Boyd’s first court appearance will be August 5^th. PITT’s Fall Camp will start soon after that.  That timing probably doesn’t help anybody with this incident.  Lets hope Narduzzi makes his decision way before then.

An interesting thing;  I checked the Patriot-News “Pennlive” newspaper online and didn’t see any reference to Boyd’s troubles at all.  That is newsworthy because the Pennlive is smack in the middle of PSU country.  But for a smile check this article out.

Here is today’s article in the Trib on the latest Narduzzi Meet & Greet held at the Cheswick. This part is interesting…

“The Panther Prowl was Narduzzi’s idea from the outset. He initially brought up the idea to Jeff Gleim, Pitt’s associate vice chancellor for alumni relations, while at the Armed Forces Bowl in January. His plans for a $3.5 million renovation of the team’s practice facility also made it prudent to invite fans and donors. Gleim said the tour attracted more than 1,000 people to five previous sites — Washington D.C., New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta and Fort Lauderdale, Fla.”

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PITT has done the smart thing and released a few pieces of media items to counter all the press Tyler Boyd has generated with his arrest the other night.  It is never a bad idea to try to get a bit ahead of the curve on things like this.  Here is the original press release with HC Narduzzi’s statement on the situation:

“Tyler’s situation is both serious and disappointing,” Narduzzi said. “We have high expectations for the young men in our program, on and off the field. Tyler understands that and knows he must be responsible for his actions. Certainly he will be held accountable to our internal standards of discipline and behavior.”

Here are some items that are pertinent to this issue:

* WR coach Kevin Sherman on coaching the receivers and working with #23 Boyd. (PITT released today)

Here are some other news article that speak to the impact Boyd has had on the football team and program since coming to PITT. These articles mention his great play on the field but were written to emphasize his strong leadership traits as an underclassman and how that affects others.

*Chryst’s view on Boyd calling out poor efforts by teammates

* Boyd being in a leadership position as a sophomore.

* Boyd taking on his role as one of the leaders on the team.

We’ll find out today the severity of the charges the Alleghany County DA will levy on Boyd and we can expect them to be pretty severe I think.

Something I’ve researched with a check of the Pennsylvania Docket Records show no previous charges for anything at all for Tyler Boyd.  That will help Boyd in all these proceedings.

Well, here is Coach Narduzzi’s first personnel discipline test… or at least the first that we know of.  Chas posted the basics, this article will look at the issue from the administrative side.

Old news by now but reports came out stating that on early Saturday morning at 2:35 a.m. our 20 year old star WR Tyler Boyd was stopped while driving and placed under arrest.  Here is the quoted Borough of Jefferson Hills affidavit on the case as researched and posted by Dean Kovacevic on his sports blog:

Your affiant, Sergeant John O’Leary, is a police officer employed by the Borough of Jefferson Hills. On June 12, 2015, at approximately 0235 hours, affiant was traveling north on SR885 in a marked patrol unit and observed a dark green black Ford Fusion bearing PA registration (I’m redacting this) traveling south on SR885 enter the northbound lane of travel and pass the vehicle ahead of it as that vehicle was turning right onto Wray Large Road. The lane change was made within an intersection immediately after the crest of a hill and the operator of the Fusion did not signal the lane change.

Affiant effectuated a traffic stop in the 100 block of SR885 and identified the operator as Tyler Boyd per his PA photo driver’s license. In conversation with Boyd regarding the violations, affiant smelled the moderate odor of an alcoholic beverage about Boyd and asked how much alcohol he had consumed this evening. Boyd said he had “two shots” but did not start drinking until after the NBA Finals game he was watching on television ended. He estimated this time to be approximately 0100 hours.

Affiant determined Boyd to be only (note: I’m guessing he said “20 years old” here) and administered a PBT that was positive for alcohol. Boyd was placed under arrest for DUI (Minor) having been deemed to be under the influence of alcohol to a degree he was unfit to safely operate a motor vehicle.

That is the nuts and bolts of it. It is pretty basic really.

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PITTSBURGH —The University of Pittsburgh’s football promotional days have been unveiled for the 2015 season. New this season for any Youth Football team that reserves a group of 15 or more to any one of Pitt’s six home games is a FREE script Pitt football hat for all attendees. Youth Football website.

