2016 Pitt Football Summer Camp Begins
Pitt Football begins Season #2 under Head Coach Pat Narduzzi tomorrow starting with Summer Camp. For a team that started strong (8-3) and ended weak (lost season finale home vs Miami and the Military Bowl against Navy), Pitt has certain holes to fill. Most notably, the losses of Pitt’s all-time greatest WR (in terms of production) Tyler Boyd (who was taken in the 2nd round of the NFL draft this past April) and TE JP Holtz (who is trying to earn a roster spot with the Cleveland Browns) will be tough shoes to fill.
But the bigger story is what will happen on defense. Pitt got torched by faster offenses last year and faces the likes of Oklahoma State, Marshall and Clemson this season. Team speed will be a necessary upgrade on defense.
Offensively, Pitt has an experienced massive Offensive Line and a bevy of talented tailbacks. Pitt will attempt to control the clock and maul people this season.
So we begin our preview of the 2016 Pitt Football Season with our position by position outlook:
OFFENSE
QB – Returning 5th year starter Nate Peterman will be the starter. Last season (2015), he completed 193 passes on 314 attempts with 20 TDs, 8 INTs and a 138 QB rating. His issues seem to be rooted in staring down receivers especially Tyler Boyd. His mechanics are solid but he still needs some work on shortening his wind-up release and getting the ball out quicker.
After Adam Bertke transferred in the off-season, the back-up job seems to be in the hands of Former NC State and UT-Martin QB Manny Stocker (his younger brother Jay plays safety for Pitt). Stocker is mobile and really knows Pitt’s new Offensive Coordinator Matt Canada’s system pretty well from their 2013 season together at NC State.
Behind Peterman and Stocker will be redshirt freshman Ben DiNucci, who has an unorthodox release but also has an uncanny feel for the game, and true freshman Thomas MacVittie (Moeller High School, Cincinnati, OH), who will be the favorite to win the job in 2017.
Walk-on Bo Schneider (who transferred from Central Florida) will sit out this season due to NCAA transfer rules.
RB – There’s nothing more exciting than the return of 2014 ACC Player of the Year James Conner to the Pitt backfield this season. Conner tore his MCL in the 2015 season opener against Youngstown State and soon after was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. But after nearly a year of recovery, he completed his chemo treatments and was recently given a clean bill of health by his doctors at UPMC. There’s nothing more exciting than that. There is also no doubt, Conner will become the lead back in 2016 and his share of the carries will only be dictated by what he can handle.
DreamBackfield however predicts 2015 ACC Offensive Rookie of the Year Qadree Ollison will take the lionshare of the carries this season even if Conner starts. Ollison had a monster freshman season last year after amassing 1,048 yards on 204 carries that netted 10 TDs (5.1 yards/carry).
It should also go without saying that Pitt has a not-so-secret weapon in 2015 ACC Overall & Defensive Rookie of the Year and two-way player sophomore Jordan Whitehead who will figure into the Panther offense at running back, wildcat and various shotgun formations. He even lined up out of the eye last season and as a tailback. There’s simply no way to duplicate a talent like Whitehead at the college level and he will factor into the gameplan in 2016 as well.
Some might argue RB Coach Andre Powell’s job is easy since Pitt’s backfield depth gets even better with returning sophomore tailback Darrin Hall, who ran for 264 yards on 57 carries and 2 TDs. Not to mention, third down specialist redshirt junior Rachid Ibrahim returns to the field after missing the entire 2015 season due to an Achilles injury following a freak injury in a non-contact practice drill.
Providing depth will be true freshman Chawntez Moss (Bedford, OH) who enrolled in January and will probably redshirt this season.
In sum, the tailback position is well stocked for the foreseeable future and Coach Powell can continue his great work in 2016.
FB / HB – In 2015, Pitt employed a hybrid fullback and H-Back position. With new Offensive Coordinator Matt Canada taking over, that is expected to remain in tact. The one slight wrinkle you will see is more passing out of the backfield.
That’s where redshirt sophomore George Aston excels. He will assume the starting job he seized last season from senior Jaymar Parrish (who was turned into a pass blocking Tight End). Aston was exciting in his limited touches and exhibited really soft hands along with bruising blocking capabilities. Redshirt junior Colton Lively will provide depth.
With Canada’s penchant for throwing out of the backfield, expect Pitt to utilize more swing passes to Aston and Conner. This will immensely help Pitt’s poor pass blocking (29 sacks allowed in 2015).
WR – Perhaps the biggest blow to Pitt’s roster in 2016 was the loss of arguably Pitt’s all-time greatest wideout Tyler Boyd to the NFL (ok maybe that title belongs to Larry Fitzgerald if the truth be told but it’s close). It wasn’t unexpected and Boyd made the right decision to move on after his Junior Season but he left a massive void at WR for Pitt. Coach Kevin Sherman now has to find a next “go-to” receiver at flanker.
The safest bet is on redshirt senior Dontez Ford, who caught a meager 26 rocks for 505 yards and 2 touches, to seize the spotlight. While Ford is steady, he’s hardly the player Boyd is but perhaps he can get some help from his friends.
Those comrades include redshirt junior Zach Challingsworth, redshirt junior Jester Weah (who may be Pitt’s fastest player but has been working on improving his pass catching) and redshirt senior Chris Wuestner (who missed the entire 2015 season due to injury).
Challingsworth seems like the likely choice to start opposite Ford at this point but OC Matt Canada says the best player will win the job regardless of experience.
Some of the unknown diamonds in the rough include sophomore Tre Tipton (who the coaches are very high on), redshirt sophomore Quadree Henderson (who returned the Military Bowl’s opening kickoff 100 yards against Navy to paydirt and has amazing elusive speed) and JUCO redshirt sophomore Rafael Araujo-Lopes.
Perhaps the next superstar will either be incoming true freshman 6’4″ Ruben Flowers (Lima, OH), Aaron Matthews (Clairton PA) or speedster Maurice Ffrench (New Brunswick, NJ) in the slot.
Unlike tailback, it’s anybody’s guess who will emerge as the top targets for Peterman this fall but the wideout position looks to be decision by committee at this point.
TE – After losing JP Holtz to graduation, Pitt Tight End Coach Tim Salem has some work to do in 2016. Holtz was one of the main cogs in the Pitt offense for the past 4 years and will naturally succumb the position to senior Scott Orndoff.
The good news is nearly 50% of the balls Orndoff caught last year went for scores (5 touches from 13 grabs and 244 yards). The bad news is he didn’t have that many rocks thrown to him. Hopefully that will change under Canada this season. We feel like we’ve been saying this for years but Pitt hasn’t thrown too much to its tight ends and the broken record was played again last season.
With incoming UCLA transfer (former 2015 #1 in the nation Tight End recruit) Chris Clark undergoing surgery and sitting out this season due to NCAA transfer rules, it looks like Jaymar Parrish will spell Orndoff on running downs unless Pitt goes to a 2 tight-end set. Parrish is a bone-crusher and NFL ready but has been primarily been used as a blocker after 2 great seasons as Pitt’s starting H-Back.
Coach Salem’s other option at TE is former Defensive End and redshirt junior Zach Poker. We have no idea if Poker can play tight end but he sure does have the frame for the position (6’4″, 235 lbs with good speed).
Rounding out the depth at Tight End this spring will be redshirt freshman DeAndre Schifino, redshirt junior Devon Edwards and converted linebacker Nate Bossory.
OL – the Pitt OL looked like a wrecking ball crew on the ground last season. Not only did Coach John Peterson do a wonderful job with the group in 2015, it also looked at times like Pitt played against opponents on roller skates.
That’s because Pitt rushed for 2429 yards (good for 6th best in the ACC), while also controlling the clock for a Time of Possession of 31 minutes/game (ranked 4th in the ACC) and converted 84% of the time when they went for it on 4th down (11 out of 13 attempts which was the best in the conference). That’s some really good stuff.
The main issue though continues to be pass protection. Pitt lacks the lateral quickness to handle strong pass rushers. This was particularly true at center (which is perhaps the worst place to suffer from poor pass protection).
Starting at Left Tackle will be redshirt senior Adam Bisnowaty. Like the rest of the Pitt line, Biz was solid last season on run downs. He has good pad level for run blocking and has a nice eye for picking up run blitzes. He struggles with edge rushes and gets beaten far too often inside rather than outside by quicker DEs and blitz LBers.
It feels like almost yesterday when Dorian Johnson, the highly touted 4 star high school lineman, came to Pitt from nearby Belle Vernon, PA. Well folks that was 4 years ago and now Johnson is playing for his 2017 NFL draft status in his senior season. He’s the prototypical Left Guard (6’5″ 300 lbs) with really good hands and run blocking skills. He too needs a little work on his pass protection but he may be Pitt’s best offensive lineman. In fact, he was selected to the an All-ACC Pre-Season Team by the media during the ACC meetings recently.
The Center position is probably where Pitt has the most issues. Last season, the position was handled by committee with redshirt junior Alex Officer and the now graduated 6th year Panther Artie Rowell platooning in the role. Officer played most of the 2015 season starting at Right Guard however.
