(This is a long article so I’ll break it up into two parts)
Pitt football held its annual Media Day for fall camp yesterday and I drove up to attend. It was an interesting day and we media types had time for as much access as allowed given the closed portion of the practices. We had escort with us so that we can break off separately and tour the new parts of the football facility. Thanks to Ted Feeley of the Media Staff for doing that with me and answering all of my questions.
All in all it was a good and worthwhile day with some info and ideas we have heard about Pat Narduzzi and the program reinforced and some other bits of new info coming to light with questions asked.
Because most fans don’t get a chance to see these practices and the facilities I took a bunch of photos and will take you all on a tour now and then later on in this article. What I’ll write here are my impressions from what I learned from talking with the staff, some players and some family members. My approach was to not repeat what the other media guys will write about, there really isn’t any ‘football news’ to discuss in the 2nd day of camp, but to allow you guys a bit of an inside view of things Pitt fans don’t usually get to experience.
Front view of new Players’ meeting room
Comfortable as hell seating
First off let’s look at how closely structured a Pitt football player’s training day is when camp’s on at the Southside UPMC Sports facility. The to-the-minute schedule for Tuesday was as follows:
6:15am: wake up at Sutherland Dorm, where all players are staying
7:00 – 8:00 breakfast at the Steelers’ Café (Player’s Café actually)
8:00: QB and OC meeting
8:00 – 8:15: Team quiet time
8:30 “Unit Install” which is that OC and DC & staff installing details of O & D packages
9:07 3 minute horn to get players to the fields
9:10 Special Teams, WRs and QBs preparation (15 minutes)
9:25 Horn again
9:40 Walk thru unit schematic installs out on field in the indoor facility
9:55 FSA? I have no idea what that is.
10:03 Focus
10:05 Practice 2
12:05 Secure from practice
12:10 Training rotation in the weight rooms and, I think, ice baths and trainers help for the aches and pains
12:15-2:00 lunch in Player’s Café
So you can see that the young men have their hands full from the time they wake up until they get a longer break for lunch where they eat in rotations… as there is no way 105 kids can fit in that café. Sometimes they will eat in the Steelers’ dining room of the HC wants them all together.
The cafe’ has all the current Pitt-NFL players’ jerseys hanging from the ceiling
An interesting note about feeding the roaming beasts is that all the food services are contracted out to the Eat ‘n Park parent company. I talked with the lead chef and he said he was amazed when he first got there at how much bulk food was consumed per day.
After lunch the kids get a break to be in the new player’s lounge which is separate from the player’s locker room (beautiful) and they can, I assume, go back into the weight room and workout. I do not think they are allowed to leave the facility until the end of the day though.
Trib’s Jerry D’s head and the podium
From 3:30 to 4:00 pm we media got a shot at the HCPN for the press conference in the Meeting Room, then at 5:30 until 7:00 dinner is served and then there are staff meetings/debriefs until the 8:00 team meeting…
They secure the practice part at 9:00, have a late snack then over to Sutherland Hall for a 10:10 in-room requirement. Bed check and lights out (!) happens at 10:45. Sounds like my old boarding school except that we sucked in football.
So you can see the staff is packing every minute of the day with sometime proactive and progressive for both the players and the staff. Narduzzi did mention in his presser that he and other staff members will hang out at Sutherland, not to check on the kids (heavens no!) but to sit and throw football talk around.
As best that I can ascertain that is a typical day. However, since it was Media Day the early afternoon was based on that with informal photos of the kids in full uniform without pads and walk-up interviews with players. I thought the whole day was very well done by the media staff and the staff and players themselves were very accommodating.
You can see the whole press conference with Narduzzi and the media here in this Pitt LiveWire video. I had a whole slew of questions I wanted to ask but the schedule was tight at 30 minutes and everyone else wanted to get their questions in also. Some other writers did ask much the same thing as a question or two of mine that I had.
My first question was at the 12:30 mark when I asked about his outlook on shifting players into positions of need. His answer was really in-depth and informative. His main point was that any move by the staff or at player’s request had to be done by the first four or five days as that was when all the offensive and defensive unit ‘installs’ were being taught and learned. After that the kids get redshirted (for new players).
That was why they acted quickly in the spring and asked rsFR Brian O’Neill if he would put on some weight (260 up to 285 in five weeks) and move over from TE to the OT spot and also asked rsFR James Folston to slide out from being 3rd or 4th on the OLB depth chart and line up at DE where he can use his quickness. He made a note to say that they requested the moves and didn’t order them.
