Emotions need to be kept in check for Pitt during Backyard Brawl

There's no doubting the blood feud between Pitt and West Virginia football.

From Pitt's monumental 13-9 upset in 2007 to the teams' first meeting in 1895, the 104 iterations of the Backyard Brawl have brought forward some of the best moments and memories ever offered by the sport.

With such heat and such gravity behind the feud also comes the unique blend of hatred and respect. It's inherent with the territory. If you wear Pitt colors, you despise those that wear the different shade of blue and gold down I-79 South.

These concepts remain true whether it's on the field of off of it. This game hasn't been played in 11 years -- far, far too long of a time apart for these short-distance rivals -- and players and coaches are gradually getting the old feelings back that have sustained for 127 years.

Through all of that comes the emotions behind it, which is what fuels that unique blend. As Thursday night's kickoff and the 105th meeting between these two teams approaches, Pitt is well aware of the necessity of keeping its emotions in check while maintaining the drive to go out and beat a Power Five rival in its opening week.

"We’ve been talking about it all through the summer," defensive coordinator Randy Bates said on Monday. "We’ve shown them clips of experiences they’ve had in the past, and quite frankly the nice thing is when you have so many guys returning, those kids have been in situations where they were probably too emotional at some point. So you can show them that and let them learn from that and then they need to tell and explain to the younger guys how to do that."

There's a large difference between playing "with emotion" and playing "emotional." Getting overly emotional can lead to issues -- namely unnecessary penalties -- but playing "with emotion" is a trait that each player can dig into at any given point. What could breach one into the other is the knowledge and experience in playing in these sort of games.

Sure, old feelings will come back for fans. But this iteration has a slightly different feel for the players. Eleven years ago, these players were in elementary school. Over the summer, the Pitt coaches have worked to educate their players over what the Backyard Brawl is about, and in doing so have related their own experiences to translate into this rivalry game.

"We're going to try to give them as much education as we can on it, teach them what a rivalry game is," Pat Narduzzi said. "You learn really quick what a rivalry is. Some of our guys don't know. I didn't know before I got to Michigan State in 2007 what a big-time rivalry was.

"I think you have to understand where it's coming from. They hear from other people. I can tell you this, just to finish the education (point). When you have to educate, you try to bring in guest speakers. Bring in the best guest speaker you can."

Pitt did that as a part of this week's game preparation.

Who better to bring in than Dave Wannstedt, who will serve as the Panthers' honorary captain on Thursday.

"To have him here, experience who Dave Wannstedt is: Former player, former great coach, Super Bowl (champion) with the Cowboys. He's done everything," Narduzzi said. "It means the world, really. He's a Pitt man. He's a busy man as well as a Pitt man. For him to take time out of his schedule, we're excited. It means everything, really. It's hard to get some guys back like him. We're excited to get him back."

This is a clean slate for Narduzzi and West Virginia coach Neal Brown. Each is coaching in his first Backyard Brawl, and have had the similar task of versing their players on what this game means.

"I just hear a lot of stories about it," defensive tackle David Green said. "When I watch film and see how aggressive it is and how physical it is, I like that. ... I really didn't know much about it. They're pounding it in our heads, saying this is a big game and don't take it lightly. They hate you. We hate them."

During his press conference in Morgantown, Brown talked along the lines of what we've been hearing Narduzzi regarding his respective team. 

The Mountaineers are equally as fired up after their stretch of rivalry education, but also need to be sure to temper emotions throughout the course of the game.

"The ones where you really put some thought into your speeches are when you're worried about your emotional level going into it," Brown said. "The key here, this is going to be a game that -- obviously this is your opener, which is high-energy anyway. But the fact that you put in a rivalry game makes it even more emotional. So it's going to be about making sure we play the game 'with emotion' but not necessarily 'emotional.' That's probably the bigger challenge rather than getting them up during pregame.

"Your expectation as a coach is that if guys have played, they're going to have a maturity level to understand to not get too high going into the contest."

TWO-DEEP TALK

Pitt's first two-deep depth chart of the season was released on Monday. Here are some notes to draw from it:

■ Israel Abanikanda is listed as the starting running back, and Rodney Hammond Jr. is listed as the second running back. Neither have an "or" designation atached. The third-string back is listed as Vincent Davis "or" C'Bo Flemister. Daniel Carter is not on the depth chart, but that room is deep and has been teased as being used as a committee of five.

"When you look at it we’ve got five runners in that room," offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr. said. "They’re outstanding. They compete with each other. They have good vision. They have good balance, body control, short area of burst. If one thing separated Izzy it might be the decisiveness and flat-out speed where he can hit home runs. Whether it’s Rodney, whether it’s Vince, whether it’s C’Bo, we have confidence in the whole group.”

■ Jared Wayne, Konata Mumpfield, and Bub Means are all listed as starting wide receivers.

“They’re both very talented," Cignetti said of transfers Mumpfield and Means. "Like Kedon (Slovis), they have experience. They both have had success at the college level already. They’ve got a tremendous coach in coach (Tiquan) Underwood that has played in the National Football League. He’s a tremendous teacher, he builds trust and relationships, they have bought into the fundamentals and techniques that we are teaching. They’re both great kids. That entire room is such a great group where they work with each other, compete with each other."

■ Devin Danielson "OR" Green are listed as the team's second starting defensive tackle, alongside preseason All-American Calijah Kancey.

"Those two guys are playing at a very high level and very consistent. It’s nice to have two of them," Bates said. "I believe it also helps them because there is competition. Even Tyler Bentley, who’s also in that mix, as well, is also right there. Those four guys with Calijah, with all that competition makes them better, and I believe that helps us to be a better defense.”

■ Bangally Kamara and Shayne Simon are listed as starting star and money linebackers, respectively. Solomon DeShields is listed as the reserve star linebacker, and Tylar Wiltz is listed as the reserve money linebacker. Simon appears to have edged Wiltz in a battle between senior transfers, but Bates has mentioned before that that position could see six or seven players rotate in to play.

“I think the nice thing with Shayne is he’s a mature player," Bates said. "He’s an older player. He was here for spring ball, so he’s farther ahead than maybe someone that transferred in the summer. He’s got the ability to play all three positions. Real savvy football player, smart young man. I can’t say enough about him. Just an outstanding addition to our defense.”

■ A.J. Woods is the team's second starting cornerback, opposite of Marquis Williams. Rashad Battle and M.J. Devonshire are noted as their respective backups.

"We have two starters back at safety, and we have three starters back at corner, and really good depth at both," Bates said, "It gives me a great deal of confidence that these young men you’ve seen play."

DANIELS DIALED IN

To no surprise, J.T. Daniels will be under center for West Virginia on Thursday, Brown announced at his press conference. The quarterback transferred from Georgia, where he started in four games in 2020 and then lost the starting job to Stetson Bennett in 2021.

Daniels had transferred to Georgia from USC, where Slovis came from.

"He's just very accurate," Narduzzi said of Daniels. "He's smart. He can throw a really good deep ball. Our corner has to be really good in coverage. Thrown a lot of deep balls this week (in practice). That is their favorite route: four verticals, three verticals."