After no one really seized the Center job while Officer was recovering from injury following the Military Bowl last season, it looks as though Officer will return to Center as the starter this season. Providing depth at Center will be converted defensive lineman Connor Dintino and redshirt sophomore Alex Galiyas.
Last year’s starting Right Tackle Brian O’Neill will probably move inside to Right Guard this season. As a converted TE, O’Neill gained 30 pounds and played in all 13 games last season (started the last 12). He has really quick feet and excellent hands. With his added weight, he has the chance to be a really special lineman in the years to come.
Coach Peterson is perhaps most excited about return of redshirt junior Jaryd Jones-Smith (who missed all of the 2015 season after hurting his knee during an offseason conditioning session) and will probably be Pitt’s starting Right Tackle. Frankly, Jones-Smith is a monster and an NFL level guard. Before his injury, he may have been Pitt’s best offensive lineman.
The reserves for the Pitt OL this season will include redshirt junior Carson Baker and redshirt freshmen Aaron Reese at Tackle, Tony Pilato, Aaron Britton, Alex Paulina, Kyle Benbrook and redshirt senior John Guy.
Perhaps the biggest mysteries on the Pitt OL right now is what’s going to happen with redshirt sophomores Mike Herndon and Alex Bookser. Both figured heavily in the future of the Pitt OL and haven’t made much of an impact yet.
Mike Grimm, unfortunately, had to undergo hip surgery and will be out for the 2016 season.
This summer Pitt will also get more depth when Wyndmoor (PA) La Salle High School Center Jimmy Morrissey joins the squad. Morrissey will be a preferred walk-on and played in the Big 33 game this year in Hersey, PA.
Its also nice to have incoming true freshman and massive tackle Justin Morgan (6’7″ 335 lbs) joining the team this summer along with Brandon Ford (Upper St. Clair/Pittsburgh, PA).
Florida OL recruit Zach Williams was ruled ineligible academically and will probably enroll at a Prep School this fall, probably at Milford Academy.
The bottom line is Pitt will have enough talent and depth on the OL to keep the running game at a high level. If Coach Peterson can somehow get the unit to reduce the number of sacks, Pitt should compete for the ACC Coastal crown this season.
DEFENSE
The Pitt Defense looked on paper to be a much better unit in 2015 than 2014. In fact, there were some positives such as being 6th in total defense, 6th against the run and 3rd in sacks (37) in the ACC.
The problem was getting off the field on 3rd down where Pitt allowed opponents to move the sticks 72 times (40% of the time) which was next to last in the ACC. Worst than that, Pitt was dead last in Red Zone defense allowing ACC Teams to score 37 times out of 38 attempts (including field goals).
Those stats were a direct result of a poor pass rush and weak LB play. While many Pitt fans want to place the blame on the Pitt secondary, the truth is without a pass rush Mel Blount in his hey day couldn’t cover receivers for the amount of time the Pitt DL was surrendering.
However, there were times where the defense was simply put in a position to fail and that rests on Coach Josh Conklin. Case in point, the Pitt secondary was in man coverage with less than 30 seconds left in the 1st half against Louisville and leading 42-17. This led to a hail mary TD as time expired.
Defensive End
The upside of having undersized DEs (such as Juan Price) is you theoretically can generate a better pass rush with more speed on the field. At times, that looked to be true as Pitt ranked 3rd in sacks in the ACC with most of those coming from Juan Price.
Last season, Price was one of the nation’s most disruptive defensive players, collecting 19.5 TFLs and 11.5 sacks.
Behind Price at the “flash” DE position will be sophomore James Folston and junior Allen Edwards, a redshirt last season after transferring from Dean (MA) College and redshirt freshman Erik Sellers.
At “Rush” DE, Coach Conklin has the fortune of getting mammoth Tennessee-transfer redshirt sophomore Dewayne Hendrix (6’4″ 270 lbs) on to the field after sitting last season due to NCAA rules. Hendrix brings the correct mix of size and speed to the position that Pitt has desperately lacked.
Junior Rori Blair, who started 10 games last season, will provide depth behind Hendrix along with freshman Patrick Jones II, who enrolled in January after earning status as Virginia’s No. 1 defensive end prospect, and sophomore Dom Cuono.
DT / NT
With the graduation of KK Mosley-Smith and Darryl Render, Pitt finds itself looking for two new starters inside. One of those will probably be senior Tyrique Jarrett who played significant snaps last season.
Jarrett was a solid NT against the run but had a lot of trouble mustering any kind of pass rush due to his speed. Unless you’re Pitt legend and current LA Rams all-pro Aaron Donald, that’s probably true of most inside lineman.
