer quarterback wasn’t the only big news of the week.
Because one day after Kedon Slovis made his announcement, Pitt had another surprise up its sleeve.
Four of them, actually. As in, Carter Warren, Marcus Minor, Owen Drexel and Gabe Houy. Those were the four offensive linemen who had the option to either move on or return as super seniors, and all four of them decided to come back. Throw in underclassmen Matt Goncalves and Blake Zubobvic, and Pitt has every single linemen who started a game this season returning in 2022.
That’s four sixth-year seniors, two fifth-year seniors and one fourth-year junior, all with extensive playing time and starting experience in a position group where experience is huge.
And let’s go even further. Let’s go beyond the offensive line and look at the whole roster:
Offensive line - Everybody’s back
Quarterback - Lost Kenny Pickett but added a top transfer
Running back - Should be poised to break out with returning talent
Wide receiver - Jordan Addison is the headliner, but there is a strong group here
Tight end - Gavin Bartholomew is the headliner, but somebody needs to step up behind him
Defensive end - Pretty much everyone is back, pending Deslin Alexandre’s super senior decision
Defensive tackle - Four contributors/starters are back
Linebacker - SirVocea Dennis returns, but Pitt will need some youth to step up
Cornerback - Three of the top four are back
Safety - Everybody’s back
So if you’re keeping score at home, by my tally Pitt needs a second tight end, a fourth defensive end and some help with the depth at linebacker.
Every team is going to enter every season with needs at one position or another, but, man…it doesn’t seem like the Panthers need a whole lot. I’m really struggling to find many holes on a roster that returns so much from a team that went 11-2 and won the ACC Championship Game.
Now, before we push things too far to the extremes (if that hasn’t happened already), I’ll say this. There will be plenty of head-scratching moments in the coming season. The defense will look lost at times, the offense will do the wrong thing in the wrong moment and there will be a timeout that is inexplicably called/not called when it obviously should have been/should not have been.
But, from a roster standpoint, this team looks pretty darn complete. It looks like it should rival the 2021 roster, and given what that team accomplished, I think there’s every reason to have high expectations heading into 2022.
TWO QUESTIONS WE HAVE
What do we make of Pickett’s decision?
On Tuesday, we released the final Kenny Pickett Show of the season, and I was looking forward to it, since Kenny would be talking for the first time publicly since announcing his decision to skip the Peach Bowl.
There were some technical difficulties on my end, but fortunately Kenny’s side came through nice and clear, and you could get some real insight on why he made the decision he made.
After listening to Kenny talk, I think it makes a lot of sense. He took some shots this season and, as he mentioned, those trips to the tent with the trainers during the Virginia and Wake Forest games weren’t pleasant. He played through some pain, and as he said, “All it takes is one hit to take yourself out of the position you’re in.”
I think most Pitt fans appreciate Pickett’s perspective. I think they appreciate what he did for the Panthers in coming back and leading them to their best season in 40 years. And I think they appreciate the overall impact of his career on the Pitt football program.
I also understand if some fans feel like Pickett isn’t finishing the job, that there’s one more game for this team to play, and the whole team should play it.
I understand that perspective, too. I might not agree with it, but I understand it.
The reality is, after the ACC Championship Game was won, Pickett had to shift from emotion to business. The emotional decision would be to play in the Peach Bowl. The business decision would be to sit it out.
It’s that simple. And right now, the business side is more important.
For some reason, I feel like I’m being cynical to put it like that; especially on Christmas Eve, that feels like a cold, unfeeling approach to say it’s just about business now. But…it’s just about business now.
That’s not cynicism; it’s reality.
The smartest decision for Kenny Pickett, the business decision, is to sit out of the Peach Bowl. There’s little-to-nothing for him to gain by playing. Sure, he can have a monster game and impress everyone, but the truth is, he already has 13 games of high-level play on tape from this season, plus his previous four years, so there’s not much to gain there. And his next real progress in terms of evaluation will be at the Senior Bowl - especially the practices - and then the NFL Combine, Pitt’s Pro Day and his individual meetings with NFL teams.
That’s where Pickett will boost his draft stock - not by playing in the Peach Bowl.
For emotion, Pickett should play.
For business, Pickett should not.
Right now, it’s about business.
