Jerry DiPaola stories, Page 57
Pitt loses injured offensive tackle Carter Warren for season
The news emerging from Pitt’s off week couldn’t have been worse for a coach who loves developing and sustaining a solid ground game. Pat Narduzzi announced Monday that senior offensive tackle Carter Warren, who has appeared in 40 games (39 starts) since 2019 while anchoring the left side of the...
With 2 years left on contract, Duquesne coach Keith Dambrot believes he has ‘a lot’ to offer
Only 16 victories from 500, Keith Dambrot is approaching his 25th season in coaching and his sixth at Duquesne after signing a seven-year contract in 2017. Which raises the question: Does he want to sign an extension before the end of the 2023-24 season? No Duquesne coach has held the...
Duquesne’s Keith Dambrot embraces change, whether it’s for personal health or basketball reasons
After Duquesne’s last-place finish in the Atlantic 10 and a season-ending 17-game losing streak, Keith Dambrot had this to say Thursday morning: “You can’t be ignorant. You have to make changes.” The statement, of course, applies to the Dukes as Dambrot approaches his sixth season as their coach. Except, at...
Pitt, senior Jamarius Burton confront adversity with new faces, injection of confidence
Anyone with a TV or access to the internet knows the state of Pitt basketball. Over the past six seasons, the Panthers lacked scoring, quality depth, proper locker room chemistry and, in the end, enough victories to uphold the tradition of winning created at the turn of the century by...
Pitt women’s basketball coach Lance White encouraged by players’ confidence
Now in his fifth season as Pitt’s women’s basketball coach, Lance White said Tuesday that he sees more than hope building among his players. He sees confidence, which is an encouraging sign for a team that has lost 28 of its past 33 ACC games. “They’re understanding the confidence that...
Pitt using bye week to prepare for tough finishing stretch
With no game until Oct. 22 in Louisville, Pitt’s players and coaches are spending the week on the South Side working on fixing those “little things” — their words — that have dropped them from the Associated Press Top 25. • Bad angles by defensive players toward ball carriers. •...
During off week, Pitt will direct plenty of attention toward 1-dimensional offense
Pat Narduzzi has built his coaching career — a pretty good one in its 33rd overall season — on a desire to make the opposing offense one-dimensional. Actually, it’s more of a demand than a desire. As such, it’s no secret where Narduzzi will direct plenty of attention before Pitt’s...
Bill Hillgrove sees history made at both ends of nearly a half-century of Pitt football
Legendary broadcaster Bill Hillgrove’s weekend was busy just like they all are during football season. Pitt on Saturday at Acrisure Stadium for the play-by-play call of the Virginia Tech game, and a car trip to Buffalo on Sunday for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Buffalo Bills. Of course, it was nothing...
Pitt rides Izzy Abanikanda’s school-record 320 yards to victory over Virginia Tech
Izzy Abanikanda might have been the least surprised person inside Acrisure Stadium on Saturday night. Almost as if rushing for a school-record 320 yards and six touchdowns and leading Pitt to a 45-29 victory against Virginia Tech was little more than a stroll along the Ohio River. “I was just...
Pitt Take 5: Virginia Tech game no must-win, but the Panthers better win, anyway
By definition, Pitt’s game Saturday against Virginia Tech does not represent a must-win. Pitt (3-2, 0-1 ACC) can lose to the Hokies and still rally to win the ACC Coastal. Remember: Pitt lost two within the conference and still went to the championship game in 2018. But a loss to...
Is Izzy ready to return? Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi hints running back Abanikanda may be getting better
All Pat Narduzzi needed was a remote microphone, and his final words Thursday at his weekly media briefing would have qualified as a classic mic drop. While he rose from the long, wooden table in a room where many of the Pitt coaching staff’s most important meetings are held, he...
Pitt’s Gavin Bartholomew doesn’t allow pregame ‘jitters’ to keep from being grounded
The moments before a game are when Gavin Bartholomew wants to be alone. “I try to keep to myself a little bit, tune in to what I have to do to get the job done,” Pitt’s sophomore tight end said. But he should know — actually, he likely is well...
Pitt defensive line coach Charlie Partridge likes leadership shown by senior end Habakkuk Baldonado
Habakkuk Baldonado recorded nine sacks for Pitt last season, and he was poised to become an even better defensive end this season. Among his 43 tackles were a career-high seven that he made when they mattered most: in the ACC championship victory against Wake Forest. At the end of the...
Pitt coaches aren’t surprised by Kenny Pickett’s fast rise to Steelers’ QB1
Charlie Partridge was busy Sunday afternoon, preparing for another week of practice, trying to help figure out how to beat Virginia Tech. The Pittsburgh Steelers game was on the TV, but it was little more than elevator music to Pitt’s defensive line coach. He was fixated on the Hokies. Later,...
Pitt basketball lands 4-star guard recruit Jaland Lowe
Pitt coach Jeff Capel landed the second four-star recruit for his class of 2023 when Jaland Lowe, a shooting guard from Missouri City, Texas, pledged to enroll next year. Lowe, 6-foot, 160 pounds, joins four-star Carlton Carrington, a 6-3 guard from Baltimore. The third member of Capel’s projected ’23 freshman...
Pat Narduzzi stands behind quarterback Kedon Slovis while looking to `clean up’ problems
Before launching into a discussion about why Pitt’s passing game has fallen into mediocrity, let’s get one issue out of the way. Kedon Slovis remains the unquestioned starter at quarterback. Nothing in Slovis’ 3 ½ games has indicated it’s time for a change. That’s more fact than opinion, and coach...
Former Pitt, Jets, Steelers offensive lineman Jim Sweeney dies at age 60
Jim Sweeney, who left his mark on Western Pennsylvania football as a teenager and later became a durable and reliable offensive lineman for Pitt, the New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers, died Saturday. He was 60. Sweeney helped Seton LaSalle win its first WPIAL title in 1979 while compiling a...
Hard lessons, tough questions surround Pitt after embarrassing loss to Georgia Tech
The doors were locked to outsiders Sunday afternoon when Pat Narduzzi met with his Pitt coaches and players, but you can bet he was asking serious questions. Such as: • What’s up with the passing game? Kedon Slovis finished strong, but he missed 10 of his first 16 attempts when...
Georgia Tech bullies mistake-prone Pitt into deflating loss
Shortly before midnight Saturday — after a defeat that may rank as the worst of the Pat Narduzzi era because of expectations his team has created for itself — Pitt linebacker SirVocea Dennis glanced at the stat sheet and the hard, numerical facts of the 26-21 loss to Georgia Tech....
Pitt notebook: Panthers getting healthier on defensive line, but offensive tackle Carter Warren misses Georgia Tech game
Rain kept many people out of the Acrisure Stadium seats Saturday night for Pitt’s ACC opener against Georgia Tech, but the return of a few important players was a bigger story. Defensive end Deslin Alexandre, a captain, made his first start since the opener Sept. 1, and end Habakkuk Baldonado,...
Pitt Take 5: Panthers start string of 8 games that matter, seeking to repeat as ACC Coastal champions
The games that really matter — the eight that will determine if Pitt has what it takes to return to the ACC championship game for the third time in five seasons — begin Saturday night when Georgia Tech visits Acrisure Stadium. How difficult is Pitt’s road to Charlotte, N.C.? There...
Pitt defense makes positive strides while mindful of its mistakes
If you told Randy Bates his Pitt defense is fourth in the 14-team ACC in yards allowed, his answer would be predictable. Something like: “Why aren’t we No. 1?” Pitt’s defensive coordinator demands perfection from his players, no matter the circumstances they must overcome. But perhaps the defense is quietly...
While waiting for downfield catch opportunities to surface, Pitt wide receivers learn the importance of blocking
Tiquan Underwood was a star wide receiver at Rutgers, where he caught 132 passes for 1,931 yards and 16 touchdowns. Over five NFL seasons, he caught another 63 balls for 1,006 yards and six scores. Nice playing career, for sure. Yet Underwood — now coaching wide receivers at Pitt —...
Duquesne will face difficult early test against Kentucky at Rupp Arena
Duquesne men’s basketball coach Keith Dambrot wants to expose the Dukes to the best possible competition he can find, and he found a tough one for their second game of the season. The Dukes will travel to Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky., on Nov. 11 to play the Kentucky Wildcats,...
Grading Pitt: Overcoming injuries leads to 3-1 record and hope for start of ACC play
The questions on the minds of Pitt fans thirsty for another championship are these: • Just how good is Pitt? • Are trips to Charlotte, N.C., and the ACC Championship game part of the Panthers’ destiny for the second consecutive season? • Without Kenny Pickett and Jordan Addison, how can...
