Pat Narduzzi held his first weekly press conference of the season on Monday and talked about the quarterbacks, the two-deep, Kent State and a lot more. Here's video and a full rundown of his remarks.

Narduzzi: Game week excitement. Obviously, we've been preparing a long time for this opportunity to come back in 2024 and open up against the Kent State team from the Mid-American Conference.

I think our team is excited to hit somebody else. They've been hitting each other and competing against each other for a long time against themselves. I think these openers, you know, sometimes you can worry about the opponent.

You know, I told the guys yesterday, I don't care if we're playing Georgia or we're playing Kent State - the focus has to be on what we do. It doesn't come down to what they do.

I told them yesterday after practice again, it's what we do as a football player, as a team, as a unit offensively, defensively and special teams. So to me, that's the critical thing is focus on us. Don't worry about the opponent. If we go out there and play the game we're supposed to play, I think we'll walk off the field happy.

As you guys probably got the first updated depth chart whenever you got it, you see there’s a lot of guys that we, you know, think are starters on that football team. We got a lot of guys that are gonna get an opportunity to go out there and either start or be considered a starter. So we feel like we got a lot of those. Obviously that quarterback position is one that you guys probably take great interest in, probably more than I do, to know who it is. But we feel like Nate and Eli both are guys that we consider starters. So those two have competed their tails off all camp and we'll go out there and go.

I think the starter will be determined how we practice this week. We got practicing yesterday, so we'll see how they practice, how they pick up the game plan. But the plan right now is to play both those guys on Saturday and let the competition begin on the field. It's one of those that I think it's too close to just say, ‘Hey, this is what it is.’ Let’s take a chance at it.

I think both of them are very capable. I think they both are guys that can win football games for us. And I'm excited to watch both of them play. If you guys recall back in 2015, we did it. My first year here with Chad Voytik and Nathan Peterman. We got into game three, I believe, and it was over at that point. I wish I'd have made that decision to pick a starter quicker than that. But we're gonna let it ride. Again, I feel great with both those guys. I think we got two conscientious, smart, intelligent, athletic quarterbacks, and that's where we go there.

Obviously, you know, Kent State, Kenny Burns going into his second year at Kent, a guy that spent a lot of time with PJ Fleck at Minnesota. He's an old running back guy. He's an offensive coach. He likes his run game. He's got a new offensive coordinator who was the tight ends coach a year ago, who came from Charlotte. So we've put out a lot of Charlotte tape as well as Kent State personnel tape and watching what they're doing. So, you know, you're preparing for Kent State stuff, preparing for Charlotte, typical opener.

They got a new defensive coordinator. I think they got a new defensive coordinator halfway through the spring. Cody Morgan is their new defense coordinator. He's a guy that was a safeties coach and a special teams coordinator a year ago. So really, when you think about guys calling the offense [and defense] both will be calling their first game as coordinators. So a little bit harder to kind of know what you're going to get either way.

That's why it's even more important that the focus comes on us. It doesn't matter what they give us. We have to just go out and execute. If it's a run, execute the run. If we're going to blitz them, then let's be really good at the blitz and keep things as simple as possible. We'll let our guys play hard, play fast. So with that, I'll open it up for questions.

Sean FitzSimmons is not on the depth chart. Is he out this week?

Narduzzi: He is not out. Maybe a little bit banged up, but Sean would be on the depth chart, but I probably should have put another ‘or’ next to him. Thanks for letting me know about that one.

Sean's been banged up. You know, I'm not going to get into talking about injuries, but he's been banged up a little bit and we hope to have him back real, real soon.And maybe even this week, you never know.

One of the classic things in football when people talk about quarterbacks is that if you have two quarterbacks, you have no quarterbacks. How does these two guys beat that? What have they shown you?

Narduzzi: You know, last year at this point, I didn't feel like we had two quarterbacks, okay? We'll start there. Felt like we had one quarterback and I thought, ‘Okay.’ I feel so much better about where that is. But you know, you can take slogans and those terms, like, you know, we'll find out on the 31st, right? I mean, I believe we have two really good quarterbacks. I really do. They're both - and again, Nate was the starter coming out of spring ball as we've talked through camp and Eli made some major, major improvements. It's like, he caught up and there was some competition going on. And I just, I feel like to say, you know, one guy's going to get that opportunity to take the first snap, but to say, you know, to say, at that position, at the quarterback position that, ‘Hey, it's all about practice,’ because you know what? You get used to playing against one defense and one coverage or whatever it may be, that doesn't mean you're the best quarterback. So to me, that thing needs to be put over into a game-like situation and let it go from there.

