Pat Narduzzi met the media before Pitt's practice on Friday and talked about gambling, leaders in the WR room and a lot more.

Here's the full rundown of everything he said.

Narduzzi: Beautiful weather we’ve got here in August. It got a little hot yesterday. But we’ve had two good practices obviously in what we call spider pads, today the first day putting on shoulder pads. The guys all have knee braces on, so all the linemen will feel a little slower. The quarterbacks will have knee braces on, just protecting their plant foot as well.

But happy after Day Two, really. I think we’ve got a good football team and we’ll see how today goes.

Last year at this time, Matt Goncalves was probably expecting to be a backup behind guys like Gabe Houy and Carter Warren. He ended up starting every game. How much did that experience help him? How much did you see him grow through and how do you see him coming into this year?
Narduzzi: I think obviously experience is everything. Anytime you get game reps, it’s a huge benefit for him. I think at this time last year, though, he thought he was going to be starting. I think everybody feels that way and does it that way. Gabe was banged up coming out of the bowl game, but I felt like he went in with the mental mindset that he was starting.

Brian Kelly apparently has started a new policy at LSU of total transparency on injuries. I guess he’s doing it to keep the gamblers away from his team. I was wondering if you would want to start taking that policy here in Pittsburgh.
Narduzzi: We used to have that policy, if you remember. I think we got rid of it in the ACC. I think it creates gambling. I think when you sit there and say who’s playing and who’s not, I think it creates more. I guess when you have policies like that, you’re trying to help out the gambling because you want to make sure everybody’s accurate and there’s no - I think we have a policy in this room here that we don’t talk about injuries. Our kids, I hope in your conversations with them, don’t have that conversation. We talk to our guys about - I mean, that Monday meeting, I believe it was, Monday or Tuesday, we talk about gambling and what people trying to get out of you. We don’t give that stuff up. We don’t talk about it. It’s an advantage for our opponents. So I think we’ve got a great team policy as far as just, hey, we don’t talk about it. You try to keep those gamblers away and you hope they stay away and I don’t think we have that problem.

Gambling has been in the news this week. Is that something that you have had education for the guys about?
Narduzzi: I can pull out my winner’s manual since 2015. We’ve always talked about it, because it’s always been a part. You go back to Pete Rose, all those things, those were some of the things I remember. But we’ve always talked about it since I’ve been here. It’s all those things: hazing, Title IX stuff, it’s all stuff that we cover, injury policies. We try to teach them what to do and how to do it.

The receivers call themselves Waffle House - Bub and Konata - but how are they as leaders?
Narduzzi: They’re doing a really good job. Those two guys have really grown up in the last year. They really have. Both of them, first-year players last year, now they’re second-year, they’re talking, they’re more vocal on the field and in the classroom, in team meetings they’re vocal. The Waffle House is doing a good job.

What has Brandon George shown you?
Narduzzi: It’s funny you ask that. I had a conversation with him yesterday and just watching him the last two days, he’s moving better. He’s down 15 pounds and he doesn’t look like it. You take a picture of him, he doesn’t look any smaller. He’s down 15 pounds, he’s smoother, he doesn’t look - 255-pound linebacker in the spring - as stiff. I said, shoot, we should have moved you to D-tackle. He goes, ‘No, D-end.’ So he was a D-end guy who moves pretty darn good for a defensive end. We’ll get into pads today, but he’s really looking the best he’s ever looked.

Was last year tough for him to sit out? It seems like he’s got a lot of energy.
Narduzzi: Yeah, he’s got a high motor. He’s got a lot of juice to him. It was tough when he got hurt and he came back and he jumped in a pile and got hurt again and re-injured it and just never was the same. So I don’t think anybody saw the Brandon George that you’ll see in 2023.

Every year you give us a young player who’s sparking up occasionally in practice but you keep pushing them that they have to be more consistent. Are there any guys like that that have carried over from spring that you’re keeping watch on?
Narduzzi: All these young guys are good. Having as many guys in for spring ball as we’ve had, I’ll just give you a couple young guys or a young guy to look at. I’ve been impressed with Zion Fowler-El right now, just what he’s done on offense. And he wasn’t in spring ball. It’s one of those surprises. And the last guy would be Cruce Brookins, who’s been pretty impressive for a young guy coming in, local guy. He wasn’t here in spring, got here a little early just because he’s local and he can come down and get a lift and do all of those things. He’s been impressive as well. So there’s a guy on offense and defense that has done a nice job.

How’s Derrick Davis picking up the system?
Narduzzi: Derrick Davis, another guy that’s a semester in. He’s been impressive. We’ll find out what happens when the pads go on today and obviously when we go live. But he knows the playbook a little bit better than he did in the spring. That’s always a concern. Sometimes you get out there and you dot the I and you’re like, okay, you’re about 75-80% sure and you’re still questioning whether you know it. And that’s not just him; that’s every position. But he just looks a little bit more confident, which I think every kid is. You go into a second year of an offense - especially on offense when there’s not as much experience there.

Is it tougher for him because he was on defense at this time last year?
Narduzzi: Yeah, he hasn’t played offense for a couple years. He did in bowl prep maybe, but offense is brand new to him, yes.

In high school he kind of made a habit of running away from guys, he had that breakaway speed. Has he shown that at all in the spring or summer?
Narduzzi: He’s got wheels. He’s a big dude, though. He should be a big physical tailback but he’s got the ability to break away from you, too. So we’ll find out. Does he have - Izzy last night, Izzy took that corner. That was a nice run. I just happened to sit down in my office, I looked up, it’s on and there he goes. I got to see that and retweet that thing.