Pitt Roster Analysis: Offense
The Panther offense last year was, to put it bluntly, a disaster. Yes, Darrin Hall and Qadree Ollison each rushed for over 1,000 yards. Yes, they had a historic output against Virginia Tech. Yes, this team won the Coastal division and earned the right to spend an evening getting manhandled by Clemson. However, anyone who actually watched the Panthers play last season knew that this was all in spite of former Offensive Coordinator Shawn Watson. We are nearly 8 months removed from his ouster and I am still flabbergasted that one person could be so bad at his job and keep getting hired as had even prior to coming to Pitt. I have said and will continue to say some very not nice things about his skill as an Offensive Coordinator because I am so astonished at how poor he was at his job. That’s all in the past though and Mark Whipple has come to town to re-make the offense. While we have to wait for Saturday to see exactly what “Whippleball” will look like, we can take a look at the personnel that he inherited and get an idea of what to expect.
Quarterback
Starter: Kenny Pickett (Junior)
Backups: Nick Patti (RS Freshman) or Jeff George, Jr. (RS Senior)
Also on Scholarship: Davis Beville (Freshman)
Walk-on: Eli Kosanovich (Freshman)
Kenny Pickett enters his Junior year and second season as the starting Quarterback of the Pitt Panthers. Going into last season the New Jersey native received a lot of hype due to his performance in his first career start against #2 Miami in the 2017 season finale. This was stoked by the comments from the coaching staff over the offseason and into training camp (find some quotes). Unfortunately, his first full season didn’t failed to live up to these lofty expectations by quite a large degree. For the season he only completed 58.1% of his passes and failed to hit 2,000 yards (1,969) despite the Panthers playing 14 games. His 6.4 yards per pass attempt were 11th in the conference (last of qualifying QB’s) and 90th in the country (out of 107 qualifiers).
It would be unfair not to mention some mitigating factors that contributed to Pickett’s underwhelming performance, primarily Shawn Watson. The former Offensive Coordinator utilized an antique plodding offense and seemed unable to understand basic offensive strategy, despite that being exactly what his chosen career requires. Sticking Dan Marino in his prime under center last year likely wouldn’t have resulted in much better results (and Watson’s concepts were not as out-of-date when he played). With Mark Whipple running the show, the forward pass looks to be a regular part of the Panthers’ offense once again. Another factor is that Pickett seemed to suffer a knee injury in the opener against Albany. Despite not missing any games, he was seen wearing a knee brace much of the season and was likely bothered by it all year.
With Shawn Watson gone, a healthy knee, and a year of experience as a starter in the ACC, I would be very surprised if Kenny Pickett didn’t have a much improved season this year, assuming he remains healthy. It may be asking a lot for him to play at an All-conference level, but he should at least be average for a Power 5 program. Even average is a massive improvement over last year though.
While there is no question who the starter is at Quarterback, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a competition at the position. Nick Patti and Jeff George, Jr. are battling it out to be the next guy up. Despite new rules last year that allow a player to play in up to 4 games without burning their redshirt, Patti did not play as a true freshman. Instead his competition was the primary backup for most of last season. Despite being the next man up, George didn’t see much action. He had a pass attempt as part of an ill-advised fake punt against Notre Dame and went 1 for 2 in mop-up duty against Miami. However he does have more experience than that, as he played 11 games over 2 seasons at Illinois before he transferred to Pitt. Though the first depth chart listed them as co-backups, reports out of camp seem to indicate that Patti would be the next guy up if Pickett can’t play.
The most intriguing player in the Quarterback room other than Pickett is likely neither Patti nor George though. Incoming freshman Davis Beville was rated as a 4-star recruit by Rivals and ideally will be the guy to step in when Pickett leaves Pitt. The Greenville, South Carolina native is the first blue chip Quarterback brought to Pitt by Narduzzi and the highest rated recruit at the position to come to Pitt since Chad Voytik in 2012. Regardless of his promise, the Panthers would likely be in trouble if Pickett goes down for a significant amount of time.
Running Back
Starter: A.J. Davis (Junior) or Todd Sibley
Also on Scholarship: Mychale Salahuddin (RS Freshman), Daniel Carter (Freshman), Vincent Davis (Freshman)
Walk-on: Kyle Vreen (RS Junior)
The Panthers have a hard task in front of them this season in replacing Qadree Ollison and Darrin Hall in the running game. The tandem became the first pair of Panthers to rush for over 1,000 yards in the same season last year and more than adequately lived up to Pitt’s proud tradition as RBU. This year is when we find out who, if anyone, will continue that tradition. The current stable of backs is long on talent and promise, but short on experience. The returning Running Backs on the roster only have a combined 412 rushing yards and 3 Touchdowns combined for their careers. While it would be foolish to say that some drop-off in the running game won’t happen (especially when you also factor in the departure of Fullback George Aston), it likely won’t be as severe as many are expecting.
A.J. Davis will almost certainly be the starter when Pitt plays Virginia this weekend. The Junior has seen action each of his two seasons at Pitt, including in his very first game as a true freshman. However, due to Hall and Ollison’s presence ahead of him on the depth chart he has only racked up 174 yards on 48 carries in 12 games over the past 2 seasons. Todd Sibley sits just behind him on the depth chart. The Akron, Ohio native came to Pitt with Davis as part of the 2017 class, but redshirted his freshman year and only had one carry for a loss of one yard last season (in the regular season finale against Miami). Though they haven’t made much of an impact in their first two years with the program, each were highly touted coming out of high school earning 4-star designations in the 247 Composite rankings. Between this pedigree and the fact that they were buried on the depth chart, they could each be looking at breakout years despite their lack of experience.
Also almost certain to see the field this year is a player from the Class of 2018. Mychale Salahuddin was Pitt’s highest rated recruit in that class as a 4-star All-purpose Back out of Washington, D.C. He had originally committed to USC before de-committing and selecting Pitt over Syracuse on signing day. Last year he appeared in 2 games, but was able to keep his Redshirt due to new NCAA rules. In this limited action he only had 4 carries, but racked up 37 yards. Despite starting the season behind Davis and Sibley on the depth chart Salahuddin should see playing time this year, even if the elder two remain healthy. A big part of this has to do with his style of running being more elusive and explosive, while the other two are more of the big bruising mold like Ollison and Hall. Because of this, it’s likely that Salahuddin sees playing time as part of an effort to show opposing defenses something different and mix things up.
There are a couple of intriguing freshman who could also be in the mix to see playing time this year at the Running Back position. Daniel Carter and Vincent Davis are both natives of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The former picked the Panthers over Kansas State shortly before signing day. The latter was a longtime commit as part of the big Father’s Day official visit weekend last summer. Both are on campus now, but Davis has been the one pushing hard for playing time. He’s opened eyes in practices and scrimmages according to the coaching staff and it seems likely that he’ll get a look at some point over the course of the season. Carter may have to wait to see the field, but his future is also promising.
Wide Receiver
Starters: Taysir Mack (RS Junior), Maurice Ffrench (Senior), Tre Tipton (RS Senior)
Backups: Aaron Matthews (Senior), Dontavius Butler-Jenkins (RS Sophomore), John Vardzel (RS Freshman)
Also on Scholarship: Shocky Jacques-Louis (Sophomore), Michael Smith (RS Sophomore), V’Lique Carter (Sophomore), Cameron O’Neil (RS Freshman), Will Gipson (Freshman), Jared Wayne (Freshman)
Walk-ons: Gavin Thomson (Freshman), Joshua Junko (Freshman), Jacob Hunsinger (Freshman), Isaiah Stewart (Freshman), Michael Vardzel (Freshman), Garrett Bickhart (RS Sophomore)
The Panthers return a lot of experience to their Wide Receiver corps this season, with only Rafael Araujo-Lopes and his 380 receiving yards graduating after last season. Unfortunately, that modest figure was good enough for the 3rd most receiving yards under last year’s ground-oriented offense. With a new Offensive Coordinator and a Quarterback with a full season of experience under his belt, the hope is that the group this year will be much more prolific.
The two players to finish ahead of Araujo-Lopes in receiving yards last season are both found at the top of the recently released depth chart for this weekend’s game. Taysir Mack, in his first year in the program after transferring from Indiana, led the team with 557 yards. Though he showed flashes of being a potentially dynamic player, he was limited by injuries in addition to the running-focused offense. Maurice Ffrench was not far behind Mack with 515 yards, though he led the team in receiving Touchdowns with 6. He also has shown flashes in his career and is well-known outside of Pitt followers as a dangerous kickoff returner. Also listed as a starter is Tre Tipton who, despite being a Redshirt Senior, has yet to really make much of an impression for Pitt. For his career, he’s only appeared in 13 games with 17 career catches for 184 yards.
