After a weeklong hiatus, Pitt football returned to spring practices Tuesday.
The break was because of necessary COVID-19 protocols that required practices to shut down and the team to go into quarantine. That happened last Tuesday just after the Panthers' fourth spring practice. Pat Narduzzi wasn't happy about how his team looked in its fifth spring practice.
"You give young kids a week off and you feel like you're starting all over again," Narduzzi said. "We had some momentum after practice four, and I wasn't excited about today. I have to back and watch the tape, but you feel like you lost momentum by taking a week off. But we had to out of extreme caution to make sure our kids are safe."
Narduzzi also expressed concern about COVID-19 numbers in Pittsburgh as reports have indicated a surge in positive cases, rising from a seven-day average of 215 new cases per day on Mar. 8, to an average of 396 cases as of Mar. 29.
"Sounds like things are not great in the city of Pittsburgh," Narduzzi said. "Seems like things to be getting worse. We have to do our part as a football team to help nip this thing in the bud and try to get COVID out of Pittsburgh."
Narduzzi did indicate that had this been during the season, Pitt would've resumed practices to keep up with their game schedule and that this was a cautionary move since the Panthers are in the offseason. During that time, Pitt tested its players and staff every day. Moving forward Narduzzi expects that testing will be about three times per week, and that no player will miss practices for a long period of time due to COVID-19.
Tuesday's practice was in full pads, but Narduzzi acknowledged that only the expected standouts looked particularly good. He noted Kenny Pickett still looks sharp in practice and that players like Deslin Alexandre and Jordan Addison have continued their trajectory upward.
Other players that stood out to Narduzzi is senior receiver Taysir Mack, who Narduzzi described as 'outstanding' so far, and Gavin Bartholomew, who he described as the strongest tight end he's had on the roster.
But the guy who's stepped up both on the field and a leader is center Owen Drexel.
"Owen Drexel has been the guy who's really taken over," Narduzzi said. "He's learned a lot from Jimmy (Morrissey). He's a lot like Jimmy's little brother, and we even call him that. He's learned so much from Jim that he realizes that's his job now and he wants to fill those shoes. He's taken that over. Carter Warren has also done well, although he did jump offsides today. But they're stepping up."
One group Narduzzi still hasn't seen enough from are the quarterbacks behind Pickett. Joey Yellen transferred to Pitt last season, but between him and Davis Beville, there's a lot to prove.
"The backup quarterbacks are still what they are," Narduzzi said. "We're going to get them in a scrimmage situation and make them live to find out what we have there. When the pressure comes, we'll find out."
As of now, Pitt still is on schedule to have fans attend a spring game on Apr. 17, even if it means moving practices around. What's been made clear is that schedules will continue to be in flux during the pandemic.
"That's our plan right now," Narduzzi said when asked if Pitt can still play its spring game at Heinz Field on Apr. 17. "We're going to add extra practices in between and make up the three practices we missed somehow. But every day it feels like I'm making a new calendar. We'll take this week by week."
We'll keep you updated on how that progresses.