O’Neill does not look like this nor wear that shirt any longer.
BTW – O’Neil passed the ‘eye test’ for a fledgling OL. He’s big at an true 6’6” and tall but you can see that he has the frame for adding another 35-45 pounds.
My 2nd question was an interesting exchange. At the 26:00 mark I asked about our (lack of a) deep passing game and if we’ll see more attempts and accuracy this season and he started joking by saying “No, we are going to throw all the balls short…”
Well, he is a funny guy and very personable but I had to bite my tongue when he said that. I didn’t bring up Voytik’s shaky deep game but I did interject that I had charted all the 40+ yard completions and that all but two were accomplished by great (30+) yards after the catch. I think that a media guy would delve into detail like that was a bit surprising to him.
You can watch the whole thing and you should as he talks about some important and interesting philosophies he has toward the team and football and the courses of action he’s taking to make those happen. As we have heard him say before his approach is “(Team) Chemistry, Knowledge and Effort”.
But he doesn’t just throw those words out as if it is a given that will happen as we have seen many times in the past. He believes he can make it happen and he takes the time to explain where those responsibilities lie and how Pitt will meet his and his player’s goals. He’s very goal orientated and I like that.
As I said there weren’t any trite phrases thrown around by Narduzzi. He took just the right amount of time to fully explain to us what he means by “Chemistry, Knowledge and Effort” going so far as to point out that there are two different meanings to chemistry in this context; which is how the actual personnel; admin, coaches and players get along – Sutherland as a ‘player’s dorm’ and the revamp of the facilities for more shared spaces are examples of that.
But also the positive chemistry that is formed by the personnel’s shared experiences which will be the everyday work that goes into a football program. He put it as “…not just interacting with each other”. He truthfully said that area of the program needs work and he’s addressing that, obviously as seen, right from the start of his time here at Pitt.
I won’t go into every detail of the presser here but some other things jumped out at me and I’ll paraphrase them…
Narduzzi knew of Josh Conklin but didn’t know him before he was called called Conklin in fore an interview. He was sold on Conklin’s energy and attitude during the interview thus our new DC.
Some of the staff he hired he didn’t really know all that well but he’s evidently happy that he was able to get them. I understand that as we all expected the hiring bank account was opened up for Narduzzi… and that House’s hire was a direct result of not getting any more money at all for a new DC.
Boyd will remain at returner but he wasn’t certain that Whitehead would be back receiving any type of kicks. As a matter of fact Narduzzi didn’t bring up any true freshman’s names as far as specific playing time but did say that we’d see about four or five ‘15 recruits sitting in the unit’s game planning meetings during the season.
When he did talk about individuals, and his emphasis wasn’t about individual players today but the whole program’s picture, he mention rsJR OLB Mike Caprara (a muscular guy who’s every bit of 230 lbs at 6’ even), FR DB Jay Stocker (brother of walk-on FR WR Manny Stocker), FR DB Dane Jackson, JR QB Nate Peterman and FR QB Ben DiNucci.
As to the on-field activities we were allowed to watch there was really nothing eye opening being done. Narduzzi mentioned how strong P Ryan Winslow’s leg has gotten and I noticed that as soon as I walked into the indoor practice field at 9:55. He was constantly hitting the roof beams from wherever he was on the field.
I saw the QBs throwing some passes – Peterman’s arm is as everyone has talked about, strong and accurate. I talked with Pat Bostick on the sidelines for a minute and asked about Peterman and he said the deep ball was ‘…absolutely part of our offense now’.
I talked with Peterman later on in the day and asked about his relationship with the OC Jim Chaney. His eyes lit up and talked about how much fun it was going to be at Pitt with him as the OC. Which reminded me of something another media guy said to me in the morning “…remember that Chaney passed by the Tennessee kid Voytik and reached down to Florida to get Peterman as his QB recruit.” I asked Nate if the terminology and planning of Chaney’s was much like it was at UT and he said ‘not really, there are a lot of changes’ which is an interesting point.
Don’t read anything into that more than Peterman has a good deep game and Chaney really wanted him at Tennessee; he isn’t going to jump him over Voytik on the two-deep. I got the impression though that Peterman’s two year eligibility was a real plus and that he’ll be the backup QB. But again, that is a very early personal impression on my part.
Other than that I can say that our team is really good at stretching, pretty good at hopping and needs work on skipping.
