The student has become the master.
From being a coach's kid growing up, to learning as he went along throughout his football career, Pat Narduzzi always had influences around which helped shape him into the coach he is today.
His father, Bill Narduzzi, helped build Youngstown State University's program into a winning one in the 1970s and 1980s, and was undoubtedly the main influence on how Pat would grow and forge his own path in the football world.
But, toward the top of the list of influences is legendary Rhode Island coach Bob Griffin.
With Griffin, it went beyond football reasoning and extended out to life's values. There's no doubt, at least when you hear it from Narduzzi, of the impact the former Rhode Island coach had on him from his playing days in the 1980s.
"Coach Griffin, he was a great football coach," Narduzzi said Monday. "Obviously, he's living up there, taking a walk probably right now down on Ocean Road. (You) learn everything, everything from your coaches. Discipline. I think we talked about it a month ago, leader, about being a captain and all that. I think who you are as people is what you pick up on a daily basis. Very disciplined. Just a great coach and a great person. That's what I learned. How to treat people. Because Bob Griffin is a great man."
As Rhode Island prepares to visit Acrisure Stadium on Saturday, Narduzzi has had opportunities to recall his playing days and those spent learning from Griffin. As you'll soon read below, that respect is mutual.
Griffin is the winningest head coach in the Rhode Island program's history, earning 79 victories over his tenure from 1976-1992. He guided the Rams to three Division I-AA playoff appearances, including a pair of quarterfinal round berths in 1984 and '85 after leading the Rams to back-to-back 10-3 records and Yankee Conference championships in those years.
Arriving and joining Griffin's program in 1987 was a spry sophomore linebacker named Pat Narduzzi, who transferred over after playing his freshman year for his father at Youngstown State in 1985.
Narduzzi played for three seasons as a linebacker under Griffin, and subsequently became a graduate assistant at Miami (Ohio) -- his father's alma mater -- in 1990, which were his first steps on the trail that eventually led him to becoming the head man at Pitt.
Rhode Island Athletics
Pat Narduzzi, left, playing linebacker for Rhode Island in the late-1980s.
The rest, as they say, is history.
"I think he's a hard-nosed kid," Griffin, 81, said in a phone interview with DK Pittsburgh Sports. "He's going to work hard in anything he does, and of course, football is something that he does pretty well. When he was a football player, he was pretty good at it. We were happy when he left Youngstown, we were happy to have him at the University of Rhode Island."
Narduzzi has his own certain je ne sais quoi as a coach, which is reflected directly upon his own players. His quarterbacks are tough, his running backs run with force, his linemen block with brute strength, his linebackers hit harder than any others that take the field on any given Saturday, his defensive backs play with aggressive tendencies.
You can tell by watching Pitt that it's a Pat Narduzzi team. That also extends to his assistant coaches, which pride themselves on having the oft-toughest position groups on the field at any given moment.
And, the players wouldn't have it any other way of going about it. Linebacker SirVocea Dennis went as far as to say this week that his position coach, Ryan Manalac, and Narduzzi are "too much alike." Manalac was a standout linebacker at Cincinnati while playing for Narduzzi, who was the Bearcats' defensive coordinator with him in the room in 2005 and '06.
"When you're coached by Narduzzi, you take a lot of traits from him, especially when you're going into coaching," Dennis said. "You see a lot of similarities. They're good guys, they bring the energy, they bring the juice, and they're tough coaches. They love you up, as well, but they're definitely tough coaches."
"Love you up ... but definitely tough."
That sounds about right.
But, that's probably the only thing Narduzzi didn't directly inherit from Griffin.
"I think that's Pat," Griffin said. "I'm a guy that's not a yeller or a screamer or anything like that. But, I always hoped I did what was best for the team."
But, what Pat did pick up from Griffin are the traits of work ethic and selflessness.
"He was somebody you could count on," Griffin said, "and he was going to be the best for himself and be the best for the team, and I think all of his teammates rallied around him, too. He was a great football player, and he's a great football coach."
Rhode Island Athletics
Bob Griffin, in the white shirt, addresses Rhode Island players at a practice. Griffin returned to Rhode Island in 2008 as an assistant coach and a consultant.
On the field, you can definitely see the flavor of Griffin in Narduzzi's teams.
"We both have a great love for football," Griffin said, "and Pat was certainly one of the most dedicated people to be good at what he's doing, and when it was playing football, he was working to be the best all the time."
And, of course, whenever he can, Griffin turns the Panthers game on his television to watch his former linebacker go to work.
"Whenever they're on television, of course, because of Pat, I take a special interest in it," he said.
Griffin noted that, back then, he saw Narduzzi as someone who could become a "very good coach."
"I'm extremely proud of Pat and what he's done, what he's done on and off the field," Griffin said. "He's a good man."
Pitt running backs coach Andre Powell also has a history with the Rhode Island program. He was the Rams' running backs coach in 1993 and '94, while Narduzzi was their head coach.
"Same guy, except he had abs," Powell quipped. "I know he was plugged into a 220 (volt-outlet). He stayed moving. I mean, 'Hey, let's come in Saturday and paint the offices.' I mean, it was just one thing after another. I'd go into his house, and he goes, 'Look, I cut a hole in the wall over here and put a closet in.' I mean, he was just always on the go. He's got a very active mind."
