Pitt's 2022 football roster offers its luxuries.
The trenches on each side of the ball are undoubtedly the strongest suits of the team, with veteran leaders like wide receiver Jared Wayne and linebacker SirVocea Dennis leading their respective groups which are blossoming with depth options expected to produce immediately.
Buzz around camp has been building for one position group, which has been touted from within about the myriad of options and the depth it has built.
The running backs room shouldn't be slept on, and Pat Narduzzi knows exactly how valuable that position is going to be throughout the season.
"They're able to catch balls out of the backfield, they're lined up in empty (sets) and able to do that," Narduzzi said on Friday. "They're able to obviously run the football. They can be used on every down. They're every-down guys that can do everything. That's what we recruit. We're not recruiting guys that just runs the ball (well) or pass protects or vice-versa. Those guys have to be complete guys, and really we've got a few that are just complete guys right now. We'll find out what happens on game day."
With Frank Cignetti Jr. taking over as offensive coordinator, the options are endless. Prognosticators view Israel Abanikanda as a potential 1,000-yard runner on his own, while Rodney Hammond Jr. is blooming into the program's future at the position.
Add in senior Vincent Davis, 240-pound wrecking ball Daniel Carter, and Notre Dame transfer C'Bo Flemister, and the Panthers have backs that provide different strengths and can be used collectively or with a hot-handed approach so long as Cignetti and running backs coach Andre Powell choose.
"Right now we're just repping guys and giving them everything," Powell said, "and that'll work itself out. But, here's what I'll tell you: we've got five talented backs."
Of the 1,817 net yards of rushing production from 2021 running backs, 97.7% of that returns to the 2022 roster. Davis paced the team in carries with 142, but Abanikanda tied for 10th in the ACC with 5.3 yards per carry last season.
Hammond at 102 carries was one of three Panthers -- along with Davis and Abanikanda -- to tote the ball at least 100 times last season. His five rushing touchdowns were tied for second on the team. Hammond lost only a net of 9 yards on his 102 carries.
Powell said Hammond had two things from last season to work on in the spring and summer months to shore up his craft.
"First of all, in the running game he had to work on knowing what the people around him were doing," Powell said. "If he knew how we targeted a play, he would find more yards. He's talented. He can really accelerate, but sometimes he guessed and guessed right, and sometimes he guessed and guessed wrong.
"So he's worked on that hard, and he's worked on the passing game. Being specifically in the right spot with protection, where his eyes should be, and being specifically in the right spot so if the quarterback comes to him, he will be where he's supposed to be."
Flemister is just getting going in full with the Panthers, after graduating from Notre Dame in the summer. He tallied 110 carries for 471 yards and 10 touchdowns in 25 career games asa reserve at Notre Dame.
"He started off slow, I've got to be honest with you," Narduzzi said. "He started off a little slower. But C'Bo's come on the last few days. He's got his legs back. You think about a guy who's graduating from Notre Dame, his focus was on getting his degree and graduating and he knew was coming here, but it's hard to work out on the road. It's hard when (head strength and conditioning coach Michael Stacchiotti's) not on your tail every day about running and lifting, so for him, it was a slow process.
"He is impressive. He's been physical, he's tough, he's smart. Just took him longer than you'd like to get his legs where they needed to be."
Don't get things twisted, either. There are no egos to be had within this room.
Players like Davis or Carter easily could have transferred out due to the potential for a decrease in carries. But, instead, this room stuck together and added a versatile back in Flemister.
"We're all sharing carries and working right now," Abanikanda said. "Just trying to get better as a team. Everything's equal and spread out."
Added Hammond: "Whatever coach has got for me, that's what I'm going to do. Play my role. I just want to help the team win and go win a National Championship."
SCRIMMAGE PART II
The Panthers will go live again in a closed team scrimmage on Saturday, but this one will take place at Acrisure Stadium, 12 days away from when the Backyard Brawl kicks off on Sept. 1 from the same venue. Pitt practiced in spider pads for just under 90 minutes on Friday.
"I would say there's guys that we'll say, 'hey, you're only getting this many reps,'" Narduzzi said regarding the scrimmage plan. "We're going to start off just going skelly (drill) just so we can get our pass stuff done without being physical. Just getting some work there, which we didn't do last week. We went right into contact, so we'll change it up that way. Probably get less reps than we did last week, at least with the older guys."
QUARTERBACK 'FINAL EXAMS'
Narduzzi didn't tip his hand on when a starting quarterback will be announced, but he did offer insight into how much Saturday's scrimmage will affect Kedon Slovis and Nick Patti's chances of landing the job.
"(Saturday) will be a big day," he said. "It's No. 2, and this is really our last big scrimmage, even though we have scrimmage situations, but it's our last big one. It will be important. What they do and how they do it. For everybody in that room and for the offense. I would say it has weight just like our last one had weight, just like every day.
"But you measure the scrimmage days and the game days, and this one is at Acrisure Stadium, so it weighs a little bit more. It's like one of your final exams. Everybody's classes are a little bit different, but each one of those homework assignments, they do count. You can't just get an 'A' on a test and avoid all of the homework during the semester. Every day counts. Every pass and every run check matters."
BRAWL BUILD-UP
Kickoff against West Virginia is fewer than two weeks away, and Narduzzi said he will transition the team away from training camp duties into game preparation mode at some point next week.
"We'll start having them slowly get into it," Narduzzi said. "I don't want to get into it so long (away) they get bored with it. Coaches never get bored with game plans. Kids can start to go, 'OK, I got it, I got it, I got it,' and then they start to slip. It's kind of like bowl practice. If you've got too many days of bowl practice, it becomes boring. We'll get into it soon enough, and our guys will be ready."
