Panther Talk: Spring Football Review 2019 and Looking Forward: Part 2

Welcome back for Part 2 of our Spring Football Review 2019. Now that we have taken a look at

all the questions that were answered during spring practice, it is time to look forward at

what questions we still have to be answered going into fall camp. Let’s do this!

Questions still to be answered

1. How will the offensive line shake out?

This is the biggest question left unanswered going into fall camp and the 2019 season. As stated

in part 1 of this segment, Pitt has to replace four starting offensive linemen lost to graduation,

which is a tall task for any college football team (except maybe Clemson and Alabama who

breed their own 5 star recruits at every position). Going into fall camp, we would say there are

only two definite starters on the offensive line along with 1 other highly probable starter. The

two definite starters are Jimmy Morrissey at center and Bryce Hargrove at guard. Jimmy has

turned himself from a former walk-on to Pitt’s leader on the offensive line (and maybe a leader

of the team as a potential captain??) and will be a steady force on this line as long as he

comes back fully healthy from his late season ending injury. Speaking of Jimmy’s season

ending injury, Bryce Hargrove started the last three games of the season at guard once

Connor Dintino slid over to center to replace Jimmy. It is hard to judge Hargrove’s performance

as he played against some top defensive lines in Miami, Clemson, and Stanford, but it seems

as if he is able to stand his ground and we hope to see some improvement from him.

The only other probable starter on the offensive line is Carter Warren who emerged during

spring practice and was one of three players to win most improved player of spring camp.

Out of all the news we heard this spring, this was by far the most exciting to hear due to

the huge need of players to step up on the offensive line. Warren is not only a HUGE person,

but his performance and development will have a HUGE impact on how successful Mark

Whipple’s offense is this year. Now that leaves two spots open on the offensive line at

guard and tackle; who will step up to take these spots?

Spring practice left a lot to be desired with answering that question. At tackle, it seems

like Gabe Huoy may have an inside track on starting at one tackle (especially since her started

the first game of the year against Albany last year and played relatively well.. Although that is

not saying much, sorry Great Danes). Carson Van Lynn also has playing time experience,

but mostly as a blocking TE (TE, what’s that?), but he can slide over to his natural position of

tackle. Jerry Drake is also another name to look out for as he is a player who had a lot of

hype during his early months on campus, but the hype around him has seemed to quiet down

lately. The remaining guard position is more of an unknown for us as players such as Chase

Brown, Brandon Ford, and converted DL to OL Rashad Wheeler battle it out for this last spot.

Chase Brown has some experience playing OL on the JUCO level and Rashad Wheeler

has experience playing DL, but it is left to be seen if one of these players can step up

to seize the position.

A wild card for Pitt is incoming graduate transfer from Michigan, Nolan Ulizio, who can play

guard or tackle. Ulizio has playing experience at guard and tackle for the Wolverines, a big

reason why Pat Narduzzi is bringing him in. With the current state of the offensive line, it

would be most likely that Ulizio will be competing for the second starting guard position.

Overall, like we mentioned on our Part 1 post; 2018’s line was excellent in the run game

due to 5 big physical and strong guys, but they lacked the athleticism for consistent

pass-protection. And there is a lot left to be desired on the current makeup of the offensive

line and their play is crucial to how the 2019 season will go for Pitt. Narduzzi hired

Whipple to improve the passing game while keeping the run-first mentality and that is what

the new five will be ready for. Pray to the old Gods and the new that players will emerge to

solidify this position group, because if not, it is going to be a LOOOOONG season.

2. How will the RB position play out?

With Ollison, Hall, and Aston all graduating, Pitt has a lot of yards and muscles

(hello George Aston) to replace in the backfield. Luckily, Pitt has recruited fairly well

at this position and should be left in good hands. Although Pitt has talent at this position,

it is still unclear how it will shape out come Week 1 under the lights (Not Noon) against Virginia.

