Israel Abanikanda Hoping to Revive Pitt Football Rushing Tradition
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PITTSBURGH -- The names roll off the tongue. Goldberg Dorsett, Heyward, Martin, McCoy, Lewis, Conner - the Pitt Panthers boast a decorated running back lineage, one that could go toe-to-toe with that of any school in America. Invoking old cliches about the blue collar personality of Pittsburgh, Pitt coaches young and old love to talk about the run-centric attacks that the Panthers used to gain hard-earned yards and respect.
But in recent years, the Panthers have deviated from that model. Offensive coordinator Mark Whipple arrived in Pittsburgh prior to spring practices in 2019 and immediately went about revamping a Pitt offense that leaned on the strength of two 1,000-yard rushers a year prior. It proved a fruitful strategy as the Panthers rode one of the country's best passing games to an 11-3 record and ACC title. in 2021 But without Whipple, Biletnikoff winner Jordan Addison and Heisman finalist Pickett, the quality of this season's Panther passing attack is a relative mystery, so they are looking for another identity in 2022.
The talk of the offseason - at least in real football terms - has been Pitt's desire to rebalance its offense. Head coach Pat Narduzzi, who sparred with Whipple while he was at Pitt, has made public comments this summer about his desire to run the ball more, criticizing Whipple for not doing so against weaker run defenses.
“Our old offensive coordinator had no desire to run the ball. Everybody knew it; he was stubborn," Narduzzi said. "Wake Forest was 118th in run defense, and we threw the ball every down. When we ran it, we ran it for 10 yards, but that wasn’t good enough.”
But Narduzzi is not the only one within Pitt's program eager to hit the ground running in 2022. Israel Abanikanda, last season's leading rusher and Narduzzi's unofficial top back so far through training camp, cited Pitt's tradition of great rushers as motivation for reviving the run.
"Running backs, as a group, we really want to prove a lot this season," Abanikanda said after practice on Tuesday. "We definitely want to prove that we can get back to the old Pitt and run the ball."
Abanikanda has never even shared a sideline with a 1,000-yard rusher - the last Panthers to hit the millennium mark, Qadree Ollison and Darrin Hall, did it two years before he joined the roster. But his coaches have seen them up close. Abanikanda said running backs coach Andre Powell has invoked some of those former stars, using them as motivation for his players today.
"He emphasizes that," Abanikanda said. "Qadree, James Conner, D Hall, those 1,000-yard running backs, that's what we're trying to do - make that name. That's what we're trying to get back to. We're trying to show them that we can do that as well."
Though he was asked the question, Abanikanda used "we" intentionally - running the ball will be a collective effort for everyone from the veteran offensive line to the deep stable of running backs Pitt has with Vincent Davis, Rodney Hammond and himself.
Abanikanda said he was expecting the starting offensive line, which decided as a group to return for one more season, to turn professional but was pleasantly surprised when they didn't. Now he feels that the run game has every element it needs to created a rushing offense on par with the vaunted ones of the past.
"I definitely feel like we're way more explosive, way tougher, way faster, way stronger together," he said.
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