Sept. 5, Youngstown State, “Hail to Heroes” – Pitt will pay tribute to our heroes in the armed services as all active, reserve and retired military personnel and first responders are invited to attend. Hail to Heroes website

Oct. 10, Virginia, “Homecoming” – Always one of the most festive weekends on the Pitt calendar, details for Homecoming 2015 can be found at the Pitt Alumni Association’s official Homecoming website.

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PITT is bending over backward to get that sellout.  PITT will have free “Pat Signal” tatoos before the game…

Here’s the windup and the pitch…

In exactly three months we’ll start to see how the “Narduzzi Ultimatum”  project is going to play out for the 2015 season.  September 5th is the opening game against the Youngstown State Penguins and who knows at this point what will happen.

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What a great day yesterday. It seems like we are learning about each other and each other’s families more and more on here.  It was a nice day for me and the feedback on the article made my ego run more rampant that it usually does.

Back to football though, that’s what we are here for.

PITT has sent out a press release on the new renovations going on in the Southside Football facilities. Here is the advertisement and the link takes you to the actual website.:

As it is and will be for some time it eventually ties into donor giving.  The levels are listed and it is a good cause for us PITT fans.  I’m donating one month of the salary I get from Chas for my writing on The Blather.

Even if we media types can’t get into the actual fall camp practices and scrimmages we’ll be able to get into the facility.  So, next time I get up to Pittsburgh I’ll take photos.  If anyone else has access before me feel free to snap some and send them to me and I post them.

Here also is a May 16^th article by Sam Werner of the Post-Gazette that I’ll link to again.  It is a background piece on the facility renovations.  I’m not sure about this quote from Narduzzi though:

As far as the aesthetic part of the renovation, Narduzzi even admitted that’s not for the players currently on Pitt’s roster.

“It’s obviously something visual where you go in, look it and go ‘Wow, this is beautiful,’” he said. “It’s not about the beautiful factor for the kids currently in our program. The beautiful factor is for the guys that are walking through those doors on recruiting visits.”

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Don’t get me wrong, last night was great and this is a good cause if you have some extra Jack to spread around. One thing I feel is that if we donate the money will be well used.  As said before, he’s working it and has been since his hire.  The links are nice also.  A piece about our own Center Alex Officer and the Rimington list is at the end of this article.

Dear Reed,Thank you for joining us at the “On the Prowl” Tour. It was an incredible experience for me to meet so many people who love Pitt. Check out the photos from last night. Since becoming head football coach in December, I have been overwhelmed by the tremendous passion, energy, and dedication of the Pitt family.  With the enthusiastic support of fans like you, I am confident that our outstanding momentum will continue. During the event, we mentioned a few ways that you can directly support Pitt and our football program: GET INVOLVED – Pitt Alumni Clubs, which are active throughout the country, give Panther fans many great opportunities to network with one another. LEARN MORE COME HOME – Come back to Pittsburgh, visit campus, and help us fill Heinz Field. BUY GAME TICKETS CELEBRATE HOMECOMING – We are offering a $10 discount for the Homecoming game against ACC rival Virginia on Saturday, October 10, 2015.GET DISCOUNT MAKE PITT STRONGER – We are currently upgrading our locker room, team rooms, and constructing a new student-athlete lounge in the Duratz Athletic Complex so that we can provide the best possible experience for our student-athletes and ensure we are able to attract top recruits. Please consider supporting this project. GIVE NOW We appreciate your continued support, and we hope to see you this fall at Heinz Field. Together, we will show the entire country why PITT IS IT! Hail to Pitt! Pat Narduzzi Head Football Coach

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PITT’S 2015 SEASON-OPENING GAME WITH YSU TO KICK OFF AT 1 P.M.
The Panthers are already slated for two ESPN national telecasts.

PITTSBURGH—Pat Narduzzi will make his Pitt head coaching debut when the Panthers host Youngstown State on Sept. 5 at 1 p.m.

The opening kickoff time was announced by the Pitt Athletic Department today. The 2015 season marks the 126^th in school history.

Narduzzi has multiple ties to YSU and the city of Youngstown. His father, the late Bill Narduzzi, was the Penguins’ head coach from 1975-85 and was inducted into the YSU Athletics Hall of Fame.

