PITTSBURGH — It may have been the final spring practice of the year, but it was a lively affair nonetheless down on the South Side Thursday.
The 2023 Blue-Gold Spring Game is just about 48 hours away, and the spider pad were on, but it’s clear the excitement surrounding some live football is mounting.
There was trash talk back and forth during the drills available to the media, especially during the fade contest between the wide receivers and the defensive backs, and there were some looks at the zone run scheme and — of course — more punt coverage.
Konata Mumpfield made a very impressive snag against M.J. Devonshire, off a nicely thrown ball from Ty Dieffenbach, and Lamar Seymore — after making a nice over-the-shoulder snag — was stifled by A.J. Woods.
Woods made a diving interception on the play, and P.J. O’Brien made sure to loudly let Seymore hear it.
There is still a lot to be determined when it comes to the wide receivers, outside of Mumpfield, Bub Means (who is a very, very built 6-foot-2, 215 pounds) and Daejon Reynolds, and even if a transfer or two is added, Pitt is looking for one of the younger wide receivers to step up.
Phil Jurkovec and Rodney Hammond Jr. form a tandem at quarterback-running back, which will likely make or break Pitt in 2023, and as long as the two can stay healthy, there’s a lot to like.
The defensive backs continue to stack up ‘takeaway’ stickers, too. Noah Biglow has four, P.J. O’Brien has three, Javon McIntyre has three. A lot of defensive backs have a lot of stickers.
Nick Lapi also has three ‘takeaway’ stickers, too. The defense has a lot of stickers as a whole, which makes sense considering the defense has held the blue jerseys basically all spring.
The 2023 Blue-Gold Spring Game will kick off Saturday at 1 p.m. at Acrisure Stadium to cap off the spring season.
