One thing Pat Narduzzi is not short on this year for Pitt football is leadership.
When Pitt hosted its Kickoff Luncheon at the Westin in downtown Pittsburgh, the first such event since 2019, Narduzzi sat with all the senior players in the program as per usual. But what wasn't usual was the fact there were 27 seniors on that stage with him.
While 13 of those players were redshirt seniors, one regular senior, and another 13 earned the designation of "super seniors," a title given to seniors with an additional year of experience who are in the final year of eligibility.
Per tradition, after the fanfare of the Pitt Marching Band, presentations from Narduzzi and Athletic Director Heather Lyke, the seniors all took turns introducing each other to the crowd of alumni and supporters. Then, Narduzzi announced the team captains to be Kenny Pickett, Deslin Alexandre, Cam Bright and Cal Adomitis.
Pickett as the Panthers' starting quarterback for a fourth consecutive season is obvious, but Alexandre, Adomitis and Bright each getting the nod confirms their importance to the defense both as players and leaders.
Alexandre is the redshirt senior defensive end who leads a defensive front that saw three Panthers go to the NFL Draft last year. At the beginning of training camp he told DKPittsburghSports the strained emphasis being placed on Pitt's defensive line to come out strong in training camp and make its mark.
Bright earned praise from Narduzzi towards the end of training camp for becoming the vocal leader of a deep and talented group of linebackers for the Panthers and was also identified by 2020 Third Team All-ACC linebacker SirVocea Dennis as a leader who was helping all the other linebackers settle into their roles.
Adomitis is a super senior who passed on the NFL Draft last season to spend another season with Pitt, like Pickett, because of the NCAA eligibility waiver. He's been noted by Narduzzi as one of the hardest workers on the team.
Alexandre described being named a captain among so many seniors as an honor, but noted the other seniors with the captains are vital to Pitt's plans in 2021.
"It definitely makes it easier," Alexandre said of having so many seniors to count on for leadership. "Just to have a lot of guys who can all repeat the same message alongside us just reinforces the standard we have."
"I would say with all the super seniors, redshirt seniors and true seniors, it's almost like we've been one long class together," Pickett said. "We've been playing for so long together that it doesn't matter if you're a new transfer guy coming in, they're molding into how we do things and I'm really excited to get my last year with all of these guys."
Pitt had two added senior transfers in 2021 who've quickly made an impact in training camp in Marcus Minor from Maryland and Melquise Stovall from Hawaii. Minor projects as the team's starting left guard next to left tackle Carter Warren, while Stovall will be fighting for playing time in the middle of a packed receiver room.
The captains credit the culture of the team, established by their coaches, as the reason so many seniors have found a home and so few transferred out of the program after last season.
"It's definitely the coaching," Alexandre said when asked about the culture. "It's a family mentality of guys not just doing for themselves, but really buying into the 'we not me' so that we put our brothers ahead of ourselves. That's been our mentality all along."
"The difference is how tight we are," Pickett added. "That's not going to go out there and win games for us, but it's a huge piece that goes into the start of winning. I'm excited to go out there compete on September 4th and continue that throughout the season."
Pitt opens Sept. 4 against Massachusetts at Heinz Field.
