Camp over, it’s time to play
No pressure, kid.
• Redshirt junior wide receiver Tre Tipton is a force of nature — off the field, at least. The team’s ApolloRidge High School graduate might or might not factor into a deep mix of wideouts, but since the summer 2017 injury that deprived him of his sophomore season, Tipton has taken it upon himself to try to help his fellow Pitt athletes. And in the process, he has helped himself. Tipton and classmate Elee Khalil started an on-campus program last summer called L.O.V.E., which stands for Living Out Victoriously Everyday. “It helps studentathletes who deal with depression, anxiety and injury,” Tipton said. “The goal is basically, through community, to help student-athletes come together as one and help each other out.”
Tipton was overjoyed to see some of his teammates participate in the events, and you can count safety Jazzee Stocker among those who proudly wear a L.O.V.E. bracelet on their wrists. “With injuries, everybody knows you go through a hardship, you go through some hard times, and it becomes very difficult,” Tipton said. “With that said, if you have a positive mindset, it’s very possible to come back better than you were before.”
• For all the talk of Pitt’s defense taking a step up, the biggest question is still how the secondary will fare. As redshirt senior cornerback Phillipie Motley put it, “we’re definitely trying to put the weight of how the defense goes on us; we know that people have said we’ve been a weak link.”
Returning starter Dane Jackson should be a reliable cornerback on one side, but whoever wins Avonte Maddox’s old job on the other — be it the veteran Motley, rangy sophomore Jason Pinnock or possibly freshman Paris Ford — could make all the difference. There’s also the matter of finding the player to line up next to free safety Damar Hamlin, and all three of senior captain Dennis Briggs, redshirt sophomore Phil Campbell and Stocker might get a look there to replace Jordan Whitehead.
• Redshirt sophomore kicker Alex Kessman has been impressive. One of the few kicks he missed in front of the media this month was a 58-yard try that bounced off the left upright, and Narduzzi went out of his way a couple of times to mention his progress and leg strength. “Kessman’s been whacking the heck out of balls,” Narduzzi said Tuesday. “That guy has been hitting 82 percent of his field goals right now.” Carrying that into the Sept. 1 opener against Albany and beyond would be a major improvement for Kessman, who was just 58 percent on field goals a year ago.
For his part, Kessman said he feels comfortable with second-year long-snapper Cal Adomitis and his new holder, redshirt freshman backup kicker Jake Scarton. Speaking of Scarton, he has looked the part of an ACC kicker in practice as well, a good sign if Kessman’s accuracy struggles resurface.
• Lastly, one of these years, the Panthers might be prepping for Duquesne or Robert Morris instead of Albany or Villanova. The Dukes are at least good enough for West Virginia, which added them to its 2023 schedule, so it’s fair to wonder if they’ll ever be a consideration for their Oakland neighbors, right? “I think it’d be cool, “Narduzzi said. “That’s a good football team, yeah, there’s no question. I mean, we could go out of state and play somebody, but I think anytime you can keep it in state — we’ve talked about that other instate rivalry — but I think it’d be great for the City of Pittsburgh to play a Duquesne or a Robert Morris. … I guess we could play Youngstown State, but why not play Duquesne? I have no problem with that.”
Then again, the Dukes lost the first game of the new college football season to Massachusetts, 63-15, Saturday night, so maybe they still have a long way to go to be an intriguing opponent for Pitt. We’ll see if Vincent Testaverde, Vinny’s son, and Albany fare any better at Heinz Field Saturday.