Pitt Camp Notes: Players Make Final Impressions in Spring Practice

PITTSBURGH — Pitt football officially concluded its final practice of spring camp on Thursday at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on the South Side.

In two days, the Panthers will have an opportunity to showcase an early glimpse of the 2025 squad in the Blue-Gold Spring Game.

With a variety of new players and those returning, Pitt has a lot of intrigue surrounding this team, especially coming off a year that started 7-0 with a lot of promise and playmakers flashing across the field.

During the five-week camp, there were plenty of questions that were answered but some still unsolved. Those could be clarified more so on Saturday. However, Thursday provided an opportunity to hear from the two coordinators Kade Bell and Randy Bates talk about their respective units.

Here are some notes from the final practice session of spring camp:

• Eli Holstein — Holstein will always be subject for discussion as he carries the most weight as the starting quarterback for Pitt. The hot start he had as a redshirt freshman has certainly built some larger expectations for him during the upcoming season, but first thing’s first is he has to return to 100 percent health as Pat Narduzzi noted earlier in the week. On Thursday, Bell gave a little more insight on his QB1: “For him to come back and get cleared right before spring ball — he’s still not 100 percent with trusting his ankle and his body, but just having him now mentally, he understands what we’re trying to get accomplished on the field…Now, by the time we get to the film room, he’s like, ‘Yeah, I did this. I know what you want me to do here.’ He’s starting to answer the questions. As a quarterback, when you can answer the questions before the OC tells you something, that means we’re going to be in a lot better situation.” There’s a mixed bag there from Bell as Holstein is still getting back to full health after needing surgery to end the season. Mentally-wise, it sounds like Holstein is on track to take a leap heading into this season.

Pitt quarterback Eli Holstein at spring practice. April 10, 2025 / Ed Thompson. PSN.

• QB Development — Pitt entered spring camp with only three quarterbacks on scholarship, along with walk-on David Lynch. This time last year, Pitt held nearly double the amount of QBs on the roster. Bell wasn’t shy on sharing his philosophy when it came to cutting down the number of quarterbacks in his room this spring: “I’m all about developing. I think as a quarterback, you have to get reps, you have to spend time developing those guys. When I got here, spring was hard last spring. We had seven, eights quarterbacks. How am I supposed to get everybody reps and see what they can all do? It’s really hard – and then try to develop them because they’re not getting enough. Me and coach sat down and talked and said, ‘You know what, we feel really good about where Dugger could be.’ Mason coming in, we felt really great about him as a freshman. It’s like, ‘You know what, let’s see if we can develop these guys this spring. Yeah, we only have three on scholarship, but they’re talented and let’s see how good they can get with a bunch of reps.’ I looked at our stats and I keep up with the stats everyday and we’ve thrown the ball close to 900 times this spring,” he said.

Pitt freshman quarterback Mason Heintschel. April 10, 2025 / Ed Thompson. PSN.

• Ja’Kyrian Turner — Bell spoke on the talent and work that Turner has done this spring and the more we hear that from the staff, the more it sounds like he could see the field in the fall. Bell stated that he’s “not scared” to play younger guys if they learn the offense and possess the skills to make a difference on the field. He talked highly on Turner’s explosive ability. After all, Turner was the first one selected in the spring game draft and Narduzzi feels he will leave a solid impression on the fans come Saturday. “I think you’ll be impressed when you watch No. 25 run. He’s been very impressive,” Narduzzi said.

Pitt running back Ja’Kyrian Turner has been talked about one of the top standouts in spring camp. April 10, 2025 / Ed Thompson. PSN.

• OL movement — As injuries have piled up with centers Ryan Carretta and Moritz Schmoranzer being sidelined recently, along with guard Jackson Brown, Pitt has shifted some of its transfer offensive lineman around. Keith Gouveia moved from left guard to play center and will do so on Saturday. Last Friday, he was called into action to snap and from the sounds of it, he did a good job for it being his first time. Then, Charlotte transfer Kendall Stanley, who is primarily a tackle, slid into the left guard role. The staff believes Stanley can be a starter, but with the rest of the 1s clogging up space, he is trying to go wherever they see fit. While Gouveia will play at guard and Stanley at tackle once everyone is healthy, it is a good thing for those two experienced linemen to show their versatility in spring.

Pitt offensive linemen Jeff Persi (78), Kendall Stanley (53), Keith Gouveia (66). March 11, 2025 / Ed Thompson. PSN.

• Jaeden Moore — I heard something interesting from within the program when it comes to the defensive end unit — one that I’ve been monitoring this spring because of the questions surrounding it, which really have not been answered all that much just yet. Pitt lost freshman Sincere Edwards to the portal after compiling six tackles for loss and three sacks in an emerging role in his first year. To fill that opening, Pitt brought in a trio of transfers, including redshirt sophomore Jaeden Moore from Oregon. A source mentioned that the Pitt staff believes that Moore has a higher ceiling than Edwards. That’s saying a lot for someone who has played minimally in his college career so far in comparison to Edwards, who was making an early impact. Moore, who played as a standup edge rusher in a 3-4 defense will now put his hand in the ground. He’ll be a player that I’ll watch closely on Saturday.

Pitt defensive ends Jaeden Moore (56) and Blaine Spires (10) with a rep during spring practice on April 8, 2025. PSN.

• Secondary — Bates provided some feedback on players standing out in the secondary. He’s been pleased with the play of UC Davis safety transfer Kavir Bains-Marquez despite being undersized. Standing at 5-10, 175 pounds, Bains has made plays throughout spring and had a pair of “TAKEAWAY” stickers on his helmet. Shadarian Harrison and Shawn Lee Jr. at corner were two guys that Bates was impressed with in spring. Harrison had one sticker on his helmet, while the freshman Lee forced three turnovers.

Pitt cornerback Shadarian Harrison during spring practice on April 10, 2025 / Ed Thompson. PSN.

• Jeremiah Marcelin — Although All-American Kyle Louis graces the linebacker unit, Jeremiah Marcelin has been the one talked about the most this spring. I’ve talked about him a lot, but Bates provided a very intriguing note on him. From my understanding and early observations, Lovelace was viewed to be the starting ‘mike’ linebacker entering the season. As spring has unfolded, it sounds like Marcelin has made a serious push in the middle. That brings us to Bates as he said something that caught my attention on Thursday: “Jeremiah Marcelin’s made great strides and could be one of the three starters. If not, he will be one of the four starters if you will. That’s a good problem to have.” This was the first acknowledgment that Marcelin could truly step in and take over the starting job at ‘mike’ for Pitt this season. As Bates stated, it’s not a bad problem to have with Lovelace rotating in with Marcelin.

Pitt linebacker Jeremiah Marcelin (32) during spring practice on March 13, 2025 / Ed Thompson. PSN.

• Kicker battle — Murray State transfer James London came in looking to take the starting job at placekicker, but it appears there is more of a battle there than expected with returner and redshirt sophomore Sam Carpenter. “There’s a big kicker question with Ben Sauls leaving,” Narduzzi said. “We got a kicking battle on, so everybody got better. I was talking to Junko before practice when the kickers were kicking in our field goal period and he’s like, ‘How much better Sam Carpenter’s got.” More will be known on Saturday once London and Carpenter get additional reps at Acrisure Stadium.