Pitt notebook: Panthers choose 3 team captains for '23 season

Coach Pat Narduzzi announced tri-captains at the teams’s annual football kickoff luncheon Friday at The Westin.

The trio selected by their teammates for the upcoming season includes offensive lineman Matt Goncalves, linebacker Shayne Simon and defensive lineman David Green.

Goncalves said he didn’t know if he expected to be named one of the captains, but he put in a great effort to lead the team.

“It’s a great surprise and I’m honored,” Goncalves said. “I couldn’t have done it without my teammates, I’m very fortunate to lead the team.

“Coming from New York and not knowing what Pittsburgh is, being able to be named captain and lead this team means the world to me. It’s a huge honor. I’ll take this very serious.”

Green is a West Mifflin native who played at Central Catholic.

He too was honored to be selected as a captain.

“When I heard that I was named, my heart dropped,’ Green said. “I had so much emotion build up I didn’t know how to express it. I’m so thankful for that.

“For my teammates to put trust in me to be able to lead the team and lead those guys in victory and became better men each and every day, it’s really a blessing.”

Green said being named captain and being from Pittsburgh is an honor.

“Being named gives me a chance to give back to the city; you can’t ask for anything better than that,” Green said.

Goncalves said being a leader means he has to pick up someone who is not having a good day.

“I have to lead by example whether that’s in the weight room or whether it’s in the locker room,” Goncalves said, “help cleaning stuff up and helping the young guys get better.”

Hillgrove receives the Golden Microphone

The longtime “Voice of the Panthers” was honored at the luncheon by receiving the Golden Microphone Award for his 50 years of broadcasting Pitt football.

Bill Hillgrove also has broadcast Pitt basketball for 55 years and spent 30 years as the Steelers play-by-play announcer.

A short video was played with some of Hillgrove’s calls during the 2022 season, starting with his call of M.J. Devonshire’s interception return to defeat West Virginia in the Backyard Brawl.

His partner in 1974 was John Sauer and the pair remained together until 1994. His longtime basketball partner was the late Dick Groat until 2019.

Hillgrove was the 2007 winner of the Chris Schenkel Award, presented by the National Football Foundation, for his work on Pitt broadcasts.