That leaves a huge void at the DT spot and that could be filled by any number of players including redshirt junior Jeremiah Taleni, or Shakir Soto, a converted DE who was moved inside after playing 3 seasons outside for Pitt, as well as converted DE Shane Roy.
The DT spot will also provide an opportunity for incoming freshman monsters Keyshon Camp (6’3″ 275 lbs / Lakeland, FL), Amir Watts (6’3″ 275 Lbs / Chicago, IL), Rashad Wheeler (6’3″ 270 lbs / Pittsburgh Central Catholic), and Bryce Hargrove (who figures to move to OL but has stayed on the DL for now due to depth issues).
Camp, Wheeler and Watts certainly seem likely to play major snaps this fall.
Walk-on Calvin Hamilton (6’0″ 315 lbs / Philadelphia, PA) will also provide depth.
Overall, the DT / NT positions will be a weak spot for Pitt this year due to inexperience and a lack of depth/size to compete at this level. That should change in a hurry once these kids spend a year in the weight room with Conditioning Coach Dave Andrews.
Star LB (weakside or WIL LB)
With Nicholas Grigsby (Bam Bradley’s brother) graduating, Pitt will try to fill the void at “Star” position this season.
In an effort to boost depth, former safety and redshirt sophomore Jalen Williams and redshirt sophomore and former WR Elijah Zeise were moved to the Star LBer position this past spring. Both Williams and Zeise have nice speed for the position but will need to bulk up. At least, Williams is familiar with the scheme and Zeise played defense in high school. Another option might be redshirt sophmore Oluwaseun Idowu.
Perhaps the most complex puzzle that Coach Harley has to solve at the Star LB spot is what will happen with highly touted redshirt freshmen Anthony McKee Jr., who will miss the spring with an injury.
Middle LB (MIK LB)
Returning in the middle or MIK LB spot will be senior Matt Galambos, who really struggles with speed and shedding blocks. He’s a solid tackler especially against the run and makes some really strong reads. He even had some nice blitzes in 2015 as evidenced when he sacked Iowa’s C.J. Beathard into oblivion on a well designed delayed blitz. But he’s constantly causing gaping holes in the middle of the defense due to his size and lack of speed.
Backing Galambos up will be returning junior Quintin Wirginis, who had a solid sophomore season and at times replaced Galambos in the middle due to his speed. But he too is a bit underwhelming due to his size (6’2″ 245 lbs). Other options include sophomore Brian Popp and redshirt freshman Jim Medure.
Money LB (strongside or SAM LB)
Perhaps the best candidate for “Money” LB position is redshirt senior Mike Caprara, who is tackling machine despite being slightly too small at this level.
Caprara is coach Rob Harley’s dream in term of his knowledge of/passion for the game and technique. If he were only a few inches taller and about 20 Lbs heavier, he’d be a monster in the ACC.
Pitt’s strongest hitter on defense is clearly redshirt senior Bam Bradley and he will push Caprara for the starting job. Bradley is a bit of an enigma to most Pitt fans as he can sometimes completely disappear in games. Other times, he can hit defenders with a punishing purpose that feels like 90s Pitt strong safety Ramon Walker is on the field. Bradley’s disappearing act is not a matter of speed or size but perhaps effort.
Depth at the Money LB spot will come from redshirt freshman Saleem Brightwell, who like McKee was highly touted out of high school, and junior Nico Lodovico.
Coach Harley will also have the chance to audition some true freshman this summer including Chase Pine (Williamsburg, VA), Kaezon Pugh (Aliquippa, PA) and Elias Reynolds (Brooklyn, NY). Its very possible all three of these kids could see playing time this season.
Field Corner
At Field Corner, formerly the property of graduating senior Lafayette Pitts, will be an open competition this summer and Coach Renaldo Hill is probably hoping the job will ultimately go to superstar incoming true freshman Damar Hamlin (Pittsburgh Central Catholic).
Hamlin is just what Pitt needs in its secondary. He hits like a tank, has amazing sideline to sideline speed and terrific vision. He could end up at Free Safety and allow one of the other incoming recruits to battle for the Field Corner position.
For the Spring, Pitt will audition a number of players at Field Corner including returning redshirt senior Ryan Lewis, redshirt sophmore Phillipe Motley or perhaps redshirt freshman Dane Jackson.
Boundary Corner
At the Boundary Corner position will be junior Avonte Maddox. When he was a freshman, he was picked on by Duke’s Jamison Crowder. Last season, it was Louisville’s Jamari Staples and Syracuse’s Steve Ishmael. The truth is Maddox is a really fine player that’s just too short to match up with most of the elite ACC receivers. He’s a fine hitter and always seems to be in a good position to make plays but often gets beat by simply taller players. Its just unfair.