(More in Part 2)
The questions I have are we going to open up the offence in the YSU and Akron games or are we going to play conservative like we did last year against Deleware? These SHOULD be blowout games and a chance to see what we have. PC was afraid of Voytik and only used him when he had to early in the season, that’s why his first half wasn’t very good and was unprepared for Akron game, ugh that hurts to say. Playing Florida in the Indepedence bowl would be OK but if this team happens to be 10-2 or 9-3 is this administration going to fight for what we’ve earned or roll over and say geez thanks for letting us in the ACC we’ll do what ever you want we’re just happy to be here.
One thing is there is a hell of a lot of walking to do at that facility. The media room was in the front but the only public bathroom was way at the back… as I was turning the corner I saw Narduzzi talking with a coach and I said “All these renovations and one bathroom 100 yards away from the door”… didn’t crack a smile with that one.
I get the distinct feeling that Pitt and the administrative guys & coaching staff are a bit wary of me. I’ve been made very welcome there but at the earlier Wash DC meet and greet I saw someone talking with Narduzzi and pointing my direction. When I asked him a question as a ‘fan’ at the back then, as people were doing, he said “You look like a reporter” when what I really look like is a guy right off the street wanting free drinks.
That ‘escort’ I mentioned above? Think Havana and Castro’s ‘Minders’ who wouldn’t let visitors out of their sight. Not that bad, but I couldn’t just go wandering around taking photos outside the public spaces without being corralled.
Haha I read your in-depth legal analysis and thought and appreciated it — as well as your Morelli reference (Joe Paterno actually said out-loud to the Media that in retrospect he regretted starting him those 2 years instead of Darryl Clark — Howitzer arm but .22 Football IQ haha)
Nathan Peterman ended up in the exact same situation in Tennessee as Chad Voytik with Paul Chryst. Voytik was recruited purely as a Spread-Option QB but ended up in a Pure-PRO offense.
Nathan Peterman was recruited by Jim Chaney to run his Pure-Pro / 1-back / Balanced attack, but then in-comes Butch Jones who runs….Pure Spread-Option!!! Lol people don’t know that one Tall, strong-armed QB easily won the starting job last year at Tennessee only to get annihilated and knocked-out for the season behind a horrible O-line early-on in the season. Then Nathan Peterman gets literally 2 series against Alabama before Josh Dobbs (a Pure, Pure Spread-Option QB in the mold of Dennis Dixon),a SO comes in and is just a perfect match of Jones’s offense.
It was essentially over for Peterman at Tennessee once Josh Dobbs got his shot (Super-Fast and Elusive, perfect for the read-option and the Pure-Shotgun offense) —- but Peterman is no Anthony Morelli : If Simply for the fact Peterman graduated in 3 years at Tennessee (upper-quality SEC Academics) so he’s got an intellect!!
Lol —— “My Jib”
“I get the distinct feeling that Pitt and the administrative guys & coaching staff are a bit wary of me. I’ve been made very welcome there but at the earlier Wash DC meet and greet I saw someone talking with Narduzzi and pointing my direction. When I asked him a question as a ‘fan’ at the back then, as people were doing, he said “You look like a reporter” when what I really look like is a guy right off the street wanting free drinks.”
—- It’s because they can tell you will Cut-Through the Red-Tape and ask some serious questions that they don’t want to have to deal with “Out-of-House”!!
At Least Narduzzi isn’t Nick Saban level, but he’s also wayyy more “Demure” than a Steve Spurrier (who would Drawl, “Hey is that REED!! Ask me about our QB’s C’mon, ask me about my punishments for T.Boyd and Blair you know you want to Son don’t be Shy!” haha)
Narduzzi got irritated at the Suspension questions you can see where his “threshold” lies — he will go-off on the media. Guys don’t be shocked if things start going…”sideways” at some point this season if Narduzzi doesn’t get a bit “contentious” with the media —- hopefully no “We Let ‘Em off the Hook!”, or “Playoffs??!! Playoffs??!!!” level moments but man’s got a temper.
I bet your Deep-Pass comment would have gone over 1,000,000X better with Jim Chaney though!! That would have been a spectacular moment I bet he would’ve jumped right-in and appreciated your detail with the stats too!
All CEO’s are control freaks, kind of comes with the territory. Obviously being a Pitt Fan you are mostly on their side, but you have a level of honesty and analysis, they can’t dictate.
This is why as rabid fans, we come here, to interact and hear and share opinion.
If you were to just regurgitate what they tell you, like the PG and the TR writers, you would add no value.
It is your personal insights and opinions and your dedication as a Fan that we appreciate.
I think what makes you a cut above is that you interact with us and defend your positions without getting defensive.
