In this collection of notes from Pitt's practice on Thursday, Pat Narduzzi has fun, Blake Zubovic names some standouts and Devin Danielson speaks up about hitting himself in the head.
Two hours of fun
Practice isn’t always fun, for players or for coaches.
The players can get run down by practices that stretch past the two-hour mark, while coaches can struggle to find joy when they feel like their message isn’t getting through.
For one day, at least, Pat Narduzzi had a good time, as the Pitt head coach said that Thursday’s practice was one of the good ones.
“Our kids play hard, play tough and compete with each other. It’s back and forth and I just love coaching these guys. It’s two hours of fun.”
Give the ball to the playmakers
While Ryan Jacoby wore No. 84 and lined up as an inline tight end almost all of last season - representing 194 of his 204 offensive snaps, according to Pro Football Focus - he was almost exclusively a blocker.
Almost.
In the early October loss to Georgia Tech, Jacoby caught a three-yard pass - the first of his college career and his first reception since running a tackle-eligible screen for a touchdown in high school.
“When they told me I was going to be a tight end, I was like, ‘Okay, I’m going to be a blocking tight end.’ And then one practice, they came out and said, ‘You’re going to run some routes today.’ I’m like, ‘What?’
“I have good hands, I’m a playmaker, so they say, put the ball in the playmakers’ hands. That’s what they did.”
Now, Jacoby is comfortably set in his regular No. 61 jersey, and those tackle-eligible plays aren't an option any longer.
“I’m at guard now. A guard’s never eligible.”
About that night in Miami
The highlight of Pitt’s regular-season finale at Miami last November was, of course, the win.
But tucked inside the win was a moment that went viral when defensive tackle Devin Danielson was caught on the sideline making rather deliberate contact between his head and his helmet.
Thursday was the first time Danielson has met the media since that incident, and the passing of time seems to have dulled his memories.
“You know, football is a game full of emotions. It was a long time ago; I’m not even sure now,” he said when asked why, exactly, he decided to smash his own head with his own helmet.
“I was definitely mad about something. I forget what it was exactly.”
The veteran defensive lineman from Thomas Jefferson said that the outburst at Miami wasn’t his first tango with a helmet.
“I’ve done it a decent amount. I did it a little bit at T-J. I don’t know if you can find the picture, but I busted my head open and I was bleeding one game. It was a fun time.”
Emerging young linemen
Danielson is one of Pitt’s older defensive linemen, but the Panthers will be counting on young linemen this season, too.
Who better to evaluate some of those young linemen than one of the players they face every day?
Like super-senior guard Blake Zubovic.
“One guy that’s really stuck out to me is Sean FitzSimmons,” Zubovic said Thursday. “He’s looked great so far this camp. He looks quick, strong, he’s using his hands a lot better now. He’s been working with Coach (Charlie) Partridge. I’d definitely say, in the interior, that’s one guy that I am really looking forward to see their development.
“And then exterior, I think we have a lot of really good D-ends. I think Jimmy Scott and Sam Okunlola are both great young talents, really taking what Coach P. says to them and putting in the work. Like I said, their hand-fighting and their moves and pass rush are years above the experience they have here in the program.”
An impressive freshman
Some young players have stood out to Narduzzi, too, and on Thursday he brought up a freshman with local roots who enrolled in January.
“I’ll tell you the other guy that’s been impressive: Braylan Lovelace. For a true freshman, he’s going to be going to prom here in another month, go back up to Leechburg. But he’s been impressive at the linebacker spot. He had a great kind of chasing down, I think, Rodney at one point and just had a great angle. It was like, ‘Oooof.’ For a freshman, he is way ahead of the curve.”
Given the questions about Pitt’s depth at linebacker, Lovelace’s early enrollment and strong performance so far could give him an opportunity at the Star linebacker position this season.
Stepping up
Pitt has three upperclassmen at cornerback returning after playing almost all of the snaps last season in Marquis Williams, M.J. Devonshire and A.J. Woods.
Those three rotated fairly frequently in 2022, but they’re also all seniors, so the Pitt coaches have an eye toward younger corners who could be in line to see more playing time this season - and take over the position in 2024.
“Two guys we’ve been waiting and waiting and waiting is, Tamarion Crumpley and Noah Biglow have really stepped up,” Narduzzi said Thursday. “They’re markedly better right now than they were at the end of the season. I would almost say they were disappointing, like, ‘What are you two doing? What are you guys waiting for? Step it up.’ I think they’ve really grown up and gotten a lot better during the first five days of camp.”
