Tuesday notes: QB1, consistent kicking, 'a monster on the field' and more

Pitt has had one of the best defenses in the ACC - and maybe the nation - over the last few years, and while that has integral to the team’s success, it has also had an unfortunate effect on the Panthers’ offense.

Specifically, the effect of the offense having to face that defense every day in practice. And it’s not just the quality of players that creates the challenge.

“The defense is just throwing a lot at us,” quarterback Phil Jurkovec said Tuesday. “At times, it can be frustrating in spring ball, but we know it’s practice, so we just have to work the technique and keep getting better.”

The architect of all of that defense is the head coach, of course, and Pat Narduzzi doesn’t shy away from the fact that the sheer volume of the defense is difficult for the offense to practice against.

“We do so many things on defense,” Narduzzi said. “The things that we do on defense, they won’t see all year. I think that’s one of the things, and our offense is getting prepared for just about anything they’d ever see. They’re never going to see the six-man pressure that we get every day. They’re getting 35, 40% of different stuff, which you test all your protections, that’s for sure. But you never have to deal with it during the season, thank God.”

While Jurkovec said the volume of defense can be frustrating, he ultimately feels like it will help the offense in its preparation for the season.

“We see a lot. They’re throwing a lot at us. It’s a lot of stuff we’re not going to see usually in games. Teams are more basic. So it's a lot of good pressures and it’s good for practice.”

The scramble phase
One element that makes spring football unique from the season is the absolute and zero-tolerance hands-off policy on the quarterbacks. Jurkovec and his fellow quarterbacks wear red jerseys to emphasize the point, and during scrimmages, Narduzzi is known for his quick whistle, blowing it anytime a defender gets close in the backfield.

As a result, a key element of Jurkovec’s skill set - the ability to run when a play breaks down - isn’t really on display until the real games start in the fall.

“That’s something, I think, is harder in the spring to really show, but the scramble phase, [offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti] always talks about it,” Jurkovec said. “That’s the second phase. You have to go through your progression, and if nothing’s there, you have to scramble and we can get a lot of big plays off of that.”

So while Pitt’s defense recorded quite a few sacks in the team’s most recent scrimmage, Jurkovec likely could have turned those broken plays into positive gains with a little more free scrambling.

“The defense, they love to call the sacks, even if it’s, you know, they get a hand on you. But they’re trying to protect us, so we get it.”

QB1?
Narduzzi has refused to name a No. 1 quarterback thus far in spring camp, but he might have done so inadvertently during Tuesday afternoon’s press briefing.

“I think right now Christian and my man Nate, they’re in a battle right now,” Narduzzi said. “And Ty’s done some really nice things. So they’re in a battle for that number-two spot and we’ll keep evaluating and it will be something that goes into the summer.”

That would be Christian Veilleux, Nate Yarnell and Ty Dieffenbach, collectively known as Pitt’s three scholarship quarterbacks other than Jurkovec. So if Narduzzi is listing those three as being in competition for the number-two job, then the process of elimination would indicate that Jurkovec, the Boston College transfer, is at the top of the list.

Jurkovec said Tuesday that his familiarity with Cignetti’s offensive system from having worked together for two years at Boston College has been a big help to his progress this spring.

“It’s learning everything again, but it’s a lot of the plays that I’ve run for years, so it’s just a different defense that we’re going against but the same plays.”

The new man at outside linebacker
Bangally Kamara is one of the high-profile playmakers on defense entering this season, but he’s not the only outside linebacker with a high ceiling.

In fact, while Kamara is a returning starter at Star linebacker, he thinks Solomon DeShields, the projected starter at Money linebacker and a fellow class-of-2020 recruit, has a chance to break out in 2023.

"Solomon, man, we’re like brothers, for real,” Kamara said Tuesday. “We talk about everything since we got here, and I’m very happy where Solomon is at right now, getting himself in that position to play a lot of plays. I feel like Solomon is going to be one of the players, man. You guys can see it: the guy is built really - he’s like a monster out there. I hope - I know that he’s going to be a monster out there on the field this year, and I want you guys to watch out for that."

Carrying over from 2022
By the end of last season, few players - if any - on Pitt’s roster were as consistent as Ben Sauls.

After starting 5-of-8 on field goals, the Panthers’ kicker made 15 of his final 16 attempts, with the lone miss coming on a 54-yard kick at Virginia that had the distance but hit the upright. And he closed the season on a real bang by going five-for-five to help beat UCLA in the Sun Bowl.

Narduzzi said Tuesday that Sauls has picked up where he left off.

“Ben Sauls, up to today - and I think he was 100% today - he’s hit 88% of his field goals,” Narduzzi said. “I don’t know if I’ve ever seen that. He hit a 60-yarder the other day, and it was good from about 65. I’m like, ‘Holy cow.’”