Pat Narduzzi has been a target for criticism from both the media and the Pitt fanbase over the last few seasons for underachieving in terms of wins and losses.
It’s easy to criticize someone but you have to also be able to recognize when that same person does something right.
That means it’s time to give Narduzzi some major props.
Two years ago, Narduzzi made a change with his wide receivers coach and let go of Kevin Sherman. At the time, no one thought the eventual hiring would be a big deal.
Man, were they wrong.
Narduzzi not only brought in a wide receivers coach but he made the biggest and most important hire of his career in Chris Beatty, who carried the reputation of being a master recruiter.
In just two seasons, Beatty has not only lived up to that reputation but has quite possibly exceeded it as he’s arguably become the Panthers top recruiter. And that’s a strong statement considering the Panthers also employ Charlie Partridge.
A tip of the cap to Pat Narduzzi because he made a home run hire and it’s yielding big time results for the Panthers Class of 2021 which very well could have an impact in the future win-loss column in upcoming seasons.
Beatty was brought in to land the big recruits from Virginia and Maryland and that’s exactly what he’s done, the latest example coming Friday with the commitment of 4-star DE/LB Naquan Brown from Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Thanks in large part to the efforts of Beatty, Pitt has also received commitments from three other natives of Virginia: running backs Rodney Hammond and Malik Newton and wide receiver Myles Alston.
Getting these players to say ‘Pitt Is It’ wasn’t easy as Brown was a former LSU commit and Pitt had to beat out programs such as Penn State, North Carolina and Michigan for Hammond, Clemson, Penn State, North Carolina and Texas A&M for Newton and Maryland, Ole Miss, North Carolina and Virginia Tech for Alston.
Beatty’s recruiting excellence for Pitt actually started last year as he held off Notre Dame and Maryland to land wide receiver Jordan Addison, the likely ACC Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Pitt fans are fast learning that Beatty’s reputation is well deserved and should be excited for future. Pitt’s new master recruiter received a shout out from Mike Farrell, Rivals National Recruiting Director following Brown’s commitment to Pitt.
This is obviously a big statement but is warranted considering Beatty’s resume. Whether it was at Wisconsin, West Virginia, Maryland or elsewhere, Beatty has always been able to land elite talent, which is continuing at Pitt.
This is obviously good for the Pitt program but will eventually come with a price because Beatty’s efforts will need to be rewarded. He will be in demand and Pitt will not only need to open their checkbook to keep him, they may have to add a title to his job description, too. That also could be the case with secondary coach Archie Collins, who’s well on his way to being a star in the coaching business.
It took Narduzzi a couple tries but he got it right with his assistant coaching hires. Pitt fans can only hope that Beatty and Collins and the job they’re doing recruiting will eventually translate into more wins.
If that happens, Narduzzi’s detractors will have no choice but to turn those current jeers into cheers, which I’m sure they’ll have no problem doing.
I see an OC gig in Coach Beatty’s future- hopefully at Pitt!
He might be a great recruiter, but he really needs to work on the pass catching of his receivers and TEs.
Ppl dropping balls doesn’t mean its the coaches fault
Remember the praise you give Narduzzi in hiring Beatty…….shame same be said for hiring Whipple.
Coach beatty has been awesome at recruiting, but im pretty sure coach powell landed addison
We’re going to need a QB. Do we have a recruiter that can recruit a really good QB?