Whitehead plays during 1st day in pads
Personal matters keep WR Mathews from taking field
After not being seen during the media viewing window for either of the first two practices, Pitt safety Jordan Whitehead was in practice uniform and pads Thursday morning on the South Side.
Pat Narduzzi’s somewhat murky explanation of Whitehead the first day of camp — that he’ll be “in and out” — still bears watching, as do defensive coordinator Josh Conklin’s comments Wednesday that his starting job is up for grabs.
But for now, Thursday’s practice time serves as a development in the Whitehead saga. He remains slated to miss the first three weeks of the season, but having him at practice surely couldn’t hurt.
“We gotta monitor him, we gotta make sure that we do a good job of getting him in there enough that he can stay in tune,” Conklin said. “We’ll monitor those reps during fall camp to make sure he has a chance to win that job back, obviously.”
In the meantime, Narduzzi, too, wants Whitehead to stay locked in as much as possible. He noted that free safety candidates Jazzee Stocker and Bricen Garner have looked good “covering guys in shorts” — a good reminder of just how early it is in this training camp, but also just how long Whitehead’s three-game suspension will factor into the equation.
“Jordan will compete when he gets back,” Narduzzi said Thursday morning before Whitehead headed out for practice. “I’m sure he’ll be hungry, too. There’s always competition at every position. There’s nothing given to anybody. You have to earn it, earn that Pitt jersey and play the day.”
And now we know, Whitehead played this day.
Mathews out
While one Panther was back, another one is not.
Sophomore wide receiver Aaron Mathews hasn’t been spotted yet this week, and Narduzzi confirmed the former Clairton standout is missing practice time as offensive coordinator Shawn Watson continues installing his playbook and terminology.
Mathews’ early absence has some significance because he might have the inside track on being the No. 3 receiver in light of Tre Tipton’s season-ending injury. Mathews played in 12 games and started three last year as a freshman, used mostly for his blocking but also catching six passes for 51 yards. He was most visible in the season finale, hauling in two grabs for 35 yards in the Pinstripe Bowl.
“He’s a guy that’s got some personal obligations he’s trying to take care of right now, as well as a lot of other guys,” Narduzzi said. “He’s got some things going on right now he’s gotta take care of, but we expect to have him back here the end of next week, so he’s good.”
Perhaps this is a chance for receivers such as sophomore Maurice Ffrench, redshirt junior Rafael AraujoLopes and redshirt freshman Ruben Flowers to make their marks, or even freshman Dontavius ButlerJenkins, an impressive newcomer thus far.
New addition official
It was only a matter of time, but it appears graduate transfer Brandon Hodges has been added to the roster. Narduzzi tweeted video of Hodges working out, with the caption, “Great to have a new player added to the Offensive Line at practice today!!”
Narduzzi had alluded to Hodges’ presence at his prepractice briefing earlier in the day, but this must mean the former Texas offensive lineman is good to go. Hodges had been on the sideline the first two days, but not in uniform. Narduzzi’s clip on Twitter had Hodges in No. 58, which is worn by Quintin Wirginis on defense.
Position flip
Speaking of the offensive line, it has another new addition of sorts — but one who’s really not new.
Narduzzi said redshirt junior Mike Herndon has switched from defensive tackle to offensive line for training camp. Herndon was on defense in the spring after moving there in the middle of last season, but he started his Pitt career on the other side of the ball where he is now. The latest move for Herndon is one that helps shore up some depth in the trenches, especially with guard Alex Bookser suspended for the season opener.
“Mike is gonna do a little bit of both,” Narduzzi said. “We started him off on offense because he started on defense in the spring, but Mike selflessly said, ‘Coach, I’ll go do whatever you need,’ and I think he’ll be a great addition there.”
Herndon appeared in six games last year at nose tackle, notching two tackles and a sack.
Pitt gets votes
Preseason NCAA football polls shouldn’t mean anything, but they do — so it’s better to start out with a few votes than no votes at all. Then, the bug is at least planted. Folks are at least entertaining the thought that you could be a good team.
Take Pitt, for example; the Panthers are No. 32 in the first coaches poll. They wound up with 45 points (you get 25 for a No. 1 vote and one point for a No. 25 vote, etc.), putting them behind Notre Dame (49) and Texas A&M (46), and ahead of N.C. State (39).
The threshold for the Top 25 was Utah’s 109 points, so there’s ground to be made up. Pitt will have its shot early; Penn State is ranked No. 6 and Oklahoma State No. 11.
Five other ACC teams made the Top 25: Florida State at No. 3, Clemson at No. 5, Louisville at No. 17, Miami at No. 18 and Virginia Tech at No. 22.