(Narduzzi offered his rebuttal to Powell on Thursday during his weekly briefing: "
Narduzzi told us on Monday about painting the Rhode Island offices in the early '90s. In smaller programs like Rhode Island's -- in somewhat of a parallel to a minor-league baseball club -- you often have to make due with what you have at your disposal.
"You think about the places you've worked," Narduzzi said. "Worked there in those offices, did construction in those offices, even though it was against union rules. We still painted. Had to do it ourselves or it wasn't going to get done. I was the foreman on the job in the office."
Coincidentally, Narduzzi and Powell each met their wives while at Rhode Island.
Here's a snippet of Narduzzi talking on the "Jim Rome Show" on CBS Sports Radio on Wednesday about his time at Rhode Island (and plenty more about Pitt football):
"As a coach, you never forget where you came from," Narduzzi told Jim Rome. "I've learned a lot from Bob Griffin -- as a player under Bob Griffin, the old head coach there, and his entire staff, and then coaching there. So, I know where they come from, and it's a good football program. I give back to the university in the offseason, and it's something that is good to give to them during the season, as well."
What was Narduzzi's assessment of himself as a player?
"I was a coach's kid," he told Rome, "so I was probably just a slow guy that made plays because I knew where I was supposed to go and studied a lot of video tape. I was a good I-AA football player."
Rome recalled the story of Narduzzi having an 8-millimeter video projector in his college dorm room -- which holds true -- and how he would crash film sessions with his father while in Youngstown.
"None of my teammates rolled like that," Narduzzi said. "Only a coach's kid could get a camera like that, you know. We had extra ones. We always had one at the house. My dad used to be -- on Sunday mornings when he was the head coach at Youngstown State -- would have the staff over for donuts and coffee and breakfast at our house, and they would sit in the living room and have that thing projecting on the living room wall and just a relaxing and different atmosphere so my dad could be home with his family and get his work done.
"We always had one around, and I just kind of snuck that one into my dorm room. So, I had some stuff to -- every night before I left the coaches' office at Rhode Island, I'd grab one reel and watch it that night, and the next day, get another one."
You can listen to Narduzzi's 10-minute interview with Rome here:
"Rhode Island brings back some old memories. But I'm still a competitor."
β Pitt Football (@Pitt_FB) September 21, 2022
π @CoachDuzzPittFB on @JimRome #H2P Β» #WeNotMe pic.twitter.com/u2lBNh4rrI
Now, on to Saturday's game:
THE ESSENTIALS
β’ Who: No. 24 Pitt (2-1, 0-0 ACC) vs. Rhode Island (2-1, 1-1 CAA)
β’ When: 12 p.m., Saturday
β’ Where: Acrisure Stadium
β’ Weather: 66Β°, Partly cloudy, 10% chance of rain, 6 mph. wind.
β’ TV: ACC Network
β’ TV broadcasters: Wes Durham (play-by-play), Roddy Jones (analyst), Taylor Davis (reporter)
β’ Radio: 93.7 The Fan, 92.1 WPTS-FM (Pitt student broadcast)
β’ The Fan broadcasters: Bill Hillgrove (play-by-play), Pat Bostick (analyst), Larry Richert (reporter), Dorin Dickerson (reporter).
β’ Streaming: ESPN App
β’ Satellite: SiriusXM channel 135 or 194; SXM App channel 956
β’ Boxscore: Live Stats
β’ Media Notes: Rhode Island | Pitt
TEN TO WATCH
β’ #2 Israel Abanikanda -- After carrying the ball 31 times last week and rushing for more than 100 yards in each of his last two games, does Pitt's starting running back earn a lighter workload this week? How many touches should we expect out of him?
β’ #4 Nahki Johnson -- Johnson was one of a few young defensive linemen to earn some playing time at Western Michigan. If Haba Baldonaldo and/or Deslin Alexandre are held out, that should remain the case this week.
β’ #19 Nate Yarnell -- Will 'Beethoven' get an encore performance after his show-stealing performance against Western Michigan? Narduzzi has said Kedon Slovis is ready to go. QB1 watch is back on.
β’ #22 Vincent Davis -- If Abanikanda's workload is limited, I'd expect Davis to earn the bulk of the carries, with...
β’ #24 C'Bo Flemister -- ... Flemister taking some work, as well. After carrying the ball once (and fumbling it, and subsequently recovering that fumble) in two games, Flemister carried it four times for 28 yards at Western Michigan.
β’ #25 A.J. Woods -- With Marquis Williams missing parts of the Western Michigan game with an injury, expect Woods to play in part at Pitt's top cover corner position.
β’ #30 Brandon George -- Since coming back in Week 2, George has registered nine total tackles -- third among linebackers this season -- with 1.5 for loss and one sack. He paced Pitt in tackles against Western Michigan with four.
β’ #57 Bam Brima -- The redshirt junior also earned some extra playing time on the defensive line against Western Michigan, in which he registered one tackle. Along the lines of Johnson, I wouldn't be surprised to see more of Brima on Saturday.
β’ #53 Jake Kradel -- Kradel started at center at Western Michigan. If Owen Drexel can't play again, will he resume those duties, or give way to Terrence Moore? If Kradel is in at center again, look for Blake Zubovic as the likely starter at right guard.
β’ #70 Ryan Baer -- Wild-card prediction: Pitt gains a massive lead on Rhode Island, and the once-top-recruit Baer takes some snaps away from Carter Warren at left tackle, to give the senior a breather. Who says no to that?
