Pitt HC Pat Narduzzi Offers Condolences for Virginia Football Program

After three Virginia players were shot and killed over the weekend, the Pitt Panthers head coach offered his condolences.
Pitt HC Pat Narduzzi Offers Condolences for Virginia Football Program
Pitt HC Pat Narduzzi Offers Condolences for Virginia Football Program /
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PITTSBURGH -- Pitt Panthers head coach Pat Narduzzi stepped to the podium for his weekly press conference, he didn't really want to talk about football. 

In the wake of a shooting in Charlottesville, Virginia - where his team played this past weekend - that left three men dead, three of them active Cavalier players, and two more University of Virginia students wounded, Narduzzi wanted to extend his condolences on behalf of the Pitt program. 

"I'm shocked," Narduzzi said. "I don't even care to talk about that game. ... Our hearts and our prayers go out to [Charlottesville], University of Virgina, Coach Tony Elliot and his football team."

Narduzzi said the losses were especially stirring given that the Panthers had just played that team. He said he saw one of the victims, injured standout receiver Lavel Davis Jr., after the game and wished him well in his recovery. 

The other two victims, wideout Devin Chandler and linebacker D'Sean Perry, were on the field when Virginia played Pitt. Perry recorded two tackles. 

Narduzzi, clearly emotional, said he "couldn't fathom" what it's like to lose players like this. 

"Growing up, we lost 1 player after a workout at North Illinois. I lost my dad in '88. You think about what that football team is going through. That's a brother [they lost] in that room. You can't even fathom what those kids are going through. ... It's unthinkable. You go from playing a football game to that. Our prayers go out to everyone who's involved in this. It's sad."

One suspect, Darnell Jones Jr. - a former walk-on running back for the Wahoos - has been taken into custody according to local authorities and charged with three counts of second-degree murder, three counts of murder and three counts of using a handgun in the commission of a felony.

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Stephen Thompson
STEPHEN THOMPSON

Stephen Thompson graduated with a bachelor's degree in communications and political science from Pitt in April 2022 after spending four years as a sports writer and editor at The Pitt News, the University of Pittsburgh's independent, student-run newspaper.  He primarily worked the Pitt men's basketball beat, and filled in on coverage of football, volleyball, softball, gymnastics and lacrosse, in addition to other sports as needed. His work at The Pitt News has won awards from the Pennsylvania News Media Association and Associated College Press.  During the spring and summer of 2021, Stephen interned for Pittsburgh Sports Now, covering baseball in western Pennsylvania. Hailing from Washington D.C., family ties have cultivated a love of Boston's professional teams and Pitt athletics, and a fascination with sports in general.  You can reach Stephen by email at stephenethompson00@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter. Read his latest work: