The question of who would be Pitt's starting running back has been a mystery all season.
Pat Narduzzi has listed the Panthers' starting running backs as being Vincent Davis, "or" A.J. Davis, "or" Israel Abanikanda, indicating that either of the three could be the starter. That's been the case for most of the Panthers' 5-1 start. While A.J. Davis has been injured for most of the season, Pitt's run game has been split between Abanikanda, Vincent Davis and true freshman Rodney Hammond Jr.
But that might have come to an end with Abanikanda's day Saturday, rushing for 140 yards on 21 carries in Pitt's 28-7 win over Virginia Tech, a career high performance. That average of 6.7 yards per carry was the third consecutive game the 5-foot-11, 215 lbs. sophomore out of Brooklyn, NY averaged over four yards per carry.
It also left an impression on Narduzzi.
"Those ‘Ors’ will be taken off Friday," Narduzzi said when asked about Abanikanda's play, indicating he would be the starter as Pitt prepares to face Clemson 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Heinz Field. "Every defense is a little bit different. We're playing the best defense in the country in my opinion. I mean, maybe Georgia is right there, but this is a top-notch defense that we've got to be able to pick up all the pressures."
Clemson's defense isn't on the level of Georgia, but it's definitely the best defense in the ACC right now, despite the Tigers not being ranked. Their 12.5 points allowed per game is the best average in the conference, while they rank third in total yards, rushing yards and passing yards allowed. They're also doing that without a large amount of interceptions, showing their ability to play more consistent defense and winning situational football more often.
"The way he ran the ball last week, yeah, I'm ready to get rid of that ‘or,'" Narduzzi continued on Abanikanda. "(He has to work on) pass protection and how he practices this week, he's still a baby. Vince is an older guy that's been in some of these games before and has played against Clemson. So this will be a big week for him, and again I think he's up to the challenge and he's confident and I think he'll be okay."
As much as Narduzzi tried to balance out his acknowledgment of the depth chart change with cautionary statements of Abanikanda's youth and Davis' experience, he has to know this was a necessary move.
It also, should've been done a while ago.
Abanikanda, also referred to as "Izzy" by his coaches and teammates, has been talked about as a rising star because of his size, explosiveness and speed. He's thicker and taller than Davis, who plays at 5-foot-8, 175 pounds as a junior. Davis earned the starting spot last season because he learned to fill in several roles for the offense as a runner, receiver out of the backfield, and most importantly, a pass protector.
Abanikanda had the athleticism last year, but needed to adapt to balancing those roles in his workload to not be a liability on the field. Now, he's showing he's put in the work to be just as reliable in those roles while also showing the athleticism that got Narduzzi to compare him to Le'Veon Bell back in Pitt's Blue-Gold Spring Game in April.
When watching Abanikanda run as a freshman, you could see the impatience in some of his carries as if he was too eager to prove his worth. Playing like that can lead to missed opportunities, as it did for him in his freshman year. But now he's seeing the holes opened in front of him better and making the right cuts at the right time.
It also helps that Pitt's offensive line is opening holes more consistently for him to find a rhythm in the offense. Watch this run when Gabe Houy sealed his man to the inside while Carter Warren sealed his man to the outside. You could see Pitt's line win as a unit and Abanikanda not only step up into that created gap, but have his head up looking for the next hole to attack at the second level:
You can also see how quickly he can change direction as he reads and reacts to which holes the defense occupy.
Learning how to run behind your own linemen takes knowing their strengths, tons of practice and building chemistry to know when and where to cut to different gaps and trust who will make their chip blocks to get to the second level. It's a big step, but the next step is even bigger if a back can combine that chemistry with knowing how to counter a defense with his own linemen.
Abanikanda is starting to do that more consistently each week. Watch how he knew he had his gap, but waited for Jake Kradel to pull and be his lead blocker so he could make the approaching safety be in a guessing game. As the safety flew up to Abanikanda, the sophomore back cut behind Kradel, forcing the safety to cut right into being blocked by his guard so that Abanikanda could cut right back against him for a bigger gain:
It's big that Abanikanda is seeing the holes and taking what the offensive line is giving him. But what's made it clear he needs to be the starter is how he's creating even more yards after their success.
Watch this run when Abanikanda made a decision on his own to bounce the run outside after he saw the Hokies plug up the interior gaps. He had the speed to get to the edge while Warren made two solid blocks to give him just enough time to get to the sideline for a big run:
That's a 3rd and 4 conversion on the ground that will give opposing defenses headaches.
Pitt's passing offense has been a nightmare and with Kenny Pickett, defenses have to worry about his ability to throw with accuracy to open playmakers or use his feet to move the chains himself. But if defenses have to worry about backs who can create on their own too, Pitt's offense will be a lot less predictable and more difficult to stop.
This is why Narduzzi needed to commit to Abanikanda before as his true starting running back. Davis brings speed and toughness to the position and definitely deserves carries on gameday. But Abanikanda has become a complete package at the position that can both explode past defenders for big gains and bruise his way for yards to wear them down.
He's also taken major strides in his pass protection skills. Pitt's opening touchdown Saturday was a Pickett pass to Gavin Bartholomew, but it might not have happened without Abanikanda making a good blitz pickup. You can see the Panthers' line can't account for the extra rusher coming from Pickett's blind side, but Abanikanda crossed over from the other side of Pickett to pick up the rusher and maintain the pocket so the touchdown could be thrown:
That's the kind of progress Narduzzi needs to see to make Abanikanda an every down back.
Mark Whipple has a tendency to let Pitt's offense go into no huddle series and watch Pickett work that's led to Pitt having the second-most passing yards and the most passing touchdowns in the ACC. But for a running back to be valuable in those situations he must be able to protect Pitt's star quarterback.
Abanikanda has proven he's ready for that role while also proving to be the best runner at making the extra defender miss. As Pitt looks to make a big statement win while being ranked No. 23 in the country vs. Clemson, it's time to take the training wheels off Abanikanda for good and let him use his skillset to make Pitt's offense the undisputed most dangerous group in the ACC. Not only has he earned the Panthers' ditching of the "ors" on the depth chart, he's also shown he's been ready for this challenge for weeks.
