What Narduzzi Said Thursday About Pitt-NC State Matchup
PITTSBURGH — Pitt football is two days out from its ACC matchup with NC State at Acrisure Stadium as the Panthers look to make it four wins in a row.
Head coach Pat Narduzzi spoke for the final time Thursday ahead of the Pitt vs NC State matchup.
Here’s what Narduzzi had to say Thursday:
– Opening statement: “Week eight, or really week nine, but eighth game of the season. I think our guys are excited, they’re ready to roll. Got three good days of work in, and got to go out and execute. Got to play a complete game to win the game. I think it’s a really good North Carolina State football team, and the execution will be prime.”
– On Pitt CB Shadarian Harrison limited vs. Syracuse: “When I say game time, he got banged up in pregame. He got a knee to the quad in a tackling drill over on the sideline there. When I say game time, he got nicked. We didn’t know, he went back in, got a little massage, and he was good to go. But he didn’t play much. He didn’t play at all, did he? Maybe specialties, maybe specialties. But he was still, he was bothered a little bit, but he’s good to go now. Even though I’m not giving you any reports.”
– On any ACC teams getting feedback on the availability reports: “No, no, I mean, I think everybody fudges them, no feedback. I mean, last week, the one receiver, number 12, they said was probable, I think, is that what it was? Big, tall guy, but he obviously, we can tell, pregame, he went. So you still go out pregame, you’re watching what their guys look like, what our guys look like, who looks like they’re ready to go, who’s not, who’s taking reps, that kind of thing. You still got to hunt, same as it was a long time ago.”
– On Narduzzi’s relationship with NC State coach Dave Doeren: “Just through all the ACC meetings we have. I mean, we’ve been on different events, we golf together. So those different events that you go on, that’s primarily where ACC meetings, down in Amelia Island, you spend time with them, so.
– On Pitt punter Caleb Junko dropping snaps: “No, he stood about three yards from the jugs machine this week, so we should have no more problems with that. He did that a few years ago, I think it was at Duke, you guys remember? We haven’t had a problem since, so we went back to old school, what we used to do, and he’ll be fine. If you look at it, and again, new snapper, he’s got a new snapper with him. I don’t know if it’s a different type of ball that’s come about, but never had that problem through camp. I have no concern there, he’s a strong, tough kid, Junk’s good. He’s just taking his eyes off the ball, he’s got great hands. He’s got excellent hands, really, a guy who can play receiver. Any time you do this, you start looking down the field, looking what’s going on, just catch the ball first, eyes and hands.”
– On Mason Heintschel progressing this week: “He’s had a good week, he’s had a good week, normal. Normal, he’s looked good.”
– On if Narduzzi feels that Pitt has figured things out at this point of the season: “Not really, to me it’s a one by one, and you can figure it out one week and be awful the next week. It’s like when we had two-game losing streak, it was like, hey, we’re just gonna find a different way to do it. Instead of 7-0, we’re gonna run off seven here. But it’s just one game at a time, and it all depends on who you have on the field. It comes down to execution, take care of the details. We didn’t take care of the details last week on offense. If we do that again this week, we’ll be in big trouble.”
– On if Pitt will experiment at all with different defensive formations with thin linebacker numbers: “Not really, we feel good with what we got out there, and we just keep playing. I mean, it’s what we do, how we do it, and our guys know what to do.”
– On Pitt K Trey Butkowski: “He’s been really consistent, just keep giving us Trey what he does, he’s a strong kid. So for high school kids, this is a long season, right? I mean, you get to game eight, week nine, they’re like, usually they’re in the playoffs already in high school. So week by week, it’s a challenge every week. We just gotta keep staying on them and details along the way.”
– On Pitt defensive tackle room: “Keep knocking on wood, just the consistency, really. I mean, there’s not the ups and downs. They make mistakes, and you guys don’t see it, but we see the little things that they could do a lot better. But number one, we can count on them. They’re healthy, they take care of their bodies. Those are usually the guys that get banged up, but they’ve stayed healthy. They keep their feet moving all the time, and they penetrate. They have to have a great game this week, that offense line. You’ll see them, they play low, they play with low pads, and they’re physical.”
