We have already been reaffirmed that Kedon Slovis will remain Pitt's starting quarterback.
Now, with the season slipping away at 4-4 overall and 1-3 in the ACC, Pat Narduzzi reaffirmed that we shouldn't expect to see any sweeping changes to the depth chart as the Panthers prepare for No. 22 Syracuse.
The release of the depth chart for Saturday's 3:30 p.m. kickoff against the Orange contains a few of the dreaded "or" listings, namely at positions which struggled to contain now-No. 17 North Carolina in the Panthers' 42-21 defeat on Saturday in Chapel Hill, N.C.
But those listings are just on paper, and those listings are just rough estimates, as they should be perceived.
Or, should they?
Matt Goncalves, Gabe Houy, and Branson Taylor are currently working in a rotation between two offensive tackle spots, Tylar Wiltz started in place of an ailing Bangally Kamara at outside linebacker, and the defensive line up the middle went through a plethora of rotation following Calijah Kancey's ejection for targeting toward the end of the first half.
Aside from personnel battles and struggles, there is also the factor of players underperforming or simply not being put in the proper positions to succeed, which goes back to the coaches.
The wide receivers -- which are thinning in depth by the day -- have struggled to get open, Gavin Bartholomew has been criminally under- and misused, and each of the Panthers' starting cornerbacks were smoked in coverage against the Tar Heels, giving way to the fourth-quarter collapse on both sides of the ball.
"Nothing is up for grabs," Narduzzi said. "I feel good with Tylar, I feel great with Bangally, I feel great with Solomon DeShields getting out there and playing, and obviously Shayne Simon.
"It's not up for grabs. There's some people around the country that don't even do depth charts anymore because depth charts make guys feel bad. You guys like a depth chart, who's starting. But we've got guys -- we feel like M.J. (Devonshire), A.J. (Woods) and Marquis (Williams) are three starting corners. Those are your three guys you see out there."
And as for the tackles?
"We feel like we've got three guys," Narduzzi said, "and I think we gave up one sack at that left tackle position. We wish maybe Matt Goncalves was in there instead at the time. We got beat inside on a sack, but those three -- nothing is open. You feel like you've got guys that can be starters."
When a team loses in the fashion Pitt lately has, these personnel questions arise, along with questions of the decision-making by coaches. The Panthers have been outscored 38-0 in the fourth quarter over the previous two weeks -- 17-0 against Louisville, and 21-0 against North Carolina -- and took double-digit losses in each game because of it. The Panthers have been outgained 786-693 in those two games, while nearly being doubled up in scoring (66-34).
But in Narduzzi's words, the North Carolina game consisted of three good quarters for Pitt, and then the dreadful fourth quarter (and the Kancey ejection) cost them the game. In the fourth quarter against the Tar Heels, Pitt was out-gained 127-48, while the Tar Heels picked up seven first downs to Pitt's two and did not punt.
"The score didn't indicate really what kind of game that was," Narduzzi said. "They got us in the fourth quarter late, and obviously we were up for three quarters, I believe, or at least up until a couple minutes into the third quarter. I'm not sure what that number was. But it's just how we finished."
Here is a look at Pitt's depth chart for this week's game:
#Pitt depth chart for Syracuse week. pic.twitter.com/u3CiPuI7Nx
— Corey Crisan (@cdcrisan) October 31, 2022
Note this: Goncalves and Houy at left tackle, David Green and Devin Danielson at defensive tackle, Deslin Alexandre and John Morgan at defensive end, Kamara and Wiltz at star linebacker, and Devonshire and Konata Mumpfield at punt returner carry that "or" designation.
Is that a measure of depth, as was perceived during the early goings of the season, or is that a sign of the current times?
Narduzzi mentioned that Kamara entered the week banged up, and that receiver Bub Means was a game-time decision after being injured pre-game at Louisville. We were told Jaylon Barden was going to start at receiver, but he hardly played and registered just one catch for five yards.
"It really doesn't matter," Narduzzi said of the depth listings. "It comes down to who's playing and playing well, and then we're going to go with the hot guy."
The issue is, aside from running back Israel Abanikanda and Kancey, nobody has really been hot.
That includes Bartholomew, who hasn't been utilized as much as he probably should be within the offense. That is not a testament in the slightest to his talent, but it is a combination of scheme and Slovis not seeing him when he has gotten open.
But he has just 16 catches in eight games, and aside from a few big plays -- like the TD reception against Tennessee -- he has largely been a nonfactor.
Here is Narduzzi's full response when asked on Monday about the lack of involvement from Bartholomew:
"Just happens. It's like -- comes down to the down and who's open and what they're taking away and what they're giving you and what you're seeing. There's times back there, and again, I know we make comments -- when you watch videotape, you go, ‘Oh, that guy is open. Why didn't he throw it to him?’ He can't see it. Again, there's somebody in his way. You know there's a lot of things back in the pocket, whether you're 6'3" or you're 6'0", we know things change that way, but nobody is 6'8" back there that can see over everything. When there's linemen getting in your vision, you don't see some of those crossing routes, which we missed a couple crossing routes or check-downs that maybe we should make -- call them runaways through that linebacker territory that maybe we didn't hit that we'd like to hit."
Interesting.
