Pitt Could Have New Role for Jake Kradel
PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers' starting center Jake Kradel has missed the past two games with an undisclosed injury and is working towards a re
Given how well backup Terrance Moore has played in his absence, there is a chance that he could retain his job at center while Kradel moves back to his natural position at guard - a position that has given the Panthers some problems with Jason Collier Jr. and B.J. Williams rotating in throughout the season.
Head coach Pat Narduzzi said the main goal is getting Kradel healthy again and repairing the fractured offensive line that has lined up in front of Pitt's quarterbacks and running backs for the past five weeks, so he hasn't thought much about positioning once he returns. But offensive line coach Dave Borbely has.
“I've considered that," he said. "But we’ll see how that goes. Jake got some good work in today. I always liked Jake better at guard in the past. He played at center out of necessity last year. His natural position is guard."
Borbley has been highly complimentary of Moore following the first two starts of his career against North Carolina and Virginia Tech and his play would make taking Kradel out of his current role at center easier. He said Moore continues to get better and will only continue to do so with experience.
“He is trending in the right direction," Borbley said. "I’ve been anxious for a long time to get Terrance on the field because he’s such a conscientious young guy and such a hard worker and it’s been good to have him out there. And you know, there’s some on-the-job training for him out there as well.”
If and when Kradel will be able to return to the field this season is unclear. The nature and severity of his injury has not yet been disclosed, but the fact that he's missed consecutive games is cause for concern. He suffered the injury in practice prior to the Virginia Tech game.
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