Narduzzi: Krull, tight ends huge to Pitt's 'fixed' rushing offense

Pitt ranked 13th of 15 ACC teams in rushing yards last season, and that has to change before 2021.

The Panthers may have Kenny Pickett back, but they can't take a step forward without balancing their offense with a dependable rushing attack. Pitt's 425 passing attempts was the second-most in the ACC, while its 389 rushing attempts were tenth-most in the conference.

That's because Pitt's rushing offense wasn't dependable for most of last season, and especially during the four-game losing streak of October. The Panthers averaged 174.5 rushing yards in their wins last season and 54.4 rushing yards in their losses. Finding that consistency will be essential to balancing a roster that lost several defensive stars.

"I think we've fixed it," Narduzzi said when asked about his confidence in the running game on Tuesday. "In our open week we looked at what we did well and what we didn't do well. It came down to personnel. We didn't have a tight end. When you don't have a tight end, it limits you and we molded our offense to work with who we had. That led to us being something we weren't. That was the key. We continue to work on what we're good at and avoid things we're not good at, and that involves play selection and getting good at something you're doing offensively."

Pitt's tight end depth chart blew up last season when Lucas Krull was injured in early September and the team barely used Jake Zalinskas and Kyi Wright during the season as they weren't ready and capable starters. Narduzzi pointed out that will be different this year as freshman tight end Gavin Bartholomew has stood out al through spring practices, even calling him the Panthers' most physical tight end.

But Narduzzi is even more excited about Krull, who transferred to Pitt from Florida before last season.

"Lucas is a beast right now," Narduzzi said. "He's playing like first round material right now, knock on wood. That dude is playing really well and had another day like that today. You look at him and we think we might want to put him on the shelf and not practice as much. Heck, if he keeps practicing as much as he does, you might not see much of him in the spring game."

Narduzzi isn't the only coach who's been excited about Krull, as receivers coach Brennan Marion posted this on Monday:

Having Krull and Bartholomew would help with the balance of the offense if they're both receiving threats and helping to block for the Panthers' running backs. That balance could allow Pickett to have the best season of his career.

"It's really important," Narduzzi said about having a strong rushing threat. "Especially when you get in the red zone and you can't stretch them down the field and everyone sits on your routes. We'll continue to work there, and we're running the football better than we did all last spring. We're not as happy with the defense stopping the run, but we're still running the ball better. We did better against Florida State, Virginia State and Georgia Tech."

Narduzzi has maintained that Vincent Davis is still the team's starting running back, but Israel Abanikanda could be gaining ground. Davis fumbled last Tuesday in practice, and Narduzzi noted this Tuesday that Abanikanda has made significant strides in pass protection and had a great run during a Saturday scrimmage that showed his breakaway speed.

There's also the camp battles at offensive line that can't be ignored. Carter Warren, Gabe Houy, and Matt Goncalves are duking it out to see who starts at offensive tackle. Narduzzi noted that as of Tuesday, Warren and Houy were leading in the race to start, but also that Goncalves is pushing for time. Goncalves rose to start in Pitt's last three games at left tackle last season as a redshirt freshman.

But Narduzzi has also liked what he's seen from his guards, including Maryland transfer Marcus Minor.

"Marcus Minor played a nice ballgame," Narduzzi said when asked about Pitt's Saturday scrimmage. "He was physical and looked the best he'd been since he got here with a winning performance. He's doing a great job at left guard and (Jake) Kradel is doing a nice job at right guard.

If Minor can become a legitimate starter to replace Bryce Hargrove and Kradel takes the next step to improve, Pitt may just have the offensive line it needs to go to battle in the ACC. Narduzzi's already noted how Owen Drexel has taken over center, even being called Jimmy Morrissey's 'little brother.' Considering Morrissey's journey that's made him an interesting NFL Draft prospect, that means a lot.

But Narduzzi's still looking for contributions in the run game from everyone in the offense.

"Anytime you're running the ball, the offensive line plays a part in that for sure," Narduzzi said. "But so do the tight ends blocking and the running backs making the right reads. It also counts when receivers are blocking and they're doing a great job going downfield and blocking. They've learned some things the last 12 months and blocking better."

Pitt's Blue and Gold Game is still set for a 1 p.m. kickoff on April 24 at Heinz Field. We'll get to see just how much better they look then.