Spring drills ready to begin at Pitt

Pitt football’s hopeful journey toward ACC title contention — not just respectability and relevance — began only days after the six-overtime, 4-minute, 38-second loss to Toledo in the GameAbove Sports Bowl.

Cell phone at the ready, coach Pat Narduzzi got busy in the transfer portal, bringing in 13 players who will be relied upon — to various extents — to do what the 2024 team couldn’t. That includes the desperate necessity of making crucial stops on defense, running Kade Bell’s hurry-up offense the way it was intended and not allowing close games to slip away. Think, Virginia, Clemson and Toledo.

(But don’t think Pitt’s actual 7-6 record was close to turning into 10-3. Good teams win close games.)

In any case, Narduzzi recognized the deficiencies, some that were compounded by portal departures of cornerback Ryland Gandy, defensive ends Sincere Edwards and Chief Borders, running back Rodney Hammond, quarterback Nate Yarnell, linebacker Jordan Bass and defensive tackle Nahki Johnson.

Spring practice begins Tuesday on the South Side, where coaches will begin assembling a depth chart, installing specific offensive and defensive plans in an attempt to restore the atmosphere of victory that faded away after the 2022 season. It will end April 12 with the annual Blue-Gold Spring Game at Acrisure Stadium.

The rebuild should start on offense, where Narduzzi brought in three wide receivers from Power 4 programs and three offensive linemen, including former Michigan player Jeff Persi.

Losing wide receiver Konata Mumpfield to the NFL hurts. He recorded 154 receptions for 1,940 yards and 11 touchdowns the past three seasons. Just ask Panthers men’s basketball coach Jeff Capel what losing your most productive players does to a team.

Coaches won’t know for sure what they have until spring turns into summer and summer turns into the 2025 season. But Blue Hicks caught six passes for 63 yards against Pitt when he was playing for Louisville last season. Deuce Spann (Florida State) and Andy Jean (Florida) might make inviting targets at 6-foot-4, 208 pounds and 6-1, 185, respectively.

There is returning talent, too, especially junior-to-be Kenny Johnson, who has shown flashes of playmaking ability with 61/659/4 the past two seasons. Poppi Williams (37/426/6) and Censere Lee (19/254/3) also return, giving Pitt much-needed competition and the hope for depth at wide receiver.

Pitt’s offensive line deteriorated when left tackle Brandon Taylor went down with a knee injury Oct. 12 and missed the rest of the season (seven games of which Pitt lost six). It was the third consecutive season Pitt lost its left tackle to a season-ending injury.

There are no guarantees, but coaches feel good about Persi, Kendall Stanley (Charlotte) and Keith Gouveia (Richmond), plus the returners at center, guard and tackle: Lyndon Cooper, B.J. Williams and Ryan Baer, respectively.

Pitt needs to upgrade its pass rush, and defensive ends Jaeden Moore (Oregon), Joey Zelinsky (Eastern Michigan) and Blaine Spires (Utah State) were brought in to complement returning tackles Sean FitzSimmons, Jahsear Whittington and Nick James and end Francis Brewu.

The most important returning players are quarterback Eli Holstein, who suffered through two concussions and a leg injury and missed three games and parts of four others last season; running back Desmond Reid; and linebackers Kyle Louis and Rasheem Biles. Reid and Louis achieved All-American status last season, and Biles had only one fewer TFL (141⁄2) than Louis. Also, keep an eye on Leechburg graduate Braylan Lovelace, who might move inside to middle linebacker.

When paired with coaches’ ability to build personal relationships, NIL can work in a team’s favor.