Video and transcript: Narduzzi on the Hammond news, UNC and more

Pat Narduzzi held his final press briefing of the week on Thursday and talked about Rodney Hammond's return, Pitt's game at UNC on Saturday and a lot more. Here's video and a full rundown of what he said.

Narduzzi: Game five, I feel like our guys are nice and fresh going into the game. We got some work in last week, got some good work in this week as well. We're ready to roll and travel down there tomorrow.

We've got a little personnel news that I know Jerry is always happy with, that Rodney Hammond will be available for this weekend as well. So he's practiced up and ready to roll and we're excited as a coaching staff, as a team, that he is back and it's a great thing for everybody.

But, you know, we're facing a great North Carolina football team. Regardless of what you guys think, you watch the tape, you put it on, they're talented, they can run, they've got all the tools. And we'll have our hands full as we go down there. So we're prepared for a battle, a battle on Chapel Hill.

Was reinstatement something you had been working toward or hoping was a possibility this whole time?

Narduzzi: Yeah, it's something we're hoping and we're happy that he's back playing for us.

Was there an appeal of some sort?

Narduzzi: He was declared ineligible at the start of the season. Hey, right now he's ready to play. That's all I care about. That's all we're going to focus on and we're going to focus on North Carolina. So we're just - it doesn't matter.

What does he add? What does he bring to that group?

Narduzzi: He brings a lot. I mean, he brings a lot. Obviously Desmond's the guy right now as a starter. But, like, Rodney's been, you know, he's been practicing every day since it happened and he'll be ready to roll.

How much do you plan on using him?

Narduzzi: I don't know. We'll see how we go.

How has he stayed focused? You talk about focusing on his opponent. You know, as far as practices and what he's been able to do, how have you seen him take his practice?

Narduzzi: He’s been great and he's been mature and, you know, it's weird. You know, you don't know when it's going to happen. But, you know, I grabbed him, I don't know if it was over the weekend, and just said, you need to take every rep. We're playing the best. And he was on a scout team on Tuesday. And, you know, you need to go out there and play and be that guy. Give us the best possible look. You're the guy. I want you taking every rep. But he went out there Tuesday and got after it. And, you know, obviously, you know, things happen for a reason. And so he's got some good work in him.

How much has he been practicing? Is he getting reps the last four or five weeks?

Narduzzi: He gets reps, yep. Okay, what do you got for me?

He hasn't made a play all year. We've got a lot of players that make plays. He hasn't made a play all year, so…

Are you excited to have a - I'm assuming you'll be excited to have Desmond back for this game. How is he looking?

Narduzzi: He’s looking great. He's looking like a new man. He's back and it was smart for us to hold him out last week, two weeks ago, I guess it was. Yeah, he's ready to roll.

How does it help having this last bye week, last week, going in the UNC? Obviously, it's not easy to play in Chapel Hill.

Narduzzi: Yeah, yeah, it's never easy to play anywhere or play anybody. But, you know, I think the open week helps us a little bit. You know, I think the first thing, it helps you with freshness. You know, some people will say, does it help you, you know, like you were on a run, do you like to, you know, take a break? But I think that's all mentality and irrelevant as far as, you know, not playing last week. You know, we practice hard every day. I think, you know, it's kind of how we practice. And our guys are ready to go.

During Youngstown State week, you said you were going to bring a little bit more of an edge. Did you have to keep that up during the bye week to keep everyone focused, or are the guys pretty self-motivated?
Narduzzi: I think they're self-motivated. I think they know what's in front of them. But you're always going to keep an edge somehow, some way. So, we'll have an edge going down there and a chip on our shoulders like we should. Because we haven't really done anything yet. I mean, what have we done? So…

2019 was the first time Pitt beat Carolina since joining the ACC, and I remember leading up to that year, the players felt a certain way about it. You know, they were frustrated by having played Carolina and lost year after year. Do you sense from the players that they still have a certain kind of feeling about North Carolina?