Pat was an all-state performer at Youngstown’s Ursuline High School, leading the Irish to the Steel Valley championship and Ohio state playoffs as a senior in 1984. He was a starting linebacker under his father as a freshman at Youngstown State in 1985 before transferring to Rhode Island, where he was a three-year starter for the Rams from 1987-89.

Youngstown State will also have a new coach on the sideline when it visits Heinz Field. Bo Pelini, who spent the past seven years as head coach at Nebraska, was named head coach of the Penguins in December.

In addition to the season-opening start time, the Atlantic Coast Conference announced that Pitt’s Oct. 29 home game with North Carolina will be an ESPN Thursday night national telecast and kick off at 7 p.m. The Panthers’ Nov. 27 game with Miami at Heinz Field has been earmarked for either an ABC or ESPN telecast. The kickoff time for the game with the Hurricanes is TBA.

Narduzzi enters his first season at Pitt with 17 returning starters at his disposal, including All-America running back James Conner, the reigning ACC Player of the Year, and dynamic wide receiver Tyler Boyd.

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Here is a chance to vote on which “Football Shirt” you want to see for 2015. I guess this means which shirt they will give away at the home games or something.

But in the spirit of our recent discussions about logos and branding I thought you all might like to do this:

Football Shirt Poll Site

(Taken from the original as linked, see endnote.)

All-Draft teams for five top college football programs

By Mike Huguenin

After breaking down how conferences and major college programs have fared in recent NFL drafts, CFB 24/7 set out to answer a more hypothetical question: Which five schools would field the best 22-player starting lineups using only draft picks from the past?

A few ground rules for this top five:

1.  To make the list, a player had to have entered the NFL as a draft pick — no undrafted free agents or guys who played in the NFL before the draft began. (We bent the rules a bit on three guys who began their careers in the AFL.)

2.  All things being equal, we gave more value to a middle- or late-round pick who hit it big. It’s possible that a fourth-round pick, for instance, shows up on our list instead of a first-rounder. First-rounders are supposedto pan out, whereas teams hope a fourth-rounder produces. But don’t fret: The majority of players who made our list were indeed first-rounders.

3.  We picked an actual starting 22, which means some Hall of Famers did not make our list.

Four of the five teams we’ve selected probably won’t be a surprise. Three of the five are long-time powers, and one is a relative newcomer to the scene (17 of the 22 players selected were drafted in the 1980s, 1990s or 2000s). The other, while it hasn’t been nationally relevant in a while, has pumped out numerous stud players, and definitely belongs.

A lot of big-name programs didn’t make the cut. We discuss them at the end; for the most part, they fell short — frankly, way, way short — at one key position.

Here is our top five.  Feel free to disagree — and we know you will.

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The Iowa game mentioned below is the second of three consecutive away games in the months of September and early October.  The teams in the first two of those three games; Akron (5-7 in ’14), Iowa (7-6) and then  Virginia Tech (7-6)  accounted for two of our seven losses last season.  This will be, to me anyway, a benchmark for Narduzzi.  If he isn’t 3-1 or at the very least 2-2 after the first four games it will be very disappointing… even if three of those games are away.

Narduzzi is working with 17 returning starters, less any starter changes he makes in fall camp, so that has to work in his favor. Plus he is the best defensive mind ever to coach in college football.

PITT’S GAME AT IOWA TO KICK AT 8 P.M.

    PITTSBURGH—The Pitt football team’s Sept. 19 game at Iowa will kick off at 8 p.m. (ET), and be televised by the Big Ten Network, it was announced today.

This is the first kickoff time announced for the Panthers’ 2015 schedule. Additional start times will be announced once television arrangements have been confirmed.  Pitt and Iowa have played six prior times and the series is tied, 3-3. The Hawkeyes rallied for a 24-20 win at Heinz Field last year.

Season tickets and mini-plans for the 2015 Pitt football season are now on sale. Call the Pitt Ticket Office at (800) 643-PITT (7488) or log on to PittsburghPanthers.com. First-year head coach Pat Narduzzi will have 17 returning starters at his disposal this fall, including All-America running back James Conner, the reigning ACC Player of the Year, and dynamic wide receiver Tyler Boyd.

