Pitt's Rodney Hammond Returns with Unfinished Business
PITTSBURGH -- Pitt Panthers running back Rodney Hammond's junior season was underwhelming to put it mildly. Listed as the top running back on the depth chart for most of the season, he took inconsistent carries and his production looked largely the same
Hammond was set up for a big season after the departure of Israel Abanikanda but that breakout year never materialized. With the offense unable to figure out quite how to use him during a disappointing 3-9 season, speculation that he would leave Pitt for greener pastures surfaced. Instead, Hammond opted to return and he's come back eager to redeem himself and the program.
"What happened last year, I got to shake back from that. I can’t have that on my name," Hammond said. "I want to shake back and dig myself out of this hole we were in last year.”
Transferring is so easy these days that most of the time, when a player struggles at their current school, the expectation is that they will transfer to find a better fit but Hammond would see that as quitting. He doesn't think of himself as the kind of person to bail when the going gets tough and said many of his other teammates who had the chance to leave this offseason felt the same way - they wanted to stay and help this program return to it's former glory.
“I can say we didn’t want to leave business unfinished. A lot of us didn’t want to leave with that bad rep on our name," Hammond said. "You can’t just go out there, 3-9 and when stuff get tough, you leave. No, I’m not that type of person. I believe that everyone else who came out, they’re not that type of people. So when stuff gets bad, we’re going to stay down until we come up.”
Hammond added that he felt he could have done more to help the team. He accounted for 607 total yards - a career-high - but just four touchdowns - a career-low. It wasn't until late in the season that Hammond became a true workhorse.
He recorded 10 or more touches three times through the first eight games of the season and averaged just under 40 total yards per game in that contest. Then, over the final four weeks of the 2023 season, he recorded 10 or more touches in each game and averaged 72 total yards per game in those contests
Hammond sees a greater opportunity to show his full range of skills in a new offensive system coordinated by Kade Bell. He believes the pace and space of Bell's scheme will give him a chance to impact the game in bigger ways and help Pitt win.
Winning was the only thing Hammond wanted to talk about in his first meeting with reporters in 2024. He felt that the 3-9 campaign in 2023 was a poor reflection on himself personally and vowed not to let it happen again.
“We win, we put up numbers on everyone we play this year," Hammond said. "3-9 - that’s not going to happen again this year, I promise you that.”
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