The tide started to turn for the Pitt football program in 2017.
Having missed out on a bowl berth that season, the Panthers responded by turning the ship around to a .500 record in 2018 and the first of their four bowl games over the next five seasons.
Five years after that fact, Pat Narduzzi is reaping the benefits of what he has built over his nine-year tenure as the Panthers' coach.
The Panthers' 2024 recruiting class is proof that a Pitt program which treaded through mediocrity from the Todd Graham and Paul Chryst eras has left that in the last decade. This class Narduzzi will welcome in for the next season is arguably his best as Pitt's coach. The 2024 class was the first to achieve 20 commits across Football Bowl Subdivision, it already has surpassed the 19 it brought in with the 2023 group, and the number of currently rated four-stars triples the one it brought in with the 2023 group.
There are many reasons for this, but at the core of the run is Narduzzi and his staff -- one which has a knack for developing lower-ranked prospects into bona fide, legitimate college football players that are being sought by the NFL.
And, one special quarterback that shouldered the load.
"We talked about it all the time," Kenny Pickett told me before the Steelers broke minicamp in June. "That was our goal, winning the ACC, and I think that's the standard of the program now and you're seeing all the recruits that he's getting to come in, I think that's the expectation every year. I'm really proud of those guys over there and I'm excited to watch them this season."
That expectation to win is always talked about, no matter how well-built the team is set to be with relativity to the rest of their conference on a smaller scale. At one point under Pickett, though, those talking points became tangible expectations for the program. Pitt went 8-5 in each of its first two seasons under Narduzzi but the 2017 season remains his only losing one. That same 2017 season is when Pickett took over the starting quarterback job, and in his first start, he led Pitt to a 24-14 upset over No. 2 Miami in late November, effectively knocking the Hurricanes out of College Football Playoff.
Pickett is not the only reason why Pitt went on a meteoric rise that was capstoned by the 2021 ACC Championship, but he surely will receive most of the credit for it.
"I always talk about when I was going through the (NFL) draft process, everyone asked, I think every single team's going to ask you: 'If you had to choose one guy from your team who would you bring?'" former Pitt tight end Lucas Krull told me. "And a lot of teams started saying, 'OK, not Kenny Pickett,' because that's the obvious, right? But when they didn't say that, obviously my first thing is Kenny Pickett, and the next follow-up question is, 'why?' and I always said the same thing because it holds true and you can ask any guy that's been in the room on that team with Kenny.
"Everyone looked at Kenny as if he was the head coach or as if he was this -- not just the quarterback, but he was the team. When Kenny stood in front of you everybody shut up, everybody listened, and everybody not only just listened, but they followed through with it. It was like the head coach was talking to you. When I say that, everyone has the utmost respect for this guy because everyone knows how he works, how diligent he is, how he carries himself, and the outcome that you get with him. When you have a guy like that, everyone respects him and everyone knows that he's going to show up at work and we better do it, too, otherwise it's not going to go the way it should go, right? You have a guy like that who can control the room and he has the room fully locked into what he's saying and following through with what he's saying, that's special."
One can tell why the Steelers fell in love with their neighbor's quarterback and made him the heir apparent to Ben Roethlisberger with their first-round pick in the 2022 draft.
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Kenny Pickett prepares for the slide that changed football Dec. 4, 2021, in Charlotte, N.C.
Pickett had the supporting cast at his disposal, as well. Brian O'Neill (class of 2017), Jimmy Morrissey (2021), and Carter Warren (2023) are offensive linemen who blocked for Pickett and were later drafted to the NFL. Qadree Ollison (2019) and Israel Abanikanda (2023) were there to take handoffs before getting drafted. His go-to weapon in his Heisman Trophy finalist season of 2021 was 2023 first-rounder and former Biletnikoff Award winner Jordan Addison.
All were recruited under Narduzzi's umbrella, and the fruits came together to produce a healthy blend for a championship culture.
Morrissey was not a part of the 2021 ACC Championship team, but he was a vital part of those "early" years where this entire operation began to bloom.
"I just remember my time at Pitt being surrounded by a really talented group of guys who all love the game of football," Morrissey said. "And in college it's a lot different than the NFL where you have a wider variety of personalities and different commitments to the game and skill level, but we had a big enough sample size of good football players who enjoyed playing the game and loved to get better, and I think that helped influence the younger guys that came in."
Pickett said Narduzzi's commitment level, time spent with assistant coaches, and the high-level of their teachings are major reasons why he has been so successful in developing players in recent memory.
"I don't think you can get it at any other ACC school," Pickett said, "and to the level that they're doing it over there. Incredibly proud to be from Pitt, and definitely encourage a lot of guys to take a look there."
That goes for both sides of the ball. Pitt has consistently produced defensive backs and defensive linemen who have not just gotten to the NFL; they have succeeded at that level.
Since 2018, eight defensive backs have been drafted to the NFL: Avonte Maddox (2018), Jordan Whitehead (2018), Dane Jackson (2020), Damar Hamlin (2021), Jason Pinnock (2021), Damarri Mathis (2022), 2021 ACC Championship Game MVP Erick Hallett III (2023), and Brandon Hill (2023). Over that same stretch, four defensive linemen have been drafted: Patrick Jones II (2021), Rashad Weaver (2021), Jaylen Twyman (2021), and Calijah Kancey (2023).
