We’re two days from the start of Pitt’s first official fall camp, which signals the real start of football season.
The most asked question that I’m getting now is, “How good will Pitt be this season?”
The perception both nationally and locally seems to be mixed, with some expecting the Panthers to finish in the bottom half of the ACC, while others see them finishing anywhere from fourth through seventh place.
The biggest reason for the uncertainty is because of a number of questions on the offensive side of the ball.
- Can anyone come close to matching the production of Israel Abanikanda?
- Does Pitt have any true playmaking wide receivers?
- Will tight end Gavin Bartholomew resemble the player we saw during his freshman season?
- And of course, the biggest and most important question of all is what will Pitt get from quarterback Phil Jurkovec?
As far as the first three questions, Bartholomew is the one I have the least concerns about. Simply put, I believe Frank Cignetti Jr. will try and utilize him more in 2023, and he’ll have a quarterback that will want to get him the ball.
Will Pitt’s running game be as good as it was last year? No, but that’s not a knock on this year’s group, it’s just a reality that no one in that depth chart will be as good as Izzy was last year. Every time he touched the ball, he had the ability to make it to the endzone.
I think Rodney Hammond is really good, but the only concern that I have with him is, can he stay healthy? When he’s in the lineup, Hammond is really good. Having C’Bo Flemister and Derrick Davis Jr. behind him gives Pitt tremendous depth and players with talent.
As far as Tiquan Underwood’s group, I’ll be honest, I don’t have an opinion because I really don’t know what they have. A year ago, I was really high on this group, and I was terribly wrong. I won’t make the same mistake twice and will take a wait-and-see approach. I believe there’s potential with Mumpfield, Means and Reynolds but potential just means that you haven’t done it yet.
The reason this group has a better chance of succeeding this year is because of the guy under center.
Jurkovec was one looked at as a surefire NFL Draft pick but that stock has since tumbled.
Rarely do you see a successful quarterback that plays behind a bad offensive line and is sparsely surrounded by playmakers. Unfortunately, that was what Jurkovec was dealing with last season, the biggest problem being his offensive line.
Life with Pitt will be a lot better and so will Phil.
Jurkovec has talent, is a leader and has won before and because of these traits, he’ll make the Pitt offense and the passing game, in particular, a threat — something Pitt couldn’t do last season.
Jurkovec’s presence will help make Cignetti a better play caller and allow him to be more creative in his usage of the entire playbook.
There’s a reason the quarterback is considered the most important position on the field, and Pitt fans will be reminded of that this season.
Two years ago, Pitt was fortunate enough to have Kenny Pickett and come December, this program will feel the same way about Jurkovec deciding to come home for his last season.
I’ve re-watched several games from last year and Pitt’s problems weren’t just Slovis. There was poor OL pass blocking at times, and some drops in many games. Slovis got killed against Tenn, and that was poor coaching by HCPN. And the defense was awful against WVU and GA Tech. If they can fix those issues of consistency they’ll win 10 games. If not they can take a significant step back. And for Narduzzi that’s not unexpected
Agreed. The offensive line was not so good at times last year. Hopefully this year they take a step forward.
I think Borbley needs to go Im not sure any school would scoop him up at his age that oline should have performed better with all the seniors that played IMHO
They’ll be fine. I’ll be really surprised if they don’t reach 8 wins and pull a nice upset
Thank you Rob just what I was thinking
I hope that I’m wrong (i.e. to the upside) but, with Notre Dame, Florida State, NC, Cincinnati, and WVU on the schedule, I think Pitt ends up with a 7-win season, at best, this year. They will probably lose to 2 or 3 of those teams plus experience their annual out-to-lunch loss to a weak team, or two. That said, if Veilleux plays well, I expect that next year will be a major success for a more mature team culminating in at least a visit to the ACC championship game. Regardless, the Pitt defense should once again be in the… Read more »