Narduzzi: Not really. I mean, it's another opponent. You know, what's happened in the past is irrelevant, whether it's a win here at home or a win there. It doesn't really matter. I mean, everything in the past is irrelevant. And I think that's the important thing to take. It doesn't matter. This is, you know, a 2024 team. We can't compare 24 to 23 or to 22 or 21 or 18. It doesn't really matter. I mean, all the focus is on this game, this team, and what we, you know, present as we go down there. North Carolina has always been a good team since I've been here. You know, they've had talented quarterbacks, from Sam Howell to Trubisky to Maye. I mean, that's a talented football team, and they've got talent all over the place.

That left guard spot that, you know, Ryan and Jason have played there a little bit, what have you seen from both those guys, good and bad?

Narduzzi: You know, I think Jason's done a great job. He's done a great job filling in for Ryan. So we're excited about what he's done, and, you know, it's a next man up mentality and we'll kind of see what happens on Saturday.

Cory told us about you guys are really emphasizing tackling drills against Hampton. How valuable gang tackling, how big is that going to be on Saturday?

Narduzzi: It’s going to be big. I mean, you know, if they want to run the ball again, you know, trust me, they know what we look like on defense and our structure of our defense. So they're going to throw the ball, you know. And so it won't be just a run fest where they're just, you know, ramming him up in there into bad boxes. They'll pick their poison, they'll have RPOs, and they can do it all. So, but, you know, it doesn't matter. Tackling on him, he's a 220-pound back, you don't see many of those. It kind of reminds me of the Kiner kid from Cincinnati. He's physical, and we got to get him on the ground, and that's the most important thing is tackling. So we just emphasize a little bit more, but we emphasize tackling, you know, every week.

They don't have a quarterback like Maye or Trubisky anymore, but have they changed their philosophy a little bit?

Narduzzi: Well, they've got a different coordinator. I mean, Chip Lindsay is their coordinator now compared to Paul Longo before that - I don’t remember before that. But, you know, their philosophy is a little different.They're going to be an up-tempo, they'll slow it down, they'll look to the sideline, you know, do all the things that tempo teams do. They're about 43% fast. I mean, so they're going to run, you know, fast tempo probably 43% of the time, something like that. So we're, you know, ready for whatever they give us. We practice tempo every day, so we're good.

Are they as fast as you are on offense?

Narduzzi: At times, you know, yeah, I would say they're the fastest team we've faced this year. They'll try to go tempo.

Coach, in the games before the bye, you guys battled back, showed you were able to come out on top in that fourth quarter. Has there been any conversation with the guys about, like, emphasizing coming out and starting faster this week?

Narduzzi: Not really. You know, I hate to, you know, psychologically, I hate to sit here and say start fast because I say, hey, we've got to start fast. And you come out and they go down to the score, and we go three and out, and then what's our kids thinking? Oh, we didn't start fast, we lost. It doesn't matter.

It matters to go out and play 60 minutes and do the best we can every play for four quarters, and I think that's what it comes down to. I think when you start to set those, we have to start fast, and you don't, then, you know, then you set yourself up for failure.

You've had a bunch of guys, a bunch of receivers, go over 100 yards at different points this season. Have you seen that reflected in coverages? Like defenses aren't able to say double, come out and say you're a double?

Narduzzi: Yeah, I mean, I think in today's football, it's hard to double anybody, okay? I mean, based on a route concept, you might get it. Based on, you know, what your checks were, you might get a safety in a corner on them or a backer and a safety. But it's hard to double anybody these days. And if you do, you know, you're leaving something wide open. I mean, everybody's got players. I mean, there's 11 out there.

But, you know, every once in a while you'll see somebody try to, you know, think they're going to go over here. But I think we've spread it around that who are you going to double? I mean, you're going to double Kenny, you've got Konata on the other side. You've got Poppi. I mean, it's hard to double anybody, you know, nowadays, I think, in college football.

Pat, we saw it first on special teams. What are the traits about Biles that allows him to make those type of impact plays?

Narduzzi: You know, he's just got great instincts. I mean, he's just a football player. He's around the ball. Same thing on defense, you know, whether it's defense or special teams. And, again, some people can go block punts. He's had a knack of just getting punts. He got one a year ago. And, you know, I'm sure they'll know where 31 is. So we've got other guys that we think are pretty good at it also.

I mean, it's just you can have great athletic ability, but when you have the instincts to put your hands and have that eye-hand coordination, he's got that. I mean, he finds a way. I wish I could say we're great coaches, but he's put good players in position to make plays, and he's been able to do that.

