Three Takeaways: Kade Bell's Pitt Offense Making Progress

The Pitt Panthers are ramping up to the impending Blue-Gold Game.

Nov 25, 2023; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers quarterback Nate Yarnell (19) / Jaylynn Nash-USA TODAY Sports

PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers are midway through spring ball and, with the annual Blue-Gold game drawing near, there is a sense of urgency developing to make strides and finish this early portion of the spring season strong.

Here are three takeaways from the Panthers' latest session, which includes notes on the progress of the offense as a whole, quarterbacks specifically and a new-look defensive line.

Drinking From A Firehose
The Pitt offensive coaching staff has been fairly clear about their approach this spring as they try to get a new offense fully installed before the team breaks off and goes their separate ways this summer - they want to get as many reps in as possible. That not only means utilizing the fast tempo that has become synonymous with Kade Bell's system but throwing a lot of concepts at the players early.

"We’re not holding back on the installs. I’m trying to get it all in so at least we’ve heard it, we’ve went over it, we’ve watched the film on it, just so now when we get back to summer, we start back at the beginning. And when we get back to fall camp, we start back at the beginning," Bell said. "We keep doing that process over and over again. But big progress, when you’ve got a lot in and you’re putting a lot on them."

The coaches are prioritizing speed now and believe they can fine-tune the details later - in meetings and then ultimately during training camp in August. Conventional logic might suggest they should do it the other way around and allow the players to acclimate to the plays before forcing them to speed up. But Bell wants them drinking through a firehose now so that things come slower to them later on.

Putting Lots On The Quarterbacks
Bell's attitude about throwing a lot on his unit early and often goes double for the quarterbacks, who will have to run a complicated show from under center. The play of that position is, in Bell's opinion, the difference between winning big and falling short so he's taking special care to gather as much information on his quarterbacks, especially "QB1" Nate Yarnell, during spring practices.

There will be a lot on Yarnell's shoulders when he steps under center during the regular season. He'll need to be an extention of Bell, able to command the unit and the pace it moves at based on what the scenario dictates based on a set of guiding principles his offensive coordinator will lay out for him. Yarnell will have to learn Bell's philiosophy and Bell will have to learn Yarnell's strengths. They're both making up for lost time but Bell hopes the crash course this spring will pay dividends in the fall.

"To me, the reason we’re putting everything on Nate and putting everything on the quarterbacks is because, by the first game, I’m going to know what Nate’s good at," Bell said. "With all the tips he’s had already in the first half of spring, shoot, man, I’m going to know who Nate is as a quarterback, and I’m going to know wha this strengths are, what his weaknesses are, and then it’s my job after fall camp - hey, this is what Nate does well, let’s put him in a position to be successful."

New-Look Defensive Line
Speaking with defensive tackle Sean FitzSimmons, he echoed something that defensive coordinator Randy Bates said earlier in spring ball - the interior of the defensive line is not only going to have some new blood but it will have a new dynamism to it as well, brought on by that new blood.

The Panthers believe they will be a little bit more athletic and explosive along the interior of the front seven this year, swapping out some bigger, older pieces for some youth that is unproven and smaller but quicker and "twitchier" too. Last season, Pitt's defensive line two-deep consisted of David Green, who played at 285 pounds, Devin Danielson at 290, Tyler Bentley at 300 pounds and Deandre Jules at 310. This year, they will be led by 275-pound Nahki Johnson, 285-pound Sean FitzSimmons and 290-pound Nick James.

This seems like sound strategy from the outside, looking in. There has been a defensive line coach change but the Panthers are bringing back a hallmark of Charlie Partridge's tenure under the leadership of Tim Daoust - slightly smaller but much quicker defensive tackles that can be disruptive while the linebacking corps supports them. After struggling to defend the run last year, the Panthers are making a notable change in profile to get better results.

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