For the latest Pitt football news, follow the Panthers on Twitter and Instagram at @GoPittFootball.

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The PITT Media Dept. has jumped the gun a bit and changed the scheduling of when they would start posting the individual shows of their Five-Part Spring Practice Series on Root Sports.

The first show is now available on the PittsburghPanthers.com website.  Skip the huge Scott Barnes advertisement and then click on the video of Tyler Boyd pointing at the camera – that’s the show.  It is an almost full 20 minutes of good things to see and hear and is very well done.

Then if that isn’t enough to whet your appetite and you just can’t get enough PITT football, even if it is past history, you will like this PITT Live Wire section on YouTube.   Not only do they have the requisite interviews with the players and coaches through the last spring practices but every once in a while they toss in some interesting productions like these:

PITT Defensive Back History and PITT Linebacker History  with six more videos to cover every position on the field.  It never hurts to know the history of the team you follow in case anyone bets you a bottle of Wild Turkey Kentucky Spirit if you can name the best DEs ever.

Then, to make sure UPITTBaseball doesn’t feel left out and starts to go on a rampage at his work they also have put up this video.

Here is some good news for PITT football hungry fans…  This is what I talked about a week or so ago when asked if the Spring Game was going to be televised.  EJ Borghetti emailed me with these plans but I waited until contracts were formalized to do the broadcasts.

Another new innovation from your university’s Media Department.  BTW – The Blather may be expanding into another venue shortly, will keep all informed.

Now someone tell me what “Root Sports” is.  Funny thing – I don’t think Verizon carries Root Sports where I live.  I’ll ask and see if the Shows’ videos will be available via the PITT Live Wire website.  

Stay Tuned…

The Chancellor cast the die; the future is determined; there are no more options; events will proceed in an irreversible manner; the point of no return has been passed and we have received unto us a new Athletic Director.  In other words and as Justin states so well: “Pitt has hired Utah State Athletic Director Scott Barnes to replace some jagoff none of us liked”.

So it was announced yesterday that ex-Utah State AD Scott Barnes has been hired to fill the position that layed vacant for the last four months. His full resume can be found in this Blather article copied word-by-word from the subsequent PITT press release.

Before we get into the meat of the matter here are two good pieces that the PITT media dept. put out.  PITT rolled out the blue and mustard gold carpet for the introductory press conference. Here is the video introducing the long drink of water as our AD and the second is a photo slideshow of the same presser with photos of all involved including the only non-blond adult female in Utah, his wife Jody Barnes.  Funny how much more intelligent she looks then the last HC’s wife from west of the Mississippi. Plus he has a daughter named after a fantastic Pepperidge farm cookie – Milano – so he’s got a sense of humor also.

The local media seem to be happy with him, at least Jerry DiPaola doesn’t take any overt shots at the guy.

Just for local balance here is Sam Werner’s take on Barnes’ presser.  An even better read is Werner’s Redshirt Diaries where he lays down some of the more interesting and important pieces of information regard the Barnes hire.

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The new AD has been announced and he’s taller than me so I don’t trust him right off the bat.  Everyone knows that people over 6’7″ tall are shifty and not to be trusted.

Here is Barnes’ press conference and it was nicely done.

Statement from Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner John Swofford:

“Scott is a veteran athletic director who is highly respected nationally, as evidenced by his chairing the NCAA Men’s Basketball Committee. He will be an excellent addition to Pitt and the Atlantic Coast Conference. I congratulate Chancellor Gallagher and the search committee on an excellent choice.”

Here is the official PITT Press Release

For IMMEDIATE Release
April 24, 2015

 BARNES NAMED NEW ATHLETIC DIRECTOR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH
The Panthers’ new A.D. brings a distinguished and decorated résumé to Pitt.

 PITTSBURGH—Nationally distinguished as one of the top administrators in collegiate athletics, Scott Barnes has been named the new athletic director at the University of Pittsburgh by Chancellor Patrick Gallagher.

Barnes arrives at Pitt following an impressive tenure at Utah State University, where he was honored as an Under Armour Athletic Director of the Year for his work elevating the Aggies’ program. He owns 26 years of administrative experience at the collegiate level and recently served as chair of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee.

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