I’ve started getting the media releases from the PITT media department (they are pretty quick) and will share and discuss those informational nuggets about practices and interviews along with links to the other media sites and what they are talking about this spring.

PITT held its first NCAA sanctioned spring practice on March 15^th in no-pads and a helmet and as all spring practice sessions start off it was acclimation and simple run through drills.  Here are the PITT Program notes:

FRESH START: Pitt’s first-year head coach Pat Narduzzi has emphasized that 2015 is a new beginning for everyone, not just the Panthers’ incoming coaching staff. “I have not gone back and watched a game (from Pitt’s 2014 season),” Narduzzi told a gathering of reporters on Sunday. “It’s a fresh slate. It doesn’t matter what happened before. It’s where we are now.”

Narduzzi inherits 17 returning starters and 47 total lettermen from last year’s Armed Forces Bowl team. While the players were only in shorts, jerseys and helmets to begin spring drills, Narduzzi said there is still much that can be learned in a non-contact practice.

“Today’s word was ‘knowledge,’” Narduzzi said. “It is the first day of spring ball. It is about how well you can pick up the knowledge. We need to learn. You win with smart players. There is not a lot of physical play going on right now so you better know what you are doing and knowledge is the key.”

COMPETITIVE QUARTERBACK: Pat Narduzzi and offensive coordinator Jim Chaney both had high praise for junior quarterback Chad Voytik’s approach to the offseason.

“He is a competitor,” Narduzzi said of Voytik. “Through our (strength and conditioning) `Fourth Quarter’ training program you learn he is a competitor. He may be the most competitive person on the football team. I don’t know if he lost a race or lost a competition all winter. He is a super kid.”  Chaney called Voytik “a junkie” and “perfectionist.”  “I’m happy with Chad,” Chaney said. “He works his butt off and he loves football, so I expect him to have a big season.” 

Voytik reciprocated by saying how much he has enjoyed getting to know his new coaches, especially Chaney, his positional coach.  “I love them,” Voytik said. “I think it’s a staff that everyone is really going to enjoy playing under and being coached by. If they like us and we like them, that’s a good combination.  “(Chaney) makes it fun. He’s a character and has a great personality. He makes it fun for all of us and he’ll coach you when you need to be coached, too.”

GROWING ON THE JOB: As a sophomore last year in his first season as a starter, quarterback Chad Voytik displayed impressive improvement. In his initial seven games, Voytik averaged 148.7 passing yards with a 58.7% completion rate (94 of 160). He threw nine touchdowns and six interceptions during that opening stretch.

However, over his final six contests, Voytik averaged 198.7 passing yards, completing 64.5% (82 of 127). He threw seven TDs and only one interception. (The INT was the result of a pass that bounced off a receiver’s chest and into the hands of a Syracuse defender in the end zone.)

For the year, Voytik completed 61.3% of his passes (176 of 287) for 2,233 yards with 16 touchdowns and seven INTs.  “I think the second half of the season was just me settling into this stage, this level of football,” Voytik said. “It really wasn’t me learning the offense—I knew the offense going into the season. It was more knowing how to game plan and being comfortable on the field. If I can carry over those things I learned, hopefully I can start this season better.”

CAR TALK: Asked how Pitt’s offensive schemes will be different from recent years, Jim Chaney replied, “The plays are very similar to what they’ve done in the past. The verbiage and what we call it is different. They might call it ‘Chevy’ and we might call it ‘Ford.’ At the end of the day it’s a vehicle.”

HOPING FOR A HEALTHY PRICE: Pitt is looking for some playmakers at defensive end and senior Ejuan Price is striving to fill that void. Price has been limited to just six games the past three seasons due to an assortment of injuries. He missed the entire 2014 campaign due to a chest muscle injury sustained during the offseason.  Admitting that he had some “cobwebs” on the first day, Price quickly added “Once I get those kinks worked out, I’ll be back to my regular self.”  Price’s last active season was in 2013. Before being sidelined by a back injury, he was emerging as one of Pitt’s most productive defensive linemen with 23 tackles, four TFLs and one sack in five full games. (He was injured during the sixth game of the year, against Old Dominion.)

GETTING AN EARLY PEEK: Three of Pitt’s incoming freshmen for 2015 attended practice on Sunday: defensive back Dane Jackson(Coraopolis, Pa./Quaker Valley), wide receiver Tre Tipton (Apollo, Pa./Apollo-Ridge) and defensive back Jordan Whitehead (Aliquippa, Pa./Central Valley).

WHAT’S NEXT THIS WEEK: Pitt will practice on Tuesday in helmets and shorts. On Thursday, the Panthers will don full gear for the first time this spring. Saturday’s practice is expected to have several scrimmage periods.

Along with those points Chris Peak discusses some interesting things regarding a ‘very early’ two deep in his Rivals.com pay site. Without stealing too much it looks like there could be a change at the DE two deep with Rori Blair moving in and Ejuan Price finally healthy (fingers crossed).

Jerry DiPaola of the Tribune-Review has a nice piece on Price here. Follow that with the actual Ejuan Price post-practice interview here.

Also, it should hearten even the most jaded fans to hear this: “…Ask Narduzzi about last season, and he pleads ignorance.  “I have not gone back and watched a game,” he said. “It’s a fresh slate. It doesn’t matter what happened before. It’s where we are now.”

Good for you, now make sure your staff does the same… except for the 2^nd half of the bowl game, you guys should probably watch that until your eyes bleed..  It is refreshing to hear Narduzzi say that and while it may be a case of coach speak but it really needs to be done.

Sam Werner of the P-G has his 1^st Red Shirt Diaries up and he makes some nice points about the OL and the DL.  What caught my eye, and it is another obvious ‘What should be done” same as starting with a blank state, is Cheney talking about his offensive plans for the season:

Chaney was also asked about how different his offensive system and philosophy would be from Chryst’s, and the answer is, ideally, not too much. The plan will still be to getJames Conner and Tyler Boyd the ball in their hands as much as possible.  “You’ve got a super talented tailback and a really good wideout, they’re going to demand the ball ‘x’ amount of times,” Chaney said. “I don’t know that a hell of a lot of philosophical differences are going to take place. They might get it different ways than maybe Paul [Chryst] would’ve given it to them, but at the end of the day, those kids demand what they demand and they’re good football players. You’ve got to give them the ball.”

Hmm. More trickery to get Boyd running the ball and more passes out of the backfield for Conner.  That’s sound OK to me unless Cheney was talking about instituting the Statue of Liberty offense so the defense has no idea who ends up with the ball.  Can you imagine Voytik standing there with his arm waving around in the air while the WRs and RBs do figure eights behind him until one snatches the ball?  Awesome, but your OL has to really hold their blocks for that play to succeed.

Here is the actual Chaney video, and here is Chad Voytik wondering what the hell Chaney was talking about.

Here is the official PITT Live Wire blog video of the Pat Narduzzi interview after the practice was over.  My favorite question was “So coach, what did we miss?.  If you really like to closely follow the PITT team and staff outside of the actual games then bookmark this PITT Live Video link and refer back to it often.

Note: here is the rest of the Spring Practice Schedule: