Pitt Football Practice Takeaways: Offense Shows Off Indoors
PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers arrived at practice on Friday fresh off of an NCAA-mandated rest day. Their work, at least during the periods of practice open to attending media, was not particularly intense physically. Instead, the quarterbacks spent time working through different routes with the receivers and tight ends.
Weather: The Panthers enjoyed the comforts of the indoor facility for the first time this season. While it was brutally hot and humid outside, they practiced without the sun beating on their heads.
Dress: Pitt was once again in "shells" - shorts, shoulder pads and helmets - ahead of their first full-padded practice of training camp on Saturday.
Soundtrack: 'Good Morning' by Kanye West, "Elm Street" by Jimmy Wopo and "Many Men" by 50 Cent played while the Panthers stretched and warmed up.
Observations from inside the Rooney Sports Complex follow below.
Backyard Brawl to be Well Attended
Pitt football announced on Friday morning that the season opener vs. West Virginia had been officially sold out. They opened up a select number of standing room only tickets to the purchasing public, but every seat has been accounted for.
Head coach Pat Narduzzi said he knew a while ago that this would be the case and wasn't surprised when he had heard. Despite never having coached in this rivalry before, he's felt and seen the tension and excitement building for the first Brawl in 11 years.
"I found out probably a week ago," he said. "I guess when it opened up and 15 minutes later it was sold out, we kind of thought that was going to happen. We know it'll be the largest crowd in Acrisure Stadium history."
Transfer Receivers Appear As Good as Advertised
After following the wide receivers on Friday, it's easy to see why the Panthers spoke so highly of transfers Jerrod "Bub" Means and Konata Mumpfield.
They're different players - Means a tall, physical and long-armed ballhawk and Mumpfield a smaller and more agile precision route runner - but showcased excellent ball skills. Means, despite not wearing gloves like most receivers do, caught everything. Mumpfield did the same and made some highlight-reel catches - leaping and leaning to corral balls thrown off the mark.
All offseason, we've heard these names come up over and over when talking about how the offense will recover from the loss of Biletnikoff winner Jordan Addison. The Panthers believe these two have what it takes to overcome the attrition and it's clear why.
There's More of Nick Patti to Come
Nick Patti, who's in the middle of a position battle with USC transfer Kedon Slovis, struggled to meet his receivers on time on Friday. Slovis, who perhaps has the more talented arm of the two, showed it off as the Panthers practiced a variety of routes with pass-catchers.
But it was never Patti's arm that made him a candidate for the starting quarterback job. His creativity, running ability and knowledge of the system are all things that can't show up in simple drills ran against air. It is not until the Panthers go live and offense meets defense in 11-on-11 work that all of Patti's skill set will be on display. While Slovis may have won the day, it's little more than a temporary victory.
We haven't seen all of Nick Patti yet.
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