Pitt's New OC Discusses First Backyard Brawl

Pitt Panthers offensive coordinator Kade Bell is ready for the Backyard Brawl vs. WVU.

Jared Wayne (5) of the Pittsburgh Panthers sprints downfield after getting a breakaway during the second half of the Backyard Brawl against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, PA on September 1, 2022. Pitt Vs West Virginia Backyard Brawl / Michael Longo/For USA Today Network / USA TODAY NETWORK

PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers come into the Backyard Brawl this weekend against the rival West Virginia Mountaineers with a strong attack under new offensive coordinator Kade Bell.

Bell came from Western Carolina, where he built an offense that lead the FCS with 504.1 yards per game ranked third with 321.1 passing yards per game and fourth with 37.5 points per game. His up-tempo, fast-paced offensive attack befuddled FCS defenses and earned him a position at a Power 4 school.

He took over from previous offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr., who ran a pro style, NFL-like attack that slowed the game down and utliized huddles. This strategy faltered in 2023, resulting in one of the worst offenses in the country last season, a 3-9 record and a number of coaching changes in the offseason.

Pitt also lost 17-6 to West Virginia in Morgantown last season, which featured quarterback Phil Jurkovec completing just 8-of-20 passes and throwing three interceptions in the defeat.

Heading into the Backyard Brawl this weekend, Pitt is 2-0 and playing great on offense, thanks to Bell, but also to new players that joined the program this offseason.

Pitt won the season opener in a 55-24 blowout vs. Kent State at Acrsiure Stadium and then cameback from a 21-point deficit to beat Cincinnati on the road. 28-27.

Bell is thrilled to participate in his Backyard Brawl and spent time watching it during the battles when both schools played in the Big East, giving him a good understanding of what the rivalry truly means.

"...This is going to be an awesome atmosphere," Bell said. "I haven’t been here since it’s been at home, like this. So how’s it going to be when we’re on offense, how’s it going to be when we’re on defense, right. Obviously, it’s a huge rivalry that I grew up watching. Growing up in the Big East era, right. Pitt, West Virginia. I mean, shoot, I was always watching those games on TV growing up. I knew about this rivalry from before. I knew how much it mattered and I’m excited to just be a part of it. Obviously we want to go out and play hard and play the game the right way and hopefully the result speaks for itself."

The best addition for the Panthers offense comes in junior running back Desmond Reid, who leads the nation in all purpose yards per game at 244.0.

He scored on both a 78-yard punt return and 46-yard carry vs. the Golden Flashes and was the first Pitt player ever to have more than 100+ yards in both receiving/rushing in a single game, doing so vs. the Bearcats, including a 56-yard receiving touchdown.

Bell made Reid his first scholarship offer in his sophomore year of high school and brought him to Western Carolina, where he excelled in his system, rushing for 1,723 yards and 17 touchdowns along with 42 catches for 495 yards and a touchdown.

While Reid commands a great deal of respect for his production this season, he serves as a leader for the rest of the team, as he puts others before himself and loves football as much as Bell.

"...Not just as a player, but you talk about a guy who does things the right way," Bell said about Reid. "You talk about a guy who’s unselfish. He never asks for the ball. He never complains. He’s always in here doing extra. He’s just my type of guy. I want guys who love football as much as me. I want guys that want to be in the NFL and want to be pros and he just brings that type of mentality. That kind of chip on your shoulder, prove yourself and you’re not scared to fail. That’s what I like about Dez.” 

Bell is spending most of his waking hours this week planning to face West Virginia, who have a unique defense, which features different strategies.

This includes employing both an odd front, three defensive linemen, and also an even front, four defensive linemen, at times, plus a quarter, seven defensive backs, man, or three safeties in coverage.

WVU also has experience dealing with up tempo teams in the Big 12, which means that Bell and the Pitt offense will need to make adjustments throughout the game to stay on top.

"...They kind of switch it up depending on who they’re playing and to me, we just got to be able to handle the different fronts, and obviously, you know, are they gon’ blitz us or are not gon’ blitz us, right, we got to be able to handle it," Bell said on the Mountaineers' defense. "If they don’t blitz us, we got to be able to get the ball out of our hands and play fast, and if they do, we have to not take sacks and get rid of the football. So we just got to do a good job of, early in the game, like I said, making adjustments. I always talk about that right, like, “How are they playing us?” “How are they attacking us?” So then we can go and attack them and take advantage of what they’re trying to do to us."

Bell wants to see the energy from his players on his side of the ball in this intense rivalry, but he also desires an understanding from them about how they need to act throughout and keeping the mind focused and ready.

“I think, just control who we are," Bell said. "We don’t have to prove anything. We know who we are as a people, we know who we are as a program, we know what we believe in, coach Duzz. We want to do things the right way. We’re going to play the right way, we’re going to act the right way. We’re not going to play selfish. Even though it’s a rivalry game, it’s going to be a physical game, we know that, it’s always been like that since the beginning. We can’t let that affect what we do. We got to worry about ourselves and let the game speak for itself."

Bell sees the Backyard Brawl as an opportunity to imprint his offensive attack into this program and show the country what Pitt really is. He also wants the offense to gain momentum, which will help the team throughout this rivarly to a victory in front of the home fans.

"...I really want to start fast this week and hopefully we’ll do that," Bell said "We’ll have momentum and we just got to hold on to the momentum. Big games like this, my dad always told me, you can’t get the momentum back. Once you get it, you got to hold onto it for as long as you can and I think if we do that, then we’ll have a good shot.”

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