Monday Pitt QB Notebook: Much Ado About Nothing, For Now
PITTSBURGH -- Training Camp is a difficult period for football fans to endure. Practices are limited in their scope and intensity and don't leave much for anyone to latch onto. Everyone is feeling each other out and getting their feet under them while fans and media clamor for answers that simply don't exist yet. Such was the case for the Pitt Panthers, who are in the midst of a search for the heir to longtime starting quarterback Kenny Pickett, a Heisman finalist and the reigning ACC Player of the Year.
Day one was about setting the stage. As Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi pointed out, Monday and the ensuing days of practice will be focused on undoing the bad habits borne from independent work over the summer. It's fundamental work that the team hopes to have ingrained as second nature when the time comes to think about the X's and O's of attacking week one's opponent, West Virginia.
To that end, there isn't a starter or even a leader in the race to become the next starting quarterback for Pitt. In fact, Narduzzi said that he's not even looking for anything specific in a starter. He's hoping that one of either Patti or Slovis stands out so clearly that there isn't really a choice to make.
'I say this about any position — if I have to make the decision, then we've got issues,' Narduzzi said on Monday. 'When we make that decision, everyone shouldn’t be going ‘Oh, I thought it’d be the other guy’. I don’t want there to be controversy. I want everyone to know that’s the guy.'
There was, understandably, little to see during the short portion of Pitt's Monday practice open to attending media. Kedon Slovis and Nick Patti traded reps - which Narduzzi said they'll do throughout camp - and worked primarily with the running backs on handoffs and short check-down passes - all against air. They mixed pairings, but both worked primarily with Israel Abanikanda, Rodney Hammond and Vincent Davis, all of whom eclipsed 500 yards from scrimmage in 2021.
Narduzzi said there was 'no question' Slovis was as talented a player as they thought he was during the recruiting process, but that this position battle will come down to more than talent. They're different players and the evaluation of their fitness for this job will dive deep into how they fit within the offense.
Coaches sang the praises of both players on Monday. Narduzzi said there is 'no question' Slovis was as talented as the Pitt staff had hoped and offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr. said that the players believe in and 'love' Patti, who's spent years in the program.
But with each passing day, the tension will grow and the competition will become more intense. Still, Panther coaches seem unconcerned. They all think that both players are capable and that feeling has manifested in little urgency.
'I'd like to have it done before the opener, lets put it that way,' Narduzzi said. 'Might be two weeks, might be three weeks, might not find out until gameday. ... You can't put a date on [that decision].'
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