Redshirt freshman Malik Henderson and junior Rob Boatright will provide depth at Boundary Corner behind Maddox.
Strong Safety
Pitt’s best defender and perhaps best player overall is 2015 ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year sophomore Jordan Whitehead. The kid is a beast in the secondary with tremendous hands, speed and toughness. He’s the most complete player Pitt has and he will continue to wreck havoc as the starter at strong safety this season.
Sophomore Dennis Briggs will provide depth behind Whitehead after lettering as a reserve last season, as well as redshirt freshman Rimoni Dorsey.
Free Safety
Returning at Free Safety will be senior Terrish Webb. In a blink of an eye, Webb is in his 4th season after arriving at Pitt with high school buddies Tyler Boyd and former Panther Titus Howard. Webb is a decent Free Safety with good hands, nose for the ball and tackling skills.
Some of the reserves at Free Safety will include 5th year redshirt senior Reggie Mitchell and Jay Stocker.
Walk-on junior Mark Bernsdorff will also provide depth.
In addition, Coach Hill is probably very excited about the arrivals of true freshman Therran Coleman (Pittsburgh Brashear), Phil Campbell (Monmouth Junction / South Brunswick, NJ), Bricen Garner (Pittsburgh Central Catholic) and Henry Miller (Kissimmee, FL).
Miller seems like the natural choice at Boundary Corner due to his size (6’3″) and leaping ability.
Defensive Outlook: There will be an interesting mix of veterans and freshman in the Pitt secondary and at the defensive tackles this season. Its going to be hard to keep the true freshman off the field.
Pitt is bit undersized in places (Price at DE, Maddox at Boundary Corner and Caprara at LB for example), inexperienced in other places (Hamlin at Corner and whoever wins the Star LB spot) and slow in the remaining places (Galambos at the MIK and Jarrett/Taleni at NT/DT). All of which amounts to a recipe for a slightly above-average defense.
If Pitt can get any sort of pass rush and get off the field on 3rd down, though, it should be enough to keep the Panthers in the chase of the Coastal Crown this season.
Special Teams:
Placekicker
Returning for his senior season is the Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde senior placekicker Chris Blewitt. One week he’ll make game-winners from 56 yards (vs Ga Tech and a school record) or 20 yards (vs Syracuse), or he’ll miss badly (twice against Miami and once against Navy) from 40 yards. The year before (2014) was no different when he missed a game-winning chip shot against Duke that cost Pitt the game. He was only 15 for 23 overall and that was good for 10th best in the ACC.
For Blewitt, its all mental as he’s clearly got the leg to be a more consistent kicker.
Providing depth for Blewitt will be redshirt sophomore walk-on Alec Schuster and redshirt freshman walk-on Tristan Cunha. Neither figure to factor much this season unless Blewitt goes down with an injury.
Punter
Returning for his redshirt junior season will be Punter Ryan Winslow.
Winslow’s career seems to have tanked after a really promising freshman and sophomore campaigns. Last season, he punted 63 times for 2589 yards and an average of 41 yards/punt. That was good for only 11th in the ACC. His main issue seems to be hang-time and distance.
Coach Powell is hoping Winslow can regain the magic of his first two seasons to give Pitt a weapon in the kicking game.
Providing depth for Winslow will be walk-on redshirt sophomore Nick Goldsmith.
Pitt’s Long-Snapper in punting situations will be redshirt senior Pat Quirin and he will be backed up by redshirt freshman Jake Knight and junior Nathan Bossory (who also plays TE).
Arriving in June will be new placekicker Alex Kessman (from Michigan) and his new buddy and long-snapper roommate Conrad Brake (from New York). Both will be preferred walk-ons in 2016 but will go on scholarship in 2017.
Punt Return
Pitt had Tyler Boyd returning punts last season and that seemed to be only somewhat effective. Boyd, for all his greatness, dropped a few punts and sometimes would only get minimal yardage. In fact, he caught 19 balls for 120 yards and an average of 6.3 yards per punt return which was good for 12th in the ACC.
Avonte Maddox will need to assume Boyd’s role on the team this season.
Kick Return
After Quadree Henderson’s 100 yard TD return against Navy last season, its clear he should be on the field for kick returns.
Pitt was 5th best in kickoff return yards in the ACC after returning 41 kicks for 1017 yards.
Special Teams
Overall, Coach Powell proved to be an amazing addition to Coach Narduzzi’s staff. His special teams were excellent in kickoff and punt coverage and didn’t surrender a single TD all season last year.
