Pat Narduzzi Offers Encouraging News As Pitt Releases Week 4 Depth Chart

The Pitt Panthers finally got some good news on the injury front.

Author:
Stephen Thompson
Sep 19, 2022 3:03 PM EDT

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PITTSBURGH -- Despite having to deal with some moving parts as high-profile injuries mount, the Pitt Panthers' depth chart remains unchanged from last week's, as they get set to welcome the Rhode Island Rams to Acrisure Stadium this weekend.

Kedon Slovis and Nick Patti, despite missing this past weekend's game against Western Michigan, were still listed as the first and second quarterbacks, respectively. Nate Yarnell, who started against the Broncos, is the third-stringer.

Head coach Pat Narduzzi said in his Week 4 press conference that Slovis is "out of the woods" and could have played in Week 3, but the team decided to give him the week off. Slovis was dressed and warmed up but did not play. Patti did not travel. Narduzzi joked that the coaching staff would have to physically restrain Slovis if they didn't want him to play against the Rams.

“I think Kedon’s out of the woods and if he is, he can go play," Narduzzi said. "He wanted to play last week so we’ll have to tie him down to keep him off the field this week.”

Jared Wayne, Owen Drexel, Rodney Hammond, Deslin Alexandre, Marquis Williams, Gabe Houy, Owen Drexel, Devin Danielson and Habakkuk Baldonado were all listed as well despite each of them having missed either all or some of the Western Michigan game with injuries.

Narduzzi did have some encouraging news about a reported injury to defensive lineman Dayon Hayes. Pittsburgh Sports Now reported that Hayes had suffered a season-ending knee injury but Narduzzi refuted that claim and said that Hayes, while injured, is not expected to miss the rest of the 2022 campaign.

Narduzzi added that he had no plans to rest healthy starters against FCS Rhode Island, despite an increasingly large list of injuries that includes at least one quarterback, three starting defensive linemen, the leading receiver, their best cornerback, two first-team offensive linemen in addition to at least a pair of reserve defenders.

"We put in too much work not to play," Narduzzi said. "Unless he’s banged up, he’s going to want to play. They all want to play. We all want to coach. You only get 12 guaranteed opportunities to go out there and play and it’s another one of those opportunities to go make a name for yourself."

The Panthers' full Week 4 depth chart is below.