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Narduzzi feeling confident

By Stephen Flinn

For the Mirror

The Pitt Panthers are a week into this year’s fall camp, and coach Pat Narduzzi feels the team has been improving each day and hopes the progress continues throughout the rest of camp.

“We like where we are at this point. After day six, we’re a quarter way through camp and we have three-quarters of the way to go,” he said. “Hopefully we can get better through day 24.”

The season opens on Saturday, Sept. 1, against visiting Albany.

One of the main focuses during this years’ camp is to solidify who will be playing on game day. Nine starters from last year’s defense are in camp this season, but only four starters are returning on offense.

“We’re getting a good look at our guys. We’re looking for the best 22 on offense and defense for our two deep,” Narduzzi said. “Competition is a beautiful thing. We have more pieces to the puzzle this year.”

One puzzle piece the Panthers are hoping falls into place is at quarterback. Pitt has not had a starting quarterback for two full seasons since 2012 when Tino Sunseri was a three-year starter.

Sophomore Kenny Pickett will enter this season as the Panthers’ sixth starting quarterback since then. He started Pitt’s last game in the 2017 season, leading the Panthers to a 24-14 win over visiting Miami. It was the first time in 10 seasons a true freshman started a game at Pitt (Pat Bostick in 2007).

After the first six days of camp, Pickett has gotten more comfortable with each practice.

“After the first week of camp, I like where we’re headed right now,” Pickett said. “My job can be taken at any time so I don’t take that for granted at all. I’m a competitor every day.”

Pickett played in four games last season. Even though he is known as a pro-style quarterback, he has the ability to scramble as well.

“I think my strengths are accuracy and the ability to get out of the pocket if I have to,” Picket said. “I need to get a lot better. We all definitely have work to do.”

Narduzzi credits Pickett for learning fast and having the ability to lead the team.

“I’m confident we have a quarterback that can get the guys the ball. He’s smarter than he was in the spring. He’s more confident,” Narduzzi said. “Our team trusts Kenny Pickett. He’s a leader on the field.”

Shawn Watson will be the first returning offensive coordinator in the last four years which will add to the consistency of the offense. He feels Pickett has improved each day of camp.

“We’ve talked several times. He just needs to be Kenny. He needs to continue to develop and improve himself. That’s his whole mindset,” Watson said. “He doesn’t think he’s arrived. If his game isn’t perfect, he doesn’t fret, he just goes back to work. He has a real good demeanor in handling the quarterback position.”

Junior wide receiver Aaron Matthews feels Pickett shows leadership both on and off the field. He is looking forward to an exciting season.

“Kenny is a great quarterback in all ways. He’s always there to pick us up if we’re down,” Matthews said. “Camp is going pretty well. There’s always things we need to work on. I feel our wide receivers bring a lot of excitement. We have a lot of young guys and older guys so I think we have a lot of pieces.”

As the Panthers have been hitting the field for practice each day, they are continuing a slogan they have used since Narduzzi took over as head coach four years ago.

“Every time we go out on the field we’re going to lock the gates and take care of our business,” Narduzzi said. “We’ve had that slogan here for awhile. We want to lock the gates every game. That’s our goal–to lock the gates and finish our business.”

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