Pitt Preparing for Offseason Roster Management with Senior's Decisions Looming
PITTSBURGH -- The 2022 regular season is set to end this weekend at the conclusion of the Pitt Panthers' final game against Miami. The Panthers will still have another game to prepare for but they'll have to sit idle for a week before learning their bowl game assignment.
Even though there is not another game in the immediate future, the first week after the end of the regular season is crucial for the program's future. Pitt's coaching staff will embark on all kinds of recruiting work to determine who will be here next year and who won't.
"That's kind of what that week is for, just to find out where they are, going into a bowl game and going on the road recruiting," Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi said. "So I think the portal opens up the next week we're on the road. So it gives us a chance as coaches to sit down, see where our guys are, what they're doing."
For now, Narduzzi's most pressing concerns are with what his seniors are doing. The COVID-19 pandemic and the rules the NCAA implemented to help teams adapt to its challenges have had lasting effects on roster management. 19 Panthers participated in senior day ceremonies while the 11 remaining seniors didn't, but even that fact doesn't guarantee anything.
"It's hard. It's like a -- it's different because you don't know," Narduzzi said. "COVID is still affecting us. This extra year -- usually you know who is your senior and then you might have to worry about an underclassman that might leave early, that's it. Maybe two or three of those, max. And now you don't know. Guys have options. So we'll just wait and see how they feel."
Kedon Slovis, David Green, Erick Hallett, SirVocea Dennis and Jared Wayne have all said they have yet to make a decision. They could exercise another year of eligibility or leave early to pursue life in the NFL and decisions really aren't final until after bowl season.
"I think this off-season will be as crazy as it's ever been," Narduzzi said. "But we'll have a chance to sit down in deeper thoughts than maybe some of the quicker conversations we had, just to see where guys are and what they're thinking. But I don't think we'll have any determination, whether it's a guy that walked on Senior Day or a guy that didn't walk that could move on."
One thing is for sure, the decisions won't be rushed. Narduzzi wants to keep the players' best interests at heart and help them make the right move. Narduzzi wants to know where his current players stand before evaluating what he needs to do to fill whatever holes are left behind.
"It's not like a quick decision," Narduzzi said, "I want our kids to take their time. And like I told them, take your time, make a good decision. For me I want a quick decision, so I know what I got to do. But it's not about me, it's about them and making a sound, good decision on what's best for them. It's not about me or Pitt football right now it's about them."
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