Backing up this trio are a Senior, a prime candidate for a breakout season, and a true shocker. Aaron Matthews is the Senior who has had an unusual career thus far. He played in 7 games his freshman season, but has yet to appear more regularly. For his career, he has 31 receptions for 360 yards over 20 games. He also has yet to record a Touchdown in his Panthers career. Matthews is a bigger Wide Receiver (6-4, 220 lbs.) who has almost been utilized as more of a Tight End at times. Given the fact that Shawn Watson still probably isn’t aware that that position even exists, it’s not surprising that he hasn’t produced much. He should fit well in Mark Whipple’s system though. Dontavius Butler-Jenkins is due for a breakout this season. As a Redshirt Freshman he only had 4 receptions for 12 yards, but in his 3rd year in the program he’s due for a larger role and to make more of an impact. The 3rd backup spot listed is walk-on Wide Receiver John Vardzel. Seeing a walk-on listed on the depth chart at all, especially given how deep Pitt’s receiving corps is, was not expected at all. Vardzel is unlikely to see much playing time though, even for a backup, as he was likely listed there to either motivate another player that the coaching staff feel is underperforming or due to an undisclosed injury.
Regarding who Vardzel is potentially taking a spot from, at least on the published depth chart, the likely answer is Shocky Jacques-Louis. It’s likely that he wasn’t listed due to being banged up, but that seems past as he was a full participant in practice on Tuesday. Jacques-Louis is another candidate for a breakout season after recording 134 yards from scrimmage as a true freshman last year. How much, if any, playing time he gets will be something to watch over the first few games of the season. Other Wide Receivers who will likely see the field this year include V’Lique Carter and Michael Smith. Carter made the official switch from Defensive Back to Wide Receiver over the offseason. He had already come out of nowhere in the game against Duke last year, racking up 137 yards on 7 carries and scoring 2 touchdowns. Carter was utilized on offense the remainder of the season and during the offseason the position switch was made official. Despite not being listed on the depth chart, expect to see Carter utilized as a versatile weapon in the manner that Quadree Henderson was used. His omission is more a sign of either Narduzzi wanting to keep him under the radar, uncertainty on what position to even designate him, or most likely a little of both.
Tight Ends
Starter: Will Gragg (RS Senior)
Backups: Nakia Griffin-Stewart (RS Senior), Grant Carrigan (RS Sophomore)
Also on Scholarship: Jim Medure (RS Senior), Kyi Wright (Freshman)
Walk-On: Jake Cortes (RS Freshman)
Like with Wide Receiver, the hope is that the Panthers will get a lot more production out of their Tight Ends this season. I was only half-joking above regarding Shawn Watson’s knowledge of the position. Last year, Pitt Tight Ends combined for 10 completions for 69 yards with 0 Touchdowns. With 14 games played, that means that on average a Tight End only caught a pass just shy of once every 6 quarters. This position has also been a gigantic failure on the recruiting front meaning that Pat Narduzzi has been forced to bring in transfers to the position. In 2017 it was Matt Flanagan from Rutgers and last year it was Will Gragg from Arkansas. This year it was another Rutgers transfer in Nakia Griffin-Stewart. These transfers have meant that the Tight End room is somewhat shored up, but it is a position that recruiting will need to improve on in the future.
It was somewhat surprising that Will Gragg was named the outright starter. Entering training camp he was listed as a co-starter with the two backups. Given how fond Narduzzi is of the “OR” designation on depth charts, it was almost expected that at least for the first game there wouldn’t be a single man listed. Gragg has apparently impressed in camp though and has earned the right to be listed as the starter. That being said, it’s extremely likely that we will see plenty of playing time from Griffin-Stewart and Carrigan. Pitt is going to be playing “Whippleball” now, so expect to see Tight Ends utilized beyond just as blockers. Jim Medure and Kyi Wright are likely to see some playing time as well, the latter especially due to the recent loosening of redshirt restrictions. Overall, this is a position group to watch for the first time in several years.
Offensive Line
Starters: LT – Carter Warren (RS Sophomore), LG – Bryce Hargrove (RS Junior), C – Jimmy Morrissey (RS Junior), RG – Gabe Houy (RS Sophomore), RT – Nolan Ulizio (RS Senior)
Backups: LT – Carson Van Lynn (RS Sophomore), LG – Brandon Ford (RS Junior), C – Owen Drexel (RS Sophomore), RG – Jake Kradel (RS Freshman) or Chase Brown (RS Junior), RT – Jerry Drake, Jr. (RS Sophomore)
Also on Scholarship: Rashad Wheeler (RS Junior), Blake Zubovic (RS Freshman), Liam Dick (Freshman), Matthew Goncalves (Freshman), Jason Collier (Freshman)
Walk-ons: Kenny Rainey III (RS Sophomore), Brain Burgess (RS Sophomore), Shane Murphy (Freshman)
The Panthers are in the unenviable position of replacing 4 of 5 Offensive Line starters from last season. Stefano Millin, Alex Bookser, Connor Dintino, and Mike Herndon have all moved on from a unit that was a Semifinalist for the Joe Moore Offensive Line of the Year Award. There is some good news though, the first being that the one returning starter is Jimmy Morrissey. Though he’s a former walk-on, Morrissey has blossomed into an All-Conference caliber Center and is the anchor of the unit. This became especially evident after he was lost for the season following the Wake Forest game. Pitt lost each of their remaining 3 games and it was obvious that he was missed badly. A healthy Morrissey this year is key to the success of the unit as a whole.
