Vukovcan: NFL Success at Pitt Under Narduzzi is Strongest Selling Point

The next three days truly puts a wrap on Pitt football’s 2024 College Football season as the NFL Draft will take place in Green Bay.

Pitt football fans can and do find plenty of things to get upset about but the NFL Draft in relation to their football program shouldn’t be one of them.

During the Pat Narduzzi era, Pitt has done a tremendous job of not only getting players drafted but more importantly, his Pitt players stay around on NFL rosters.

That’s one of the reasons that during the season, NFL scouts regularly attend Pitt practices and their NFL Pro Day is filled with scouts and executives.

It’s no secret in NFL circles that players that come from Pitt are getting well coached and getting prepared and developed to play in the league.

We've produced 3⃣0⃣0⃣ all-time selections in the @NFLDraft, ranking in the top 20 in college football history.

Who's next? 👀#H2P pic.twitter.com/tIy2PRHTcD

— Pitt Football (@Pitt_FB) April 22, 2025

The most impressive aspect to this and something the coaches need to use as a recruiting tool is that under Narduzzi, Pitt has found a way to get all sorts of players drafted.

Let’s be honest, Pitt’s roster isn’t filled with four and five-star recruits like programs such as Ohio State, Georgia, Alabama and Texas, yet they’re developing their players and putting them in a position to make lots of money.

Although I could provide you with a longer list, some of the more impressive examples are Matt Goncalves (3rd Round Pick/Colts), SirVocea Dennis (5th Round/Buccaneers), Damarri Mathis (4th Round/Broncos), Patrick Jones (3rd Round/Vikings), Jason Pinnock (5th Round/NY Giants), Jimmy Morrissey (7th Round/Raiders), Dane Jackson (7th Round/Bills), Kenny Pickett (1st Round/Steelers) and Brian O’Neill (2nd Round/Vikings).

Despite signing with Pitt as recruits that weren’t highly recruited, all of those players are still in the NFL and in the case of Jones and Pinnock, just signed nice free agent deals with new teams.

Equally as impressive is the job Pitt has done with players that haven’t worked out at other teams and then enjoyed success after transferring to Pitt.

The most recent examples of those players include Lucas Krull, MJ Devonshire and Bub Means. All three players have stuck on NFL rosters — Means with Saints, Devonshire with Raiders and Krull with Broncos.

Another name that will likely be added to that list is safety Donovan McMillon, who’s hoping to hear his name called on Saturday.

Despite being heavily recruited by Pitt out of high school, Devonshire and McMillon, signed with Kentucky and Florida. After a couple of seasons, both opted to transfer back home, which turned out to be a great decision.

Although this could be a column for another day, they found out that going to the school with a “bigger name” or “bigger conference” isn’t always the best decision. Staying home with this coaching staff gives you as good a chance, or better, to reach your ultimate goal of playing in the NFL.

Although NIL money now is a new factor, selecting a school because of the helmet, conference or size of crowd doesn’t give you the best chance of making an NFL roster.

Going to a school like Pitt where you get developed and have a chance to get on the field early does.

This weekend, McMillon, Gavin Bartholomew, Branson Taylor, Konata Mumpfield  and Brandon George are new names that we could possibly add to this story as Pitt success stories.

While winning and playing in more important football games would be nice, the job that Narduzzi has done of getting his players to the NFL shouldn’t be discounted or forgotten.