Spring football will wrap up in two weeks with the annual Blue-Gold Spring Game set for April 15 at Acrisure Stadium.
Pitt is now three weeks into spring drills on the South Side, with the second team scrimmage held Saturday at Pitt's home stadium.
GREAT day at @AcrisureStadium‼️ We got better. Let’s continue to climb 🟡🔵📈 pic.twitter.com/BrgnDoG5S3
— Pat Narduzzi (@CoachDuzzPittFB) April 1, 2023
We have been relatively limited in terms of spring ball access, with about two viewing windows per week and with some basic drills taking place during those windows.
Nonetheless, there are still talking points to take from those.
Here are four players who have stood out to me in my two weeks of observation (with one removed from time at the NCAA Tournament):
1. Nate Yarnell, quarterback
Don't get ahead of me. I'm not going to stick my neck out and say Yarnell is going to usurp Phil Jurkovec as the starter or Christian Veilleux as the presumptive backup at the position just yet.
This is an analysis portion based on my eyes and what I have seen from the redshirt sophomore.
I talked about Yarnell in brief on our most recent H2P Podcast episode, because when I watched the quarterbacks throw, I noticed some zip in Yarnell's passes. That is not to say either of Jurkovec or Veilleux have been unimpressive; that is not what this is about. This is about the absolute heat I have seen Yarnell throw to receivers during some basic footwork and timing drills run by Frank Cignetti Jr. and graduate assistant Jonathan DiBiaso.
Whether it was from a crossing route, a dig, a post, or a streak, Yarnell has checked off some impressive boxes so far. He was trusted to throw to Jared Wayne, Israel Abanikanda, and to Pitt's defensive backs during drills at pro day, as well. I don't know if that means something, but I'd imagine it does since he is the only quarterback on roster which returns any shade of playing experience from last year.
Whether he plays or not, Yarnell will be an important piece to the quarterbacks room this season given his one year of experience already checked off within Cignetti's system. I wonder out loud where Yarnell stands within the QB pecking order long-term, because Jurkovec has the room this year (no matter how many times players and coaches will try to deflect there is another open competition) and Cignetti is high on true freshman Ty Dieffenbach as a project quarterback, while Veilleux appears to be the successor in line for next season.
Cignetti and Pat Narduzzi love Yarnell. That won't change. His future at Pitt will entirely depend on him.
2. Brandon George, linebacker
This is going to be a massive year for George, who was limited to four games last season with a knee injury. No more SirVocea Dennis means George has the reins locked in alongside Shayne Simon and the emerging Bangally Kamara at linebacker, with Simon being the likeliest to move inside and wear the dot as the defensive signal caller.
Now a redshirt senior, George was set to have a major role in the 2022 defense as Dennis' backup before missing the Backyard Brawl and all of ACC play with his injury. The spring period is not exactly all-out in terms of players going full speed within drills, but from talking to George and from watching him on the field, I could tell he's ready to step in for Dennis. He has been vocal, he has looked technically sound, and he has been there to coach up the younger linebackers like Kamara in spots.
"I feel like it's any time when we lose an older guy," George said earlier this spring. "It's a base of knowledge that we lose in the room, little bit of a base of leadership, but all-in-all, like shark's teeth, just replace it as one falls out. We're all real proud of (Dennis) for achieving his dream -- we're proud of everyone for achieving their dream and going to the NFL -- but now it's time for everybody that's here still to step up and win some games."
3. Javon McIntyre, safety
I wrote about him last week for a reason. I think McIntyre can be a big-time player within this defense for the next few years to come.
He has put forward the spring to back it up. Now alongside Donovan McMillon, the Peters Township native and Florida transfer, McIntyre has looked the part of a ball-hawking safety while working with Cory Sanders and Archie Collins in position drills. If he can continue to develop alongside the boundaries, McIntyre can seamlessly fill in the roles which were vacated for so long by Brandon Hill and Erick Hallett II.
4. Daejon Reynolds, wide receiver
I don't care what level this relates to, whether it's pee wee, high school, college, or the pros. I like my No. 1 wide receivers to look the part as much as they act the part.
At 6-foot-2, 210 pounds listed, Reynolds looks the part. He is not as quick or twitchy for a No. 1 as Wayne was last season, but I think he could serve as an excellent compliment skillset-wise to what Bub Means and Konata Mumpfield provide to the room in their respective second seasons. I can envision Reynolds as the No. 1 with Means and Mumpfield rotating and lining up opposite at the No. 2 and sharing slot duties.
This offense figures to be at least more balanced, after Pitt ranked 38th in Football Bowl Subdivision last season with a 55.47% rate of running the football. Reynolds has been showing off his physicality and his hands thus far in camp while working primarily with Jurkovec and Veilleux as the Nos. 1 and 2 quarterbacks, respectively. The sophomore is off to a good start in his career as a Panther after transferring from Florida.