Just like a lot of those positions, I don't care if you talk about the defensive end or D-tackles, I mean, I got, you know, Nahki Johnson, the Nick James, Isaiah, I mean, shoot, there's a lot of guys up there that there's, you know, that whole D-line, I mean, Elliot Donald, I mean, who's the starter? Every week, there's going to be a different starter there. I almost bet my life that every week is going to be a different - who played well the last week, they're going to get that chance in the beginning of the week. You could be an an all-conference player; if you don't come out and practice the next week, you’re probably a backup if you can't get the checks and you come out there and slop around at practice thinking you just can show up. So, you know, it doesn't matter what position; if we've got five D-tackles, then do we not have any? I think it's the same thing. I really love our quarterback situation right now, and I feel like we're in a good position, and someone's going to have to prepare for two of them because they're both going to play.

Are their skill sets complementary? Will they run the same stuff?

Narduzzi: You know what, you know, the offense is not going to change that much based on who they are, but they're very similar in what they can do. I mean, like I said, start off, you know, they can operate and manage the offense. That's the first thing. I mean, it's not like one's going to be slower than the other. They can both operate it at a fast tempo, and, you know, we'll find out what skills come out there on game day and who's got those intangibles on game day and who's going to bring it, bring us the best package.

Is there an advantage to Kent State not knowing who the quarterback will be?

Narduzzi: Sometimes in different positions, but not for that one. That's not the reason. I can guarantee you that. You know, because they're preparing for both of them, even though they probably don't have much tape on Eli. They're preparing for both of them anyway, probably, and just like we're preparing for two of their quarterbacks.

So, Pat, you're saying that both guys will play Saturday. Do you guys have certain packages for one or the other? Is there a certain thing that both do well in different ways?

Narduzzi: No, the same package. Really, it's the same thing. Like, it's not like, you know, we can't run this with him. We used to do this.

Now, I can tell you this. You know, Coach Bell - he’ll sit down with both those guys and say, hey, what do you like? What do you like? What do you know? They each have things they'd like better, but they can operate and do everything the same. It's not like he's going to have to change, but, you know, instead of, Nate's favorite play may be this and Eli's is this, but they're all in the favorites. They've all practiced everything that we're going to have in the game plan.

Are you hoping to settle this battle after the game?

Narduzzi: You know what? I'd like to do what comes out - you know, whatever happens. I mean, I think we maybe can all be sitting in that press conference room after the game going, okay, it looks like that guy, right? I mean, we could all have our opinions. I'd like to know as soon as possible. I don't want to drag it on. I want to get it done as soon as I possibly can.

You’re trying to test the quarterbacks and you’re also learning a new offense. Do all of those things make you less likely to hold back parts of the offense like you have in an opener before? Narduzzi: No, not, you know, when you say that, I've never held anything back. You know, again, I've never called an offensive play, but I've never held anything back in an opener. We're not holding back. We're going to play football. We're going to win a football game. Kent would not be coming in here - they’ll play their best game of the year. I can promise you that. They will come in here cranked up, you know, two hours down the road, and they will play their best game of the season.

Does each of them have a similar mobility?

Narduzzi: You know what? At times, yeah. I mean, you could probably put them on 40s. If you can go to the NCAA 24 game, I think one's got better speed than the other. I don't know how to predict that, but, you know, they both run pretty darn good. It's not like there's some drop-back quarterback that, you know, isn't going to be able to be mobile enough. So, they both move well.

What did Rashad Battle do to win the starting job? Narduzzi: I don't know. Maybe we missed an OR there. You know, Rashad Battle has done a nice job. I mean, I think, you know, Ryland, and you can almost say Tamon, same thing, and Rashad might be the top three right now. So, you know, you could probably put another OR there if you wanted to. I just got bored writing OR’s on EJ's sheet. But Tamon, you know, between Ryland, Tamon, and Rashad, those to me right now at this point would be those three guys that are going to get the, you know, the majority of those reps. And we'll kind of see how it goes. But, you know, I've been impressed with Rashad. He's a senior. And, you know, he's been through a battle, okay, through his career here at Pitt. I'm excited that he's stayed healthy and excited to see him play.

What did Desmond show you?