Was PJ going to be able to play that first half? Was he going to have to hold him down?

Narduzzi: You have to hold him down to begin with. Like, he's hyper to begin with. So I don't know. We might leave him in a locker room for the first half. He's hard to control.

You talked about Sean maybe being able to play this weekend.

Narduzzi: Who?

Sean Fitzsimmons.

Narduzzi: Yeah.

What would he bring if he's able to play this weekend?

Narduzzi: You know, he hadn't practiced for a while. So if he is available, you know, he'll help us out if we think he’s - we’ll see what he looks like at game time.

Production at defensive tackle is an interesting thing. I mean, you guys have had really productive guys, you know, Kancey and Twyman and whatnot, but that's not always the case. Do you see a guy in this group who maybe, because you haven't gotten a lot of production out of those guys yet, do you see a guy who could maybe make a breakout here over the next eight games?

Narduzzi: Yeah, I mean, I think the guy, you know, that's got a chance to do that right now is, you know, just because of his motor and his intensity is Nick James. I mean, he's the guy, you know, I think I might have mentioned it a couple weeks ago, like he's our best guy right now. So we've got a lot of faith in what he's got ability-wise. And so I would say it would be him that Nahki Johnson's got. He's got the ability. I won't tell you anything I haven't, you know, told him. It's just that constant motor, you know, give it to me all day long. He's got the ability to do a lot. I want to see it all the time.

What can Rodney offer as a pace difference from what Des does, their styles and how you, I mean, you guys are very familiar with Rodney and Des's integrated thought, but this is the first time you'll see Rodney actively working in this offense.

Narduzzi: Yeah, I mean, that's something, you know, we'll find out. We'll find out how he looks in this offense. You know, we used to see him with two tight ends and running dive plays that you guys love. But, you know, I think he can be special like Des in this offense. And we'll find out Saturday.

You guys used Des a lot in the passing game. Has Rodney grown in how you guys need him to grow in the passing game in this offense?

Narduzzi: Yeah, I mean, Rodney's been good with ball skills out of the backfield to begin with. I mean, you know, go back to the ACC championship, I can still see him running down that far sideline. And, you know, he's got ball skills out of the backfield, so he can do it all. You know, he was all through spring ball, and it's not like it's a new offense Tuesday or Wednesday. He's a smart football player too.

When exactly did you guys learn that he would be eligible this week? Was it Monday, Tuesday, or like? Wednesday.

Narduzzi: Wednesday.

With two really athletic linebackers like Lewis and Biles, is that kind of counteracting a screen-heavy offense?

Narduzzi: You know, we've probably worked more screens than I've ever seen in my entire life. Coach Bates has been all over that as far as just, you know, figuring out what they're doing screen-wise, and we've got a pretty good plan for the screens. But, you know, they've got guys that are going to get their alignment down the field. I mean, it's not like it's a screen throwing it out there. It's not like a quick bubble. It's like they're getting their alignment down the field on some of these what we call double screens. They do an outstanding job. They're a great screen team, as good as your face, and that's why we've emphasized it so much. I mean, they're really good in the screen game.

And the reverse game and all the trick plays they've got. They've got flea flickers. Remember, they hit one on us last year. You know, it's a reverse flea flicker, pitch it back to the quarterback. But we've worked it all. We've seen, you know, two years' worth of stuff on them.

Rasheem told us that he, before the season, wrote some goals down for himself, and he's already had to cross a few of those off because he's already met it. He's had to write new goals. Has he exceeded your expectations for where he would be four games in?

Narduzzi: Not yet. I mean, I'm waiting for him to get a couple more big sacks. How about an interception for a touchdown? Obviously, he didn't set his goals very high, but we set goals every week. So, you know, he's got more in him. He will make more plays. And he's got the ability to be really good. You know, I'd like to see him get an interception. Kyle's got two already, so I'm just kind of, you know, let's get another one.

You going to pit them against each other and compete a little bit?

Narduzzi: Hopefully they are. I mean, you know, their goal should be, both of them, to be all ACC linebackers. You know, it comes down to, you know, if you don't get the ACC player of the week, they're going to forget about you. You know, how have you shined? And I hope they're competing against each other every day. It would be great.