The front runner to get most of the carries would appear to be A.J Davis, as he has gotten a

decent amount of carries over the past two seasons. If we are being honest, Davis leaves a

lot to be desired and it is our hope that Todd Sibley and V’Lique Carter will emerge into

more prominent roles. Carter took a big step this spring into doing this as he showed off

his speed during the spring game and consistently showed his big play ability. We saw

last year what Carter can do in the open field, but can he be a consistent RB? Carter’s

size will likely limit his running between the tackles, but we expect Mark Whipple to use

Carter in a hybrid form to get him in the open field and to get a lot of touches (Something

Mr. Shawn Watson could not do besides using a jet sweep).

Todd Sibley is well known for being a great teammate and a great person in the community,

but his abilities on the field are mostly unknown. He was praised a lot by coaches during

spring practice, but he never really showed any big plays in the spring game. Let’s hope he

lives up to his coach’s praise! Also, do not forget the speedy Mychale Salahuddin, who is

recovering from a knee injury and could potentially be ready for the start of the season (the

addition of his speed and catching ability out of the backfield could have a big role on third

downs). It wouldn’t be too much of a shock to see Carter move to a more hybrid WR

role when Salahuddin is healthy as they offer similar skill sets and could be the reason

Carter is practicing at RB in the first place.

In addition, three freshman - Vincent Davis, Daniel Carter, and recent walk-on addition

Paris Brown Jr - offer continued promise in the future of the backfield but doubtful

we’ll see much from them outside of special teams and the four games they get

before redshirting.

Now that George Aston is gone, it will be interesting to see if Pitt moves away from

their tradition Power I formations with a fullback as a lead blocker since there is no

apparent heir to George Aston’s iron throne. There are currently three fullbacks listed

on Pitt’s roster, and we frankly have never heard of any of them, but here’s to hoping

one of them can step up!

Overall, there is good talent on the roster, but they have big shoes to fill here at

Running Back University (RbU).

3. Will a #1 TE emerge?

Shawn Watson, if you are reading this, yes Tight Ends do exist, and yes, you can

most certainly pass them the ball (you can really tell how much we loved Shawn

Watson)! Will Gragg and Grant Carrigan both had a big catch during the spring game,

which we are still trying to process in our minds, but it is still unclear if either of

these guys will emerge as a #1 TE. Nakia Griffin-Stewart will also be competing for the

#1 TE spot once he gets on campus in the fall as a graduate transfer from Rutgers, but

his lack of catches at Rutgers leaves a lot to be desired to believe he will be the fix at

TE; however, how much production can you expect from a guy who plays for Rutgers?

Overall, positive signs were there in the spring game that Mark Whipple will be utilizing

the TE in his offense, and we all know that there can only be improvement from last year.

As of right now, our prediction is that Will Gragg will get the nod as the #1 TE due

to his pass catching ability, but all three of these guys will get playing time until Pitt can

pick up their TE recruiting to truly get a #1 guy (Scott Orndoff, J.P Holtz… we miss you guys).

4. Who will replace Aston as being the teams very own Hulk?

Just as the Avengers would be incomplete without their Hulk, this Pitt team will also

be missing its very own Hulk with the graduation of George Aston. Who will Pitt fans

loathe over for their hard hits and tough grit now that Aston is gone? Will it be someone

on defense such as Rashad Weaver or Paris Ford? Will it be Pitt’s very own Dark

Knight, Jimmy Medure, better known as Batman, who saves his city once again? Maybe

it will be Kyle Nunn, who has adopted the nickname of “Sewer Rat” from his

coaches and teammates. As Pitt fans, we love our gritty players such as George Aston,

and it will be interesting to see who develops into this player that Pitt fans love.

Each one of these questions could easily take up their own post - and they will! - as

we will revisit these questions to be answered once the season begins. Thank you

for reading and feel free to comment below and join the conversation! H2P!

- Ryan and Aaron, TGYK