Jerry DiPaola stories, Page 109
Pitt’s Patrick Jones approaches college football like it’s his job
Charlie Partridge encourages open dialogue of all kinds when he gathers his defensive linemen in their meeting room. “A lot of guys are looser in meeting time and having fun with each other,” Pitt’s defensive line coach said. “Which is fine. “Our meetings rooms are designed in a way where...
Through the years, Pitt has learned to bounce back from tough defeats
Those who dare to compete in the unforgiving world of college football often find the other team wants to win, too. Defeat is part of the equation, and Pitt has had its share of tough ones over the years. When Alex Kessman’s extra-point try went wide right in overtime last...
Pitt football notebook: Panthers will need fresh cornerbacks in Miami’s heat
Temperatures are expected to soar as high as 84 degrees Saturday when Pitt plays Miami in Hard Rock Stadium. But even if South Florida is hit with a sudden cold front, Pat Narduzzi plans to give his beleaguered cornerbacks a break against the No. 13 Hurricanes. “With the tempo we’re...
Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi encouraged by Kenny Pickett’s initial response to ankle injury
Pat Narduzzi didn’t pull out X-rays of Kenny Pickett’s injured ankle and display them in front of his computer for reporters on Zoom to see. But he did talk about his quarterback’s injury Monday — a slight upset — and he didn’t rule him out of Pitt’s next game Saturday...
Pitt postpones 2020 Hall of Fame induction ceremony until next year
Concerns related to the ongoing covid-19 pandemic have compelled Pitt officials to postpone induction of the 13-member Pitt Athletics Hall of Fame 2020 class until 2021, the university announced Monday. The induction ceremony was scheduled for Friday at Heinz Field. Members of the class, the third since the Hall of...
Analysis: Pitt’s problems extend far beyond its kicker
Walking to the car after a quick, Sunday morning trip to Shop ’n Save, I ran into a Pitt grad I’ve known for years. “How about that game yesterday?” I said. “Should be 5-0,” he responded, offering an accurate indictment of Pitt’s season. Pitt will carry a 3-2 record, if...
Pitt notebook: Replay review doesn’t support Panthers’ fumble recoveries
Pitt’s defense appeared to force three fumbles in its 31-30 overtime loss to Boston College, but only two ended up changing possession of the football. Coach Pat Narduzzi calmly discussed those two potentially game-changing plays, but he clearly didn’t agree with them. “I thought both of them were fumbles,” he...
Pitt loses to Boston College as record-setting kicker Alex Kessman misses OT extra point
Pitt’s Kenny Pickett and Alex Kessman experienced pain on different levels Saturday night, and the hurt ended up radiating through the entire team in a 31-30 overtime loss at Boston College. Pickett played the fourth quarter and overtime in serious pain, hobbling on an ankle injury that kept him on...
Masked Pitt Panthers hit the road for Boston and a test of resiliency
The Boston hotel where Pitt will stay Friday night in advance of its game against Boston College is off-limits to outsiders. Coach Pat Narduzzi already has warned his team about the perils of travel during a pandemic. “I told them everybody up there’s got it. So, just stay away from...
Duquesne plans Thanksgiving trip to Louisville bubble for 5-game basketball event
Duquesne signed a commitment letter to travel Louisville over the Thanksgiving holiday, live in a bubble for about 10 days and play five nonconference basketball games. The multiteam event, known as an MTE, can begin Nov. 25, the first day the NCAA allows teams to start their seasons. “It’s probably...
Pitt remains confident offensive line, run game will improveVideo
There are three reasons why Pitt needs improved play from its offensive line: • Coach Pat Narduzzi wants a strong running game, simply because he believes a team can’t win consistently without one. • He realizes the passing game’s effectiveness is tied to a good ground attack. • And, perhaps,...
WVU, Pitt won’t meet in basketball version of Backyard Brawl this season
Pitt has played West Virginia 187 times on the basketball court — more than any other opponent — but the game won’t happen this season because of the coronavirus pandemic, WVU coach Bob Huggins said Thursday. “It’s been postponed, moved back, delayed, whatever,” he said. “That’s not going to happen...
Reconfigured season places Penn State in the Big Ten fire immediatelyVideo
Through James Franklin’s first six seasons, Penn State eased into its schedule playing 18 nonconference opponents, most of whom did not present the same challenges found in the Big Ten. Nothing unusual about that. In a typical season, and this one certainly does not qualify, many Power 5 schools employed...
