Thursday notes: The new format, impressive youth and more

After eight years of using drafted rosters, Pat Narduzzi has decided to make a change.

Instead of drafting the teams for Saturday’s Blue-Gold Game at Acrisure Stadium, the coaches will pit the offense against the defense, with first and second-team units largely staying together throughout the afternoon.

“I think it will be a good look at what we’ve got and I’m excited to try something different,” Narduzzi said Thursday. “Our guys will go out and compete. It will be pretty good. It will be better than what we’ve seen.”

While Pitt’s players enjoyed the draft format, they agreed with Narduzzi that this year’s setup should make for a more competitive game.

“I think it’s a good format,” cornerback M.J. Devonshire said. “I think we’ll get a lot of reps in and get to see everybody play, and it will be easier with the rotating and seeing guys work good-on-good instead of splitting guys up sometimes.”

The effect will be primarily felt along the offensive line. Under the draft format, the offensive lines would be mismatched combinations of first, second and third-team players, which often led to ineffective play up front.

Super senior center Jake Kradel has been working in the draft format since he enrolled in January of 2018, but he’s looking forward to continuity with the players he has lined up next to over the last 14 practices.

“I like staying together as the five guys I work with all spring, staying together and not mixing up matchups and stuff like that,” Kradel said. “I think that puts all of us at a disadvantage, offense and defense; playing as a cohesive five will definitely help us out in the spring game and help us build that next step. We’re still not there. I wish we had 10 more practices, just to keep building on what we’ve already done. But it’s nice to have one more practice together and it’s all five of us.”

Looking to win one
If Kradel is right and continuity makes the offensive line more effective on Saturday, it could break a streak:

The streak of Pitt’s defense beating the offense in scrimmages.

Pitt has held two scrimmages so far this spring, and the defense has come out ahead in both instances.

“I think we’ll win this spring game,” Kradel said. “ I’m pretty confident in it. We’re putting everything together, so it’s all coming together. The first two scrimmages were super close; just turnovers, holding onto the ball, a couple missed blocks on our part. But if we take care of those things, it’s going to be all ours. We’ll see.”

Senior defensive end Dayon Hayes wasn’t mincing words on Thursday.

“We’re going to beat them up,” Hayes said. “We’re going to get them. It’s going to be good. Both sides are going to get better.”

Narduzzi said the “winner” of the scrimmage will be determined according to a scoring system that the coaches have used for the previous scrimmages, under which points are assigned to each side of the ball based on various accomplishments.

“The offense scores like they score, except I think we give them a point for a first down. So offense gets a point for a first down, defense gets a point for a three-and-out. Defense gets points if they get turnovers. You lose points if you have penalties, so if you jump offsides, it’s going to cost you a point plus five yards. So that’s how it will go. TFLs and sacks, defense gets points. There’s only so many ways a defense can get points.

“It’s like I tell the offense all the time: if you don’t turn the ball over, you don’t lose. I think you get 11 points if it’s a pick-six or a scoop-and-score for a touchdown. That can be drastic. But in a game, if you turn the ball over, you lose. That’s kind of what we do.”

A scholarship candidate?
Pitt entered spring camp with several open scholarships, and while there’s always a chance some of those will go to players from the transfer portal, the coaches will certainly find one or two worthy candidates among the walk-ons on the current roster.

One such option is redshirt junior receiver Jake McConnachie.

McConnachie played in five games last season, primarily on special teams,, but he has impressed in spring camp.

“We talk about it in our room: he’s made leaps and bounds,” Devonshire said. “Jake’s had a phenomenal spring. Not just blocking - his catching, he’s really looking the ball in; his route-running, he gets on your toes from releases. Jake, his growth this spring has been amazing and he’s had a great spring.”

“He’s been playing relentless this whole spring,” Kradel agreed. “That’s a dude that, he’s hungry for a scholarship. He’s a walk-on kid and he’s just doing everything right. I see him out there - if I can watch seven-on-sevens sometimes, I’ll peek over and he’s running a deep route and catching it. He’s doing really good. And the blocking, too: cracking safeties and stuff, he’s coming off full speed ahead, just great effort. That’s a guy that’s really shown a lot, I think, and I’m super excited to see what he does this year.”

Praise for the youngins
Kradel is wrapping up his sixth spring camp, and this coming season will be his sixth at Pitt.

As such, he has seen a lot of players come through the South Side, which gives him a lot of context to evaluate the young players on Pitt’s roster this season.

Like true freshman offensive lineman B.J. Williams, who enrolled in January.

“He is super smart,” Kradel said of Williams. “You talk about a guy that comes in and is the backup center right now. He knows every call, everything. He’s going the right way, he’s doing everything right, he’s putting all the guys on the right page. He’s a guy that’s going to be a stud here for years to come. I’m really excited to see what he does.”

Kradel is equally optimistic about redshirt freshman Ryan Baer, who has been in a battle at both left tackle and left guard.

“He’s been great. He knows the offense now; it’s his second year here. So he really is picking it up - tackle, guard, wherever we need him. He’s really playing fast. He’s still learning. He’s young; it took me two and a half years to really feel comfortable, and I feel like he’s getting to that point where he’s starting to feel comfortable. He just needs more reps and a little more time, and he’ll be just fine.”

And Kradel had some high praise on Thursday for the other side of the line, too. True freshman defensive tackle Isaiah Neal enrolled in January and has been getting rave reviews since his arrival.

“It’s amazing to see Ghost, a true freshman,” Kradel said, using Neal’s nickname. “He beat me in a one-on-one today - he did a spin move that was crazy and I thought it was Jaylen Twyman or Calijah out there. I’m like, ‘This kid is going to be really good.’ They’re giving us a bunch of challenges that I don’t think we’ll see in the season. So that’s good to see. We go against the hardest defense, day in and day out; when we get to the game, it slows down a little bit. It’s good to go against that type of talent every day and get better.”