That doesn’t take anything away from Pickett’s career or the season he had. He just finished the greatest performance by a Pitt quarterback in school history. He was a Heisman finalist, the ACC Player of the Year and the driving force behind the Panthers’ first outright conference championship in school history.
He did everything Pitt could ask of him. Now he’s moving on to the next level, where I suspect he’ll continue being a great ambassador for the University. And there’s not much to gain by putting that future at risk in the Peach Bowl.
What about hoops?
It feels weird to stop talking about football, but while we were all watching Signing Day and Kenny Pickett’s decision and Kedon Slovis and the offensive line and all of that, something strange happened:
Pitt hoops won a couple games.
In a row.
How about that.
Look, I went down the path of overreaction two weeks ago when I asked if the win over Colgate was a sign of Pitt turning the corner this season, when I wondered if the team was starting to figure some things out and would be headed in the right direction. The reward for my optimism was a loss to Monmouth.
So I’ll try to keep things in check.
But after that loss, Pitt has rebounded nicely. Jamarius Burton hit a not-quite-at-the-buzzer-but-still-a-buzzer-beater to take out St. John’s at Madison Square Garden, and then Pitt came home and played one of its best games of the season to beat Jacksonville at the Petersen Events Center on Tuesday afternoon.
That game wasn’t all perfect. The Panthers started hot and seemed to be in control but only made three baskets in the final 10 minutes of the first half and went from leading by 10 to trailing by four a few minutes into the second half.
But then something really wild went down: for maybe the first time all season, Pitt took control. For an eight-minute stretch on Tuesday afternoon, the Panthers were unstoppable, hitting 9-of-12 from the floor and dropping a 22-3 run on the unsuspecting Dolphins. Jacksonville eventually made a few buckets, but the final score of 64-55 gave Pitt its largest margin of victory this season (the previous four wins saw the Panthers come out ahead by 8, 4, 3 and 2).
I think we’re all looking for positives anywhere we can find them with Pitt hoops this season, and the reality is, this team is going to have just as many steps back as steps forward - probably more. They are not a good offensive team, and the pleas from Jeff Capel to “win ugly” and “drag other teams to the mud” make for good soundbites and occasional wins, but overall, more talented teams are going to get the better of Pitt more often than not.
Still, I think you can see encouraging signs from time to time. And if they can just keep grinding away and play as hard as they can and just get a little better, make just a little improvement, maybe they can surprise an opponent or two.
I’m not going to talk about them turning a corner or anything like that again, because I know - like you do - that things don’t really work like that. There are steps forward and steps back. But I do think they can sprinkle in at least a few of those steps forward among the steps back when they get to ACC play.
ONE PREDICTION
Pitt is getting more than one first-place vote in the Coastal this year
That may not seem like a bold prediction, but considering that Pitt got exactly one vote in this year’s preseason poll, it’s something.
Look, given what Pitt has returning, there’s a very real case to be made for the Panthers as the odds-on favorites in the Coastal and possibly even the conference. But this is the ACC and we’re talking about the conference media contingent, which is beholden to certain commitments and beliefs.
Like Mack Brown and all of his wonderful recruiting classes. Or Miami, which has Tyler Van Dyke on top of being the U, which is apparently bound to mean something one of these years.
And Virginia Tech…well…you know, Virginia Tech just needed a change of leadership and with this new coach, the Hokies are headed back to the top.
The ACC media will meet its annual quota for UNC/Miami/VT first-place votes. But maybe, just maybe, if the Triangle can divert its attention from the navel for a moment, that little three-cornered dollop of the country might notice what Pitt has.
Like a Biletnikoff winner. A running back who could be the best in the conference. A bunch of returning offensive linemen. A second-team freshman All-American at tight end. All of the offensive linemen from one of the highest-scoring teams in the country. And a defense that returns enough talent to keep up its feast-or-famine aggressive attack.
Throw in a quarterback who is a year removed from being a Power Five all-conference performer, and you just might have a team that could be looking at a repeat in the division.
Or maybe even the whole damn conference.
I’m not going to predict a Coastal title just yet. There will be plenty of time to go out on that limb. Instead, I’ll take one step in that direction:
Pitt is getting more than one first-place vote in the preseason poll this year
