Pitt, Narduzzi land Hoosiers wide receiver
Panthers coach makes good on plan to stay active
Pat Narduzzi isn’t just flipping recruits anymore. Now, he’s flipping players from other schools.
Thursday, Pitt’s coach cashed in on what amounted to a promise Wednesday that his offseason additions weren’t done yet. Seemingly out of nowhere, he announced the signing of Taysir Mack, a wide receiver who started eight games for the Indiana Hoosiers this past season but will transfer to Pitt and enroll in January.
Mack will have to sit out the upcoming season per NCAA transfer regulations, and likely will lose a year of eligibility given that he was a redshirt freshman at Indiana.
“Taysir brings experience to our wide receiver room,” Narduzzi said in a tweet. “He has a previous relationship with our offensive coordinator, Shawn Watson, and was recruited to Indiana by our offensive quality control [coach], James Patton.”
Originally a three-star prospect out of Grand Street Campus High School in Brooklyn, N.Y., 6-foot-2, 200pound Mack caught 23 passes for 310 yards and three touchdowns this past season for Indiana, where Watson was an offensive quality control coach in 2016. Mack came on strong toward the end of the season, especially in the finale against Purdue when he hauled in seven balls for 132 yards and a score to cap his Hoosiers career with 14 receptions in his final three games.
It appears that Mack’s move came as a shock to all but him and Pitt’s staff, given that he never even announced he was leaving Indiana. But while discussing his 2018 recruiting yield, Narduzzi had said there was more to do. He wasn’t lying.
“We’re going to go back and look,” he said Wednesday afternoon after signing 15 players. “It’s a day-by-day deal.”
Literally, in this case. Narduzzi also implied there will be more defections from Pitt’s current roster, adding, “you look and see what you have, and who’s happy, who’s not.” For his part, he wasn’t entirely happy himself with his depth at wideout.
While Mack won’t help that next year, it’s not a stretch to think that with a year of development, he could be Pitt’s go-to target in 2019.
It’s unusual that he’ll give up a year to play by redshirting twice in his career, but not unprecedented. Former Pitt receiver Dontez Ford had to do the same when he redshirted as a freshman at Syracuse, then transferred to Pitt in January and was unable to suit up until the bowl game.
“No question about it, when you look at needs, we really wanted to get some guys in at mid-year,” Narduzzi said when asked about recruiting pass-catchers. “You’d like to have one here now, and we don’t have that right now, but we’ll get them in.”
And they did with Mack, which could very well be a precursor to more moves. They might not happen before the NCAA’s new early signing period ends at 11:59 p.m. Friday, but the Panthers figure to still be in pursuit of players.
“There’s always movement on your team,” Narduzzi said. “People want to play. And I think that makes you better if guys are afraid to compete and they want to move on — like we had — that you add to it. But we’ll continue to evaluate. It’s a work in progress, really.”
Don’t be stunned to see Pitt add another veteran offensive lineman, as it did a year ago just before training camp in Texas transfer Brandon Hodges. The Panthers had inquired about Trevor Elbert, a junior college tackle who played with new Pitt quarterback Ricky Town at Ventura College, but Elbert signed Wednesday with Central Florida.
Narduzzi might not continue courting one of his own verbal pledges, tight end Matt Alaimo, who opted not to sign yet and now has de-committed. But while that plays out, Pitt could look at other tight ends and has entered the mix for three-star New Jersey defensive end Kaymar Mimes, who Monday committed to Rutgers but hasn’t signed. Mimes, whose brother is NFL linebacker Shilique Calhoun, who played for Narduzzi at Michigan State, is scheduled to visit Pitt next month.
There always could be more surprises, such as fourstar tailback Mychale Salahuddin, who recently dropped his Southern California commitment and put Pitt in his top five, or even someone completely off the radar such as Mack. Narduzzi seems to enjoy smuggling in recruits under cover of darkness, i.e., without much public information about who’s doing what.
Speaking of Twitter activity, Thursday afternoon, Narduzzi posted a graphic of Pitt’s 2018 class. It now includes all 17 official signees, from No. 1 Devin Danielson to late-blooming Mack, and a simple message: “Stay tuned …”