Narduzzi: Yeah, I mean, Desmond, and I probably said this pre-practice, just Desmond's got a little gear and he's tough. I think he sits behind the podium. He's kind of like this, looking at the guys when he got a chance to sit up here and talk. And, matter of fact, I think the guys messed with him a little bit and said, hey, stand up. But because we have a lot of fun in here. You know, Desmond is a tough son of a gun, let me just tell you. And he's fast. He's got bursts. He's not as big as Izzy was in the past, but he's got one of those, he's got that breakaway speed that if you give him a hole, he can take it to the house. So that's what - and again, he can catch the ball to the backfield. He's very versatile.

Does his familiarity with the offense help him as well?

Narduzzi: I think so. I think, you know, he wouldn't tell you that because he doesn't say anything. It's like, I try to get him to talk, although he just smiles. And you got to love that about him.

You didn’t list your quarterbacks alphabetically. Why not?

Narduzzi: Because I was struggling with the alphabet, I guess. Maybe, I don't know. I have no idea. Is everything else alphabetical in here OR-wise? I have no idea.

You said Eli made big strides. What stands out about him?

Narduzzi: You know, he had a little bit of a hammy. I mean, I think he dealt with the hammy going in, the hamstring injury going into spring ball and out of spring ball and just, you know, I don't know. I mean, I don't know. I couldn't put a finger on it.

I mean, just the time, I guess, that he had in the offense in the summer. Obviously, he did a great job in the summer and spending time in the classroom and just, you know, learning it. You know, so I couldn't put my finger on exactly why, but he's made some strides, that's for sure.

What have you gotten to know about Kade since you hired him?

Narduzzi: Gosh, you learn every day. You want the good or the bad? Just kidding.

No, you know, Kade's, you know, he's enthusiastic. He coaches the same way every day. He's consistent. You know, I can't say he's anything but a ball coach. Coach’s kid. You know, just, you know, love everything about him right now. I mean, we'll find out when games come, but he's a ball coach. He's into it. He's got great plans. I like the way he game plans. That's something that comes up new. There's something, you know, every day there's something maybe new that you learn about him. You know, I can't go through the list, but, like, just watching the way he game plans. He game plans different than other guys that I've been around throughout the years. So, that's about all I can tell you.

I don't think I've seen freshmen get one of those starting ORs like Francis Brewu did at a position like that. What has he done to show that he's at that level?

Narduzzi: Yeah, you know, Francis started off a little bit robotic, but he's a pleaser. You know, when you talk about, you know, 4-3 and, you know, he's a guy that's just trying to do exactly what, you know, Coach Daoust or we want him to do every play. And if you tell him to stay in his A-gap, stay in his A-gap. I mean, he's really consistent with his footwork and doing what he's supposed to do.

You know, probably the hardest transition was just trying to teach him how to run to the ball. He would play the run and turn around and look like this for a while and see where the ball's going, but he's improved there. But he just attacks his gap and he's where he's supposed to be, and that's half the battle sometimes.

Some guys want to swim around gaps and try to, you know, ad lib. He's a dude that just consistently every day you go, I trust that guy that when we put him out there and we say, do this, he's going to do it. That's why he is where he is.

And the other thing that separates him a little bit is he is, he's strong. When he puts his hands on you - you know, I'll tell you, the first day we went scout team, I don't know if I told you this already, the first day we went scout team, he's on the scout field because every freshman, regardless of what your position is, goes to the scout team. And he's over there and I heard somebody on the line say, well, he ain't going to be here long, coach. They know, and that's what you want.

You’re going to need all five of your defensive tackles, aren’t you?

Narduzzi: We’re going to need six or seven of them. I'd like to play them all.

Again, practice is practice. Guys, it's hard. I'm sure it's the same way next door. It's hard to tell, you know, like who those guys are to you. I mean, that's why I wish we had scrimmages. I mean, I could give you, you know, there may be less ORs on there if you get in a game and you don't get it done. I mean, maybe there's less ORs in week two, but until you have that opportunity to do it in a real game and not in a scrimmage and in front of people when the lights go on, I think it's critical.

What did Jimmy Scott do to win a starting job?

Narduzzi: You know, he grew up a lot from spring ball. You know, Jimmy's been solid. And, again, he's separated himself, but let me tell you, Chief is right there, too. I mean, I could put another damn OR there, right? I mean, I really could. And going to the other end, Sincere, you know. Sincere, a little bit banged up during camp, but Sincere's another guy. Like, I'm excited to see all those guys, and that's a good thing. If there wasn't many ORs on here, it means we don't think we have many guys that can play for us. And again, in two weeks, I may say that, hey, there's less ORs, and gosh, I was wrong, you know. And again, that's what we're going to find because, you know, camp is over, right? I mean, when the season starts and you get an opponent, you find out really where you are.

Kade said he doesn’t script plays in practice. How have you seen that help the two quarterbacks take command of the offense?

Narduzzi: You know, it's a great question, Amanda. I don't know how it helps them take command. I just know he's never scripted a play. That's something I've learned. You know, go back to your question. Like, something like never script a play. Like, hey, can we script this? No, we don't. Like, he just calls it. I love it. You know, when I was at Michigan State in the last few years here, I'd have a call-it period. Sometimes last year, I'd say, hey, it's a call-it period. And, you know, we'd have, you know, we're like this reading stuff off of a piece of paper. So the call-it period is about as realistic as you can get. It means you're doing it. And you know what? It's made Coach Bates better because he's got to call it every day and he doesn't have a, you know, he's got to call it, he doesn't know what the heck the play is. I think it makes for, you know, fun practice. It goes fast.

I like scripts. Personally, I'm old school. I like scripts, but, you know, it's something I've had to get used to. It's like, really, you know, I don't know what I would have done if I was a D coordinator. I might not like it as much. You know, I'd like to know what I'm getting and get a defense versus an offense and all that.

But it is, you know, I don't know if it's, helping the quarterbacks. They just know, you know, like, we're going. They can operate at any speed and they can operate with, regardless of what the call is. That's their job is to know everything.

You’re entering your tenth year here. That’s kind of a milestone. Have you had any time to reflect on that?

Narduzzi: I’m worried about winning a football game. Only thing that matters is next Saturday. What we did in the past doesn't matter. Where the future goes doesn't matter. It's where are we today? And I'm just worried about Kent. It ain't about me. It's about these seniors in the front row. It's about our captains and this football team. As honest as you can be.

Outside of Keye and Brandon, you have a lot of youth at linebacker. Do you feel like those young guys are ready?

Narduzzi: Yeah. Yeah, I do. You know, Kyle Louis has played a ton of football. Biles has played a lot of football. You know, Jordan Bass would probably be the youngest one in that group of, you know, six guys that you see on the depth chart there. And we'd have some guys after that probably should put on the depth chart, but, you know, we feel good with that, that those six linebackers right there and Jordan would be the youngest of the ones in there.

So Kyle Louis has played a lot of football. He's aggressive. He's physical. Biles is a dude. We know Lovelace. I mean, all those guys can play.

What do you know about the Kent State’s running backs?

Narduzzi: You know, both good players. I mean, obviously, you know, the transfer from Minnesota, the starter, is a good player. You know, he was the, you know, MVP of a bowl game when he was at Minnesota. You know, Coach Burns, that's his guy, right? I mean, he's going to get the rock. He's going to get a chance to, you know, run football. He coached him at Minnesota and now he's at Kent State. So, you know, both good football players that we're going to have to stop the run, you know, stopping the run will be key.

You listed Kenny Johnson as the starter. What did he show during the summer to improve from what you saw from last year?

Narduzzi: You know, Kenny's had an up and down, I'd say, fall camp. So we're looking to, you know, again, you know, as a lot of guys, especially at the receiver position, were banged up during the, you know, during the summer. You know, Kenny's back and feeling good and he has been for the last several days. So we're excited to see him back at full speed and playing Kenny ball.

But Kenny's mature, you know, the offense fits him and he's an explosive guy that can make plays.

You have a lot of guys on this offense who were recruited to play a different style. Do you have to allow for some adjustment period here?

Narduzzi: Yeah. Yeah, it's a great question. I would say this, we're going to find out, but that's what the whole, you know, 292 days since January, whatever it is, since January 8th when we sat in this room here and talked is to get him on that tempo, you know, and listen to Coach Bell every day, talk about it because, you know, it's new to me, just the operation, our operation is getting better.

Like, our operation right now with the guys that haven't been in this system and didn't get recruited into this system is so much better than it was when we ended spring ball. So the operation, getting lined up, doing all those things is better. Is it good enough? We'll find out.

Like, you know, if guys are moving and not set and the quarterback snaps the ball, we got illegal procedure. It's going to, you know, it's going to annoy the hell out of me. But our operation keeps getting better.

You know, these guys that were in different offenses, you know, half of them played in that type of offense or three quarters of them or maybe a hundred percent of them played in, you know, similar offenses at high schools. They love all these one-word calls, you know, that tell you what formation to line up in, what play to go. And, and it's just like, we see it every week, whoever we play. So, you know, I think they're used to it. And I think, I think it shouldn't be a problem.