When Kedon Slovis didn’t walk on Senior Day, claiming then that he didn’t want to walk if his entire family wasn’t present, it didn’t quite signify that he was returning.
The words of Pat Narduzzi, who consistently stood by his quarterback all season, did.
“I would do it all over again,” Narduzzi said before the Virginia win. “I think (Slovis is) very, very talented and he’s got another year. I would imagine, in another year, he’s gonna be a heckuva lot better than he is this year.”
Slovis may be a heckuva lot better next year, but it won’t happen at Pitt. He entered the transfer portal the day it opened, allowing former Boston College quarterback Phil Jurkovec to return home, ending his Pitt career after one season.
It just didn’t work out at Pitt. In his lone season, Slovis threw for 2,397 yards and 10 touchdowns in 11 games, completing 184-of-315 passing attempts (58.4%) with nine interceptions. It was the worst season of Slovis’ college career.
Pitt won eight games in 2022, seven with Slovis under center, but it just never seemed to truly click. Narduzzi holds no ill will toward Slovis for deciding to move on, however.
“Everyone’s got decisions to make around the world, and obviously in the football world, but I respect everybody’s decisions,” Narduzzi said. “And obviously, there are conversations back and forth with anybody that’s in that position, and we wish every one of those guys luck.”
Narduzzi said he wasn’t going to comment on any one individual transfer situation, as only the people sitting in the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex know what exactly is going on, but he said that every decision is made in the best interest of the individual — there are decisions to be made to enter the portal just as there are to enter the NFL Draft.
But when it comes to Slovis, Narduzzi sees it for what it is.
“It’s life,” Narduzzi said. “And I’m going to support all our guys. I’m going to support all of them. I’m going to be positive.
“I love Kedon. Kedon’s a great kid, did a nice job for us, helped us win eight football games, and I believe at that point, he was the best quarterback to lead our 2022 season. And we’ll leave it at that.”
Narduzzi said that Pitt has entered the offseason, following the Sun Bowl, of course, looking for upgrades at every position — not just quarterback.
When it comes to the quarterback room, Pitt has added Jurkovec, former Penn State quarterback Christian Veilleux and 2023 three-star Ty Dieffenbach (Agoura Hills, California). The quarterback room has been completely revamped, and the onus is on improving upon the 2022 season.
Pat Narduzzi is partly to blame here. Slovis was the victim of perhaps the dumbest concussion of the year in that Tennessee game, and he wasn’t really the same after that.
They played a 100 year rivalry game then a top 10 team to begin season with new QB, WR and OC coach.. not good but they did improvem
Eli you are 100% correct. For some ungodly reason –Narduzzi didn’t even have anyone field the punt on the prior play. Its inexplicable
Blame? Narduzzi gave Slovis every opportunity and then some to succeed. Gutsy kid with pro arm to go along with no mobility and weak check-down skills. And an average receiving group. Not a recipe for success. Recruiting and game plan on Narduzzi but Slovis is part of the talent deficiencies.
I didn’t say otherwise.
How do you blame Pat for Slovis’ concussion ? Did he miss a block ?
Probably, because Slovis is a blockhead.
BULL! He played badly from the beginning in every game.
Played a 100 year rivalry game then a top 10 team with a new OC, and QB, WR not good…. they did improve over the season… but slovis never got better unfortunately he wasn’t a good fit for them.
With all the turnover at QB and no linear development for the QBs, Cignetti will again say he needs another year to “install the offense”. Slovis was truly terrible this season. Really bad. He seemed detached from his team and we have all heard he never won over the locker room. But, I blame Narduzzi. He never would sit Slovis at any time. It was truly mind boggling. While a team like Clemson would move players if they were not performing, PN was stubborn and would ride Slovis to loss after loss. This could have been a two loss team.… Read more »
Veteran laden team who came up together and won an ACC championship then duzz brings in a guy who never played a down for pitt yet gave him a “C” to put on his jersey. Stupid
He was selected as a Captain by a vote of his teammates.
Not sure I believe it. Who counted the votes?
Might as well start bitching now for next season, because Jerkovec will probably become a captain too.
that’s a joke too
You should at least spell the last name correctly of the savior coming home, unless you already think he’s a jerk?
True in some way but he was the best they had
was he? I would argue Patti might have been a better fit for their offense
Of Course Patti would have been better, He is mobile. I feel badly for him.
Perhaps there is too much molly coddling with these coaches, after all; the players behave like toddlers.
Looks like Narduzzi is being extra careful with his comments. He has finally learned his lesson concerning blurting out unprofessional comments (e.g. about ex-assistant coaches) that tend to haunt him later and just plain make him look badly.