Boston College QB Phil Jurkovec displays confidence from Pine-Richland days
Jeff Hafley could have sent anyone to the airport to pick up the quarterback and his family. Surely, there was other important business on Chestnut Hill that needed the attention of Boston College’s new head coach. But Hafley wanted to greet this visitor himself. This was Phil Jurkovec, one of...
After transferring late, D.J. Turner ends up lifting Pitt’s passing game
As late as midway through training camp, D.J. Turner was just a name on somebody else’s roster. If he had walked through the doors of Pitt’s practice facility almost any day in August, he might have been asked to leave. Yet, here he is, shouldering much of the responsibility to...
Good news for Pitt players’ parents: Heinz Field will welcome spectators
Imagine the disappointment Darryl Turner and Deidre Newkirk felt last week after receiving the bad news from their son, Pitt wide receiver D.J. Turner: No spectators allowed inside Heinz Field. Imagine how they feel now. Those virtual days of watching football may be over for the families of Pitt players...
Pat Narduzzi said Pitt loss was like hit ‘in the stomach’ to his players
In his 31 uninterrupted years coaching college football, Pat Narduzzi has seen a variety of reactions to defeat. “I’ve walked into team meetings after you get beat by 20, and the guys are all laughing,” he said of past experiences. “Like, ‘Do you know what happened less than 24 hours...
Pitt notebook: Pat Narduzzi says critics can point the finger of blame ‘at me’
After four games, Pitt’s search for a balanced offense continues mostly unfulfilled, with the Panthers ranked 12th among 15 ACC teams in average rushing yards per game (130.5). That’s a slight improvement over last season when Pitt was 14th in the ACC (118.8). Yet, Pitt has had only two 100-yard...
Pitt women’s soccer coach Randy Waldrum named coach of Nigerian team
Pitt’s Randy Waldrum will mentor soccer players on two continents when he begins his duties as coach of the Nigerian Senior Women’s National Team. Very excited to head up the #NigerianWomensNationalTeam and look forward to working with this amazing team! Gives me a chance to reconnect with some of the...
Boston College’s Jeff Hafley said his time at Pitt ‘changed my life’
Boston College coach Jeff Hafley is a man who knows how to keep his life in proper order. When Hafley was asked Sunday to name the greatest memory from his five years as a Pitt assistant, he quickly said, “That’s where I met my wife. My greatest memory is meeting...
Pitt notebook: Kenny Pickett recovers quickly after big hit takes breath away
Losing to an unranked N.C. State team was painful for Pitt, and not just because it dropped the Panthers from the Top 25 when the Associated Press poll was released Sunday. “Kids are hurt. Kids are hurt bad in the locker room,” coach Pat Narduzzi said. But he was only...
N.C. State rallies late to hand Pitt first loss of season
Jimmy Morrissey called Pitt’s 30-29 loss to N.C. State “heart-breaking,” and that was surely the most obvious takeaway from the Panthers’ sad afternoon at Heinz Field. But there was so much more to Pitt’s first loss of the season, and Pitt’s center hit the target when he also capsulized his...
Pitt Take 5: Defense is good, but Pat Narduzzi sees room for improvementVideo
Pat Narduzzi is not unlike most coaches who insist on living in the present. The only game that matters is the next one and past teams, games and tendencies aren’t relevant in terms of comparisons. So, when he was asked to compare Pitt’s defense — No. 2 in the nation...
Pitt’s Charlie Partridge, N.C. State’s Dave Doeren hit the road, learned to coach
At the Wormy Dog Saloon in Stillwater, Okla., you could listen to top country bands and, according to its Facebook page, have “a rowdy good time.” But that’s not what young Drake football coaches Charlie Partridge, Dave Doeren and Chris Ash were chasing in the late 1990s as they rolled...
3 Pittsburgh-area football players named semifinalists for Campbell Trophy
Three players with local ties have been named semifinalists for the 2020 William V. Campbell Trophy, emblematic of the nation’s top football scholar-athlete, the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame announced Thursday. They are Pitt center Jimmy Morrissey, Notre Dame right tackle Robert Hainsey, formerly of Gateway High...