There is further reason to hope that the Offensive Line this year won’t take quite a large step backwards. The first is that, despite the accolade mentioned above, the Offensive Line last year was dreadful at pass blocking. The honors it received were due entirely to it’s work in the running game, where it paved the way for Darrin Hall and Qadree Ollison to each rush for 1,000 yards. The passing game was another story, as they struggled mightily at times to give Kenny Pickett enough time to get off a good pass. Though the run blocking will likely take a step back, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the pass blocking improve significantly. The new starters are generally nimbler and more athletic than the big bruisers who occupied the positions last season. Another reason for optimism is that second year Offensive Line Coach Dave Borbely has shown that he is very good at his job and can get the most out of his players. This is in direct contrast with his predecessor John Peterson who, despite working with many of the same players, was never able to get nearly the performance out of them that Borbely has. Now in their second year working with him, the new starters should be even further along the development track. Finally, it’s a good sign that the 5 starters were pretty apparent from early in camp. A good Offensive Line depends so much on communication and working together as a cohesive unit. It often takes several games for a unit with many changes like this to gel. It’s a good sign that there were no real battles for any of the spots because it means that they’ve all had more time to get used to each other.
It’s also worth noting that the Offensive Line isn’t completely void of experience. In fact, only Carter Warren has yet to make a start in his collegiate career. Gabe Houy played in 6 games last season and started in 1, replacing the suspended Alex Bookser. Bryce Hargrove played in all 14 games and started the final 3 in place of Connor Dintino (who took over at Center for Morrissey). Nolan Ulizio is a graduate transfer who had a 3 season career at Michigan, where he played in 17 contests, starting in 5 of them. While this unit has a lot to replace, they aren’t starting from scratch and they may actually be more suited for the more passing oriented offense that Pitt will deploy this season. Among the backups, Carson Van Lynn is back at Offensive Line after shifting to Tight End midway through last season to shore up the position. He actually made 5 starts at that position, though he didn’t record any catches. He has an important spot as the next man up at Left Tackle if Carter Warren is unable to play. Like Hargrove, Brandon Ford also played in every game last season, though he didn’t make any starts. Owen Drexel, Chase Brown, and Jerry Drake, Jr. all also appeared in several games last season as reserves.
Final Thoughts
What do we know about the Panthers offense going into 2019?
- We know that Mark Whipple is going to unleash a drastically different looking offense than what we saw the last two years with Shawn Watson.
- We know Kenny Pickett will be the starting Quarterback again.
- We know that there are a lot of returning Wide Receivers, but that there is very little in terms of returning production at Running Back or on the Offensive Line.
That’s about all we know, but these points lead to a lot of things that we think we know. Such as:
- We think that the offense is going to be better
- We think that Kenny Pickett is going to be better
- We think that A.J. Davis and Todd Sibley can keep the RBU tradition going
- We think that the Wide Receivers and Tight Ends will actually produce
I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that most think these things will happen this season. There are definitely questions and disagreements on the degree that each of these things will occur, and as a result if it will be enough for Pitt to have a good season (however you define that). However, after the debacle that was last year’s offense (outside of Hall and Ollison), it’s hard to believe that there won’t be improvement in almost every area. I must note here, that all of these aren’t necessarily what we think is going to happen, but what we hope is going to happen. We hope that Mark Whipple will have come in, seemingly waved a magic wand, and all of these things and more will happen. I certainly fall into the camp of thinking all of these things will happen to some degree, but it must be pointed out that there is a lot of unknown about this offense. All we know right now are those 3 bullet points listed above and that we hope it will lead to the 4 bullet points listed below it. After all of this, all I can say for certain is that I’m excited and filled with a little trepidation on what is to come for this season’s Pitt offense.
Give us your thoughts on this year’s Pitt Offense in the comments below, on our message board, or on Twitter @TheJeemTeam or @IntoPitt
