QB Pickett at heart of Pitt plans

Narduzzi feel good about where the Panthers sit this March, and that feeling starts with his quarterback. Given the way KennyPickett — still technically a freshman, mind you, but now a sophomore as far as football is concerned — performed in taking down Miami, with two rushing touchdowns and one passing, discussion of his development was unavoidable the first time Pitt reconvened for spring ball.

And by all accounts, that development is going quite well. It began with Pickett and offensive coordinator Shawn Watson sitting down and dissecting film from a defensive perspective, then moving on to situational football and game management. From there, Watson — also Pitt’s quarterbacks coach — and Pickett delved deeper into the passing game and offensive line protections as they relate to Watson’s playbook. Not a bad winter warmup for the 6-foot2, 225-pounder Narduzzi called “clearly the No. 1 guy” under center.

“He really grew — fast,” Watson said of Pickett’s ascent from thirdstringer to season-finale starter. “It goes back to when I first knew him, just as a guy who football comes easy. He loves it, he loves to study it, he wants to be a really good player, and that’s where it really begins. He’s willing to work at it. A lot of guys aren’t. A lot of guys say they are, but they don’t. He says he does, and then he does it.”

Watson has always viewed Pickett as a cool customer, and Pickett has always projected that demeanor, as well. To that end, it’s almost surprising to hear Pickett acknowledge that he feels even more confident now than he did his freshman year — and that it’s all happeningso fast.

“I mean, yeah. Coming in, that’s your mindset — you wanna be the guy,” Pickett said. “It was a lot of hard work to get here, and obviouslyit doesn’t stop.”

Working with Pickett on the first unit Pitt put on the field Monday was Darrin Hall at running back, Chris Clark at tight end and Rafael AraujoLopes, Maurice Ffrench and Aaron Mathews at receiver. From left to right, the offensive line consisted of Jerry Drake, Bryce Hargrove, Jimmy Morrissey, Mike Herndon and Alex Bookser.

Defensively, there didn’t appear to be any major changes from last year in the front seven. But in the back end, sophomore Jason Pinnock got the first repetitions opposite Dane Jackson at cornerback, while Damar Hamlin and Phil Campbell manned the first-team safety spots. One of the more interesting notes from the day was that highly regarded freshman Paris Ford, who redshirted last year, is now seeing more time at cornerbackthan safety.

Onthe injury front, fullback George Aston and receiver Tre Tipton appear to be mostly recovered from the injuries that held them out last season. For as positive as last season ended, this remains a team that is coming off the first bowl-less season for the program since 2007. Naturally, the Panthers are hungry to correct that asa new year begins.

“We got a lot of motivation this year, a lot of fuel. We’re feeling like we shouldwin the ACC and be a 10- or 11-win team,” Ford said. “We didn’t make a bowl game, that’s rare for Pitt. We’re usually always in the big dance, so I feel like we got a chip on our shoulderthis year.”