Yes, the media department reads The Blather regularly as they do every blog website, paper and article that deals with Pitt football. Funny story about that for over beers.
gc – I have found that, at least with me, Pitt doesn’t want to ‘control the message’ so much as allow me access to things so that I know what I’m writing about. As I said, EJ Borghetti contacted me years ago when I first started writing on here and I was very critical of the current HC at the time. But in a sense you are correct also in that the Media Department’s job is to ensure they get the word out so that the other coaches and the AD can get to work on what they are hired to do.
Dark Knight – I spoke to enough people there about the suspensions and what happened that 1) I agreed with HCPN’s decision making and 2) I wasn’t going to put him on the spot for something that they have already said they wouldn’t discuss publicly any further.
Part of how I try to approach this is to be a gentleman and expect that in return…. common courtesy so to speak. Narduzzi is very expansive and informative on subjects that are more relevant to the season than the suspensions.
I did kind of want to ask about how he found the upperclass leadership during all of that but didn’t find the right time or place for it.
I’ve discovered that a good poke in the eye with a sharp stick will take your mind off the problems with Pitt football, quick enough. Be sure to select your non dominant eye though, made that mistake once, bad news. But I’m not scared, I just keep repeating that mantra, I’m not scared, I’m not scared at all.
FYI – almost everyone I talked to thought we’d get 7 or 8 wins and only one guy said ‘it will be good if we can get above .500’. So there is optimism in camp.
8 or more in year 1 would be huge. For many reasons. Recruiting, morale, perception, confidence, ticket sales and donations….
Q impression of J Whitehead
A fast
Q fastest on the team
A no, Justin Weah
Q Strongest?
A Grimm, KK M Smith, E Price
Q if all put in a room, fighting for your lives, who comes out alive?
A me
missed most of it since, as usual, I was interrupted by a co-worker with some stupid questions … but I did hear him say something about J Conner’s leadership
He was a track star in Wisconsin and can outrun most kick returners…so why isin’t he mentioned as a possible returner? Every time I think of Boyd doing returns I think of SOP and Boyd visiting UPMC for some MAJOR downtime repair.
That is merely what should be expected as a worst case. Heck, we should have been no worse than 7-5 last season and weren’t too far off of a couple more wins.
The offense should be as good or better and Narduzzi/Conklin should field an improved defense.
So, the floor for optimism, IMHO, should be an 8-4 regular season with a shot at 9-4 with a bowl win. An 8-5 record, would be an okay floor if it is from a competitive bowl loss to a clearly better opponent. Anything less will be disappointing.
But after reading Reed’s article, I didn’t know that Narduzzi didn’t even know most of his staff before.
So we have a first time HC and a staff that never has worked together.
What could go wrong ?
That was my nervous, Kool Aid-induced prediction when Reed asked a couple weeks ago. Now that camp has started, and the Kool Aid is really flowing, I like your statement that 8-4 is the floor for optimism. Everything I see and hear tells me the offense will be better than last year. Yes, we lost the right side of the O-line to the NFL, but think back two years ago. Tom Savage spent considerable time on his backside, and yet those same guys developed over the ensuing off season into one of the top O-lines in the league! The same thing has happened over the past off season – bet on it! Good guys improve over the off season!
Defensive confidence is on the rise – Nard & Conk will show a nice improvement there. Hard NOT to be excited! The next three weeks will fly by!
I’m going to have to watch that presser again… I’m actually not sure he said “most of the staff”
10. The University of Tennessee
SEC education…..seriously !
Well we know the Nard Dog didn’t know either of his coordinators.
Harley was a grad assistant under him at MSU and was sent to FIU to help Conklin install his defense.
Taken from the Pitt website… “I’ve known Andre Powell for more than 20 years,” Narduzzi said… They worked together at Rhode Island.
Peterson worked with Narduzzi at Miami (Oh).
There will be an adjustment period, I’m sure. But these guys are all pros… most have been doing it for 20+ years.
Which was done I think because Paulie had a comfort zone that he didn’t seem to want to wander from.
Now we got the complete opposite, I don’t think anyone came from MSU with the Nard Dog, save for maybe Harley, who was only a grad asst I believe.
Maybe the strength coach ?
I really don’t care how the staff came together. By all accounts, it’s excellent. Rising stars on D including a Coordinator that was already running his D.. Savvy vets on O.
I think Narduzzi has done everything he can, in terms of personnel, to succeed immediately.
He didn’t know some of his staff – but it is relevant to note that he himself brought that point up in the press conference when discussing how many more staff meetings he has to attend as a HC.
