“While there should be continued optimism for a defense that’s recruited well and produced year over year, I have questions about the offense’s direction. Pittsburgh pivoted away from the pass-heavy strategy that led to an 11-win season in 2021, and the offense tumbled to 59th nationally in yards allowed per play as a result.”
While it’s true that Pitt lost a lot of production to the NFL, it’s not as if the cupboard is bare. Pitt’s largely second-string defense limited a high-powered UCLA offense in Sun Bowl, and those first-time starters and contributors have had nearly a full offseason to grow.
And when it comes to Pitt’s offense, Israel Abanikanda is gone, but Rodney Hammond Jr. is still around. He racked up 101 yards of offense and two touchdowns in the Sun Bowl win.
Hummer wrote that he has questions about the direction of Pitt’s offense, but Pitt has just played to the strengths of its offensive personnel. When you have Kenny Pickett and Jordan Addison, you throw the ball. When you have Kedon Slovis and Israel Abanikanda, you run the ball.
The 2023 offense has a surprisingly veteran offensive line, a running on the brink of a true breakout and a deep tight ends room. The wide receiving corps may be a bit of a question mark right now, but if Phil Jurkovec offers any sort of improvement over Kedon Slovis’ 2022 production, Pitt’s offensive production will be more balanced. And definitely nothing to worry about.
Unsurprisingly, the one ACC team that Hummer expects to rise is Miami.
People have been expecting Miami to “rise” for about 15 years now. That’s in “believe it when I see it” territory.
247Sports is a joke! They never have anything good to say about our program. Their team of “experts” only seem to care about the major college football teams & think that Pitt is second class. Just look at their Crystal Ball breakdown.