– On anyone standing out in the Pitt d-tackle room: “Yeah, Ghost is kind of removed from that one, with all the defensive end he’s been playing. So those three are the guys that stand out. Jahsear just keeps getting better. He’s a guy that every time he comes in there, he ends up making a play, whether it’s a sack or a fumble recovery. He’s been a pleasant surprise from where we were in the preseason camp. But all three of those guys, I can’t tell you, Francis had a great weekend last Saturday. He needs to keep having those every week. He should be the defensive player of the week, every week, inside. He’s strong, he’s powerful. Fitz, I mean, they’re all good. I mean, they’re all good. Nick James, he’s been impressive.”
– On what’s surprised Narduzzi about Mason Heintschel so far: “Just his leadership, I guess, just for a freshman. He’s got some stuff to him. That’s probably the biggest thing I see. Just, we’ll see how he does. He had an average day last week, we gotta be winning this week…Yeah, he’s just got a little knack to do that, not that the other guys don’t. But he just, he gets around them. If you just followed a camera on the sideline, he’s not just sitting on his iPad, he’s going up and down. Where you see NFL guys doing that on Sundays, going out and telling their guys. I mean, I’m sure Aaron Rodgers does that, I don’t get to watch any games. But that’s important, I mean, you can’t really teach that. You either have it or you don’t.”
– On why Narduzzi said earlier in the week that NC State is the most talented team: “Well, I think it starts up front, right? I mean, I think anytime you’re really good up front, their o- line is really good, their tight end is good. And their d-line is good. I mean, to me, if you’re strong up front, they control the line of scrimmage. I mean, they’re gonna put pressure on their quarterback. They’re gonna get TFL in the run game if we aren’t good. Then the same thing the other way, if we can’t get penetration, if we can’t stop the run because of the power and leverage they’re playing with, they’re a tough football team. There’s no question about it up front, the run game will be tough for us to stop, and we’ll have to buckle them up.
– On what makes NC State RB Hollywood Smothers so effective: “He’s got great speed. I mean, it starts there. He’s got the Desmond Reid speed. He’s got ball skills out in the backfield, but he’s a spin runner. He’s never down. You better wait for that whistle. You better leverage the football cuz we showed our guys he’s muddled up in a pile of nothing and all of a sudden he spins out and he comes right out the other end. So our DBs, as they come into the line of scrimmage, they have to leverage the ball. We talk about whether it’s a safety. Don’t think as a safety, come down, the ball’s tackled in here, go like this, cuz he’s coming back out. So everybody’s gotta squeeze the football and leverage it from outside in.”
– On if there’s a downside of a young QB scrambling too much and defaulting to it: “Yeah, I think more of just, I don’t think he was defaulting to it last week. I think it was more of a waiting for the big one to open up and trying to take that shot instead of just take it, just throw it to Justin. It’s okay, that’s six yards. That’s how we had success in those previous games. Just take what they’re giving you. Don’t try to be somebody, everything’s gotta be right for that to happen. We’ll take our shots when we take our shots, but just execute the play and don’t be a hero…Yeah, any time you got a young guy like that, there’s gonna be those ups and downs every week that you go, hey, I gotta work on this, like that’s this week’s, what you preach to him. Then next week, it’ll be something else that, hey, remember. Ball security the week before, so there’s always something. Make sure you tuck it away and protect it.”
– On Pitt TE Malachi Thomas receiving the most snaps of his career at Syracuse: “He’s athletic, and obviously, Justin was banged up. Jake does a nice job, too. So we got three, I think, really good ACC tight ends that we’re gonna move around. Not sure who will start this week, but we feel confident in all three of those guys.”
Offer Alert
The 2025 Pitt football season is here, so take advantage of this limited time offer to sign up and receive all the news and intel surrounding the Panthers. Sign up today — $1 for the first week, plus a complimentary year of access to The Athletic. Click the image below to join!