Of the 19 Pitt players drafted since 2018, 13 hail from the defensive side of the ball, including linebacker SirVocea Dennis in this past draft. Narduzzi isn't known for gathering a handful of five-star prospects within his recruiting classes, but rather than taking big swings and going for those highly rated players, he has a certain level of trust built within his coaching staff to find players that are fits to his systems.
On the offensive side of the ball, tight ends coach Tim Salem has held a massive impact on recruiting. On the defensive side, defensive line coach Charlie Partridge was brought in by Narduzzi and became in instant teacher for one of the nation's best defensive lines over the last handful of seasons.
"For me, I think the biggest thing (Narduzzi) ever did for me was hire coach Partridge," Weaver said. "Obviously we all know what kind of coach that coach Partridge is, but when we needed a new D-line coach he took his time in and he was diligent, and we all know what the mastermind of a defensive guy that he is, so I really think that just was really the biggest thing that ever played into it for me was how diligent he was, he wasn't in a rush, he took a couple months or two, we were wondering who the D-line coach was going to be and he brings in coach Partridge from (Florida Atlantic), which I knew he was at FAU, I didn't know anything about his background. So, obviously, when (Narduzzi) hand-selects a guy like that he deserves a pat on the back because if someone knew that coach Partridge was that caliber of a D-line coach I'm sure they would've scooped him from FAU before him if they could have.
"... (Partridge) lives and breathes football. Besides his family that's the most important thing to him. We've literally seen it in in front of our eyes. For him laying the foundation and being a little stricter to set the tone of the room and what we'd be to what we knew what we needed to do, and we continued to grow."
Salem, along with then-offensive coordinator Matt Canada, recruited Pickett to Pitt. Salem also recruited Weaver, a former two-star prospect, for the defense.
"Coach Salem, he's just a wiry guy, nothing but good vibes, and he knows how to grab your attention and stand out from the crowd," Weaver said. "And he knows how to sell Pitt. Not saying Pitt can't sell itself well enough, but he knows how to do it better. Really highlight the things that make it a great program, he knows all the history of the school, knows the players, anything that's ever happened to the team, the buildings on campus. He just sends you little texts every here and then, pictures of the campus, and he just constantly when he's recruiting is making sure that Pitt's on your mind. If you don't choose Pitt it's because -- Pitt's not going to be a fit for everybody. That's why there's however-many schools in the country that there are, but he's not going to be the reason why you don't pick it."
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Jordan Addison and Kenny Pickett play to the Pitt fans Dec. 4, 2021, in Charlotte, N.C.
And, the consistency and branding of Pitt has remained the same. Narduzzi is set to retain his entire coaching staff into the 2023 season, a rarity in college football these days. Couple that with a longterm plan of development of prospects that fit the system, and results like the 2021 ACC Championship and then a nine-win season with a bowl game victory in 2022 can follow it.
"I think it's the foundation of the men that you bring in, and I think it starts up top," Krull said. "From Narduzzi and down on, even (athletic director) Ms. Heather Lyke, everybody has that vision and that standard for what the culture is and what the expectations are as a team and as a university, and that's to win championships and that's to win. I think when you get the right people up top it's going to follow with due time. When you get those right guys in the building, they're just hungry and they just want to win and that's all they care about and they're going to do whatever it takes to do that, obviously success is going to follow, and I think that's what you see with the guys that we had, the guys that came before me, the guys that continue to come after me.
"But ultimately you have a guy like Kenny Pickett and you have an offense that you can build around that guy, right there, and I was actually talking to` (former long snapper) Cal Adomitis about this the other day and (current Pitt center) Jake Kradel and some other guys. When you have that quarterback and you have the years before I got there and it was just like, a game here, a game there, it just felt like we were so close but maybe something is just not all intact yet, but that concept builds every year to become what you ultimately want, and very year finding those right guys to bring in and create that sustained commitment to a championship identity, and I think that's what happened in that '21 year. We had all those right pieces, we had all those right guys."
Weaver told me he felt Pitt was "right there" in 2018. Meanwhile, Krull continued by reflecting on that 2021 ACC Championship team and how it was able to rally from losing to Western Michigan early in the season. Pickett took charge in a players-only meeting the Sunday after that loss.
"We just talked about, one, that doesn't define our season," Krull said. "Two, we understand that that's not our standard. We didn't play to our standard. I think that's what set the rest of the season, the rest of the year, and us understanding that we are a damn good team and nothing could get in our way except for us. I think that when you have that leadership and those senior-led guys that really care and that's all they care about is each other and getting the win and creating that dynasty, almost, it's unbeatable. That's why you see that year we had, and I think you're going to see a lot more to come."
With that foundation and the culture built primarily by Pickett, combined with the massive influx in recruiting, the expectation is real for Pitt to achieve higher goals in a short-term cycle that college football operates in.
"That team was special," Pickett said. "We had some great veteran leadership, we had some young guys that were really talented players. We kind of had all the pieces in place. It was our job to go out there and play at a high level, and that's what we did. The staff that (Narduzzi) has there and the kind of development that you get, I think you see it in the success in the draft that we've had in the past couple of years, we have a pretty good thing going on next door. I'm really excited for those guys."