For a guy in his 70s, Mack Brown is kind of a progressive coach. He's got trick plays and flea flickers. Is that kind of usual to see a guy who's been in football that long go off the charts that much?

Narduzzi: Not really. I mean, Mack's a smart football coach. He knows what hurts defenses, and he lets Chip Lindsey do his job, you know, just like I let Kade and Coach Bates do their jobs. So, you know, that doesn't surprise me. He's just like us, Jerry.

In terms of, like, letting Kade do his job, the trust you put in him since he's joined the program, when you were looking for a new offensive coordinator, was that kind of always the plan to kind of, you know, give them the keys to the offense? Or what did he do to kind of earn that trust from you kind of through the hiring process? Yeah.

Narduzzi: I know you're new here probably. I don't see you all the time. But, like, the keys, you know, like, the keys have never been in my pocket. I might have a key in my pocket for defense. But, like, offensively, he's got the keys, you know, and every coordinator since Jim Chaney, who's a legend, has had the keys.

But you've also gone, like, all in on the offensive side of the ball. He's hired his own assistants. He's brought in players that he's coached before. Like, that faith.

Narduzzi: Yeah. Well, I mean, it's how you better be. I mean, we hired the entire staff. It wasn't like he brought his guys in. I never talked to them. Like, he was going to be, like, let me check out character. I mean, I know you like him as a football coach. He better fit in Pittsburgh.

That whole crew has done an unbelievable job. It's not just Kade. You know, I love everybody on the offensive staff. It's been great. So, he picked the right guys. And, again, we went through it.

You know, was that all your first choice? I don't know. But we did our homework and made sure we got the exact best fit for the offense. So, I don't know if I answered your question.

But did I? Ask me again.

I guess, was there anything specific that kind of you were like, all right, that he earned your trust, I guess, in a way?

Narduzzi: You know, when I hire the guy and give him the keys, there's trust. You know, and you can say trust is earned. But, like, you know, you better be pretty confident when you hire a guy like that that you trust him. Like, you know, that's how it is, period. Like, if I don't trust a guy and I hired him and he signed his contract, like, that's bad. And I've trusted everybody that I hired to do that job. And then, you know, then you see what happens after that.

But the trust was there at the beginning. And you got to let him go and let him grow and make decisions. And you try to help him as an old head coach of, you know, just little things here that we tweak and, hey, how about this? And he's really, really open to some different stuff, whether it's self-scout, whatever it is, whatever I can do to try to help, which has been good.

That's a daily process of hiring, especially an offensive coordinator. Every day you have to think about it. You know, make phone calls.

Narduzzi: That was the worst December ever, you know. It was horrible because we were trying to sign a class, too. We started recruiting and we were trying to hire. I've never done that before. Usually I wait until after recruiting. But that was, you know, one of those that was done early, which was not easy to make.

You said on Monday that no one coming to your office requesting to transfer or anything. You saw the news that the UNLV quarterback, the other guys requesting to transfer at this point in the year; were you worried that that would get back to your locker room and you guys would worry about that?

Narduzzi: You know, not really, but, you know, you never know. But, you know, my office has been empty, which is good. And, you know, I think we've got a great culture. I don't think I can speak on anybody else. It's none of my business. But, like, you know, our team, you know, we talk about team all the time, our team, Stephen, and what we do, how we do it. I think, you know, that's kind of how we keep our guys together. They're locked into what we're doing.

And I hope you never have any of those problems. You don't want any opt-outs, whether it's a beginning game or, you know, the beginning of the season or the end of the season, you know, bowl games, championship games, like, you know, it's just something that's out there nowadays. You hate to read about it, but, you know, our kids have been outstanding and we've done a good job of keeping them together.

We want to continue to do that, so we hope we have no problems there.

The toughest part about coaching these days is keeping everybody together, whether it's in season or out of season.

Narduzzi: It is, but if you treat guys the right way and you treat them fair and you're up front and you don't, you know, I heard this, I thought you meant this, and, you know, just, you know, being honest. I think honesty and trust is key with the team. And if we lose trust amongst ourselves, we've got issues. But you've got to have trust in a team, and, you know, that's why they talk about team. Team, you know, you're going to have your little scraps here and there, but you better trust each other. And, you know, that's kind of the way it is.