Five Burning Questions Facing Pitt in Training Camp

Here are the five biggest concerns for Pitt Panthers entering 2023 training camp.

PITTSBURGH -- Training camp is just around the corner for the Pitt Panthers, who will hope to keep their momentum from a strong end to the 2022 season going. 

But to do so, the Panthers will need to overcome some drastic turnover to the top lines of their depth chart. Here are the five biggest concerns for Pitt entering 2023 training camp. 

1. How much will they get from Phil Jurkovec?
The Panthers wasted little time finding Kedon Slovis' replacement after he entered the transfer portal at the end of the regular season. On the same day that Slovis announced he would transfer from Pitt, Jurkovec revealed that he'd join the Panthers. 

Jurkovec has been brilliant at times, frustratingly inconsistent at others and absent with injuries frequently during a college career that has taken him from South Bend, Indiana to Boston, Massachusetts and back to Pittsburgh. So will Pitt get something closer to the 2020 Jurkovec, who averaged 256 yards per game, completed 61% of his passes and owned a 3.4:1 touchdown to interception ratio or the 2021-22 version that completed just 58% of his passes, averaged 187 yards per game and owned a 1.5:1 touchdown to interception ratio?

There are some obvious reasons for optimism that he can return to form and live up to the four-star billing he held as a recruit. First and foremost, he'll have a stronger supporting cast around him at Pitt - particularly along the offensive line - than he did at Boston College. The Panthers' receiving corps is expected to take a significant step forward despite concerns about it's depth (more on that later). And his best season at Boston College came under the tutelage and play-calling of current Pitt offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti. 

With a strong running game and offensive line surrounding him, the difference between a good and bad season likely falls to how healthy Jurkovec, who's missed 14 games over the past three seasons, can stay throughout the year. 

2. How does the WR depth chart shake out?
Pitt has two slam-dunk top options at wide receiver. Bub Means and Konata Mumpfield are both back after closing their 2022 campaigns on a high note after slow starts, but who fills the depth chart behind them remains to be seen. 

Florida transfer Daejon Reynolds, a former four-star recruit, is a logical choice. But walk-on junior Jake McConnachie had a strong spring as both a pass-catcher and a run-blocker. Then there's Javonte Royal, a converted defensive back, and redshirt freshmen Che Nwabuko and Addison Copeland III - none of whom have any game experience to speak of. Three talented freshmen - Lamar Seymore, Israel Polk and Kenny Johnson - have potential but are, again, unproven and it takes a special kind of player (Think Kenny Pickett, Jordan Addison, Rodney Hammond, Gavin Bartholomew and Calijah Kancey) to see the field and make an impact during their first season of college ball. 

There are some options but nothing certain heading into fall training camp. Whoever emerges from a crowded back end of the receivers room will probably do so on the strength of a good summer. 

3. Who's the third starting LB?
There are massive shoes to fill in the linebackers room as SirVocea Dennis begins the next phase of his football career in the NFL. He led the Panthers in tackles for each of the past two seasons and earned All-ACC consideration three seasons in a row. 

Shayne Simon said during spring ball that he's taken plenty of reps at middle linebacker and could take that roll on full-time, but he was very solid for Pitt on the outside last season and defensive coordinator Randy Bates could opt to keep the athletic veteran in a comfortable position with Bangally Kamara, another returning starter, opposite him. 

Either way, the final starting linebacker spot will come down to Solomon DeShields and Brandon George, two aggressive, downhill players with plenty of in-game experience. One would have to imagine George, the older and more experienced of the bunch, has the upper hand here, especially if it ends up being a battle for a spot in the middle, where he'd have to make calls that bridge the players on the field and coaching staff on the sidelines. 

4. Can the DL survive offseason losses?
Calijah Kancey, Deslin Alexandre and Habakkuk Baldonado are off to the NFL and John Morgan has transfered to Arkansas for his final year of college football. That means three of the 2022 team's top tacklers along the defensive line, along with 17.5 sacks and 31.5 tackles for loss, will not return until next year. 

The Panthers do have some veterans returning - tackles Devin Green and Devin Danielson and end Dayon Hayes were outstanding in reserve roles last season - but will have to rely on an injection of youth form players like Nahki Johnson, Samuel Okunlola and Elliot Donald, while older players like Bam Brima and Deandre Jules take steps forward. 

The recent history of defensive line coach Charlie Partridge's work with this unit indicates there's nothing to worry about. Pitt is likely to retain their dominant form up front, but to what extent? And who will actually be on the field to do it? Those questions will be answered in August. 

5. How smooth will the transition at S be?
Again, it's out with the old and in with the new. Erick Hallett and Brandon Hill, two mainstays on the back end of the Panthers' defense for more than two full seasons, were both selected during Day 3 of the 2023 NFL Draft, leaving Pitt with an emotional and physical hole in its secondary. 

But of all the moving parts that they have moving from 2022 to 2023, safety seems like one that the Panthers won't have to worry about all that much. Javon McIntyre proved he could be competent, if not a star at the free safety spot while playing crucial snaps late in the year. P.J. O'Brien is a fiery competitor and electric athlete whom the coaching staff has spent two seasons fitting to their system, and he seems to be on the verge of a breakout. Then there's former four-star recruit Donovan McMillon, a transfer from Florida, who gives them a little bit more of a veteran presence. 

Between those three, the Panthers have plenty of good options to fill Hallett and Hill's shoes. How the snaps shake out between them will be something to watch as training camp begins but Pitt can feel comfortable knowing there will be good competition between three capable players. 

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