Narduzzi: Parents in stands would be 'safer' for players

Last week Pat Narduzzi made a public plea to Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf to allow parents to Pitt players into Heinz Field to watch during games. 

On Monday, Narduzzi took it further, arguing that allowing parents to attend games would help keep players safe from contracting COVID-19.

"The safest thing for everybody to do is put those parents in those stands," Narduzzi said via Zoom on Monday. "They're going to be with our kids afterwards. If we don't want any problems and we want to play football, that's the best thing to do."

After Pitt beat Louisville 23-20 on Saturday at Heinz Field, captain and redshirt senior center Jimmy Morrissey took to Twitter to also plead to Governor Wolf for his parents to be allowed to attend games at Heinz Field:

Narduzzi's argument for parents to attend games being safer stems from worries that parents are having to watch the games from unsafe environments before they see their sons play after Pitt games.

"I hope it's starting to boil up," Narduzzi said when asked if Morrissey's tweet was a sign of frustration from players and parents. "These parents are still coming here. Kenny [Pickett]'s parents are meeting him at the stadium every game like it's any other year. Why can't we put them in section 138 with nobody around them in a 75,000 seat stadium? I'd rather them be there than in some bar watching with who knows who will be there. After the game those parents are going to be with our kids. That to me is the scariest part. I still don't understand it."

Aaron Martin of WPXI noted in a report that both Steelers' officials and Pitt officials will meet the Pennsylvania Health Department this week on the possibility of fans attending the stadium:

Narduzzi wouldn't confirm whether fans or parents would attend Pitt's next game against North Carolina State on Noon this Saturday at Heinz Field. But he did say there was a chance of that happening, and stated that the priority, before fans, would be making sure parents could be in the stands.

"I think there's a chance," Narduzzi said when asked if there was a chance fans could attend Saturday's game. "We don't know right now but I'll say my prayers tonight. If there's a chance, I don't know when we'll know but I think there's a chance. Parents are the number one thing, I'll fight for them but there's a chance for anything, who knows? That's for the governor to decide. That's not for me, Heather Lyke or the chancellor, that's for the governor to make the decision and make sure we're all safe. We trust he'll make the right decision. We all want the parents to come, the families to come, the fans to come and the band to come. But the governor has to do what he feels is best for everybody involved and I'm sure he will. The smaller it is, I think it's safer."

When it comes to safety, Narduzzi maintains that Pitt has gotten the job done so far. Saturday's win over Louisville was the first time this season that no Pitt players would miss the game due to COVID-19 complications, after three players missed the team's win over Syracuse, and seven players missed the season opening win over Austin Peay.

But Narduzzi doesn't see that success as a reason for his players to let up in their vigilance to avoid situations that might expose them to COVID-19. 

"Our figures have been low from the beginning," Narduzzi said. "They've been really low. We haven't done anything different than use the constant reminder that it can happen to you. Whether it's sticking up all the postponed games from last week or this week, we remind them they're one game away. I talked to them after the game about how, I guess the bars are open, and I told them they're not allowed to go to bars. Bars are off limits." 

"I don't care who opens them up or if you know the bartender," Narduzzi continued. "The bars are closed and they shouldn't hang out with a girl who's been to a bar. I check to see if they have a stamp on their hand and if they did, I wouldn't let them in. I would say, 'see you after this season's over.' I constantly stay on them and remind them that we're not out of the woods yet. We could go from zero to having 17 in quarantine this week. That's what everybody needs to realize. Just because we're good right now doesn't guarantee we'll be good in the future."

Narduzzi also indicated it's not just him and the coaching staff pushing the message for players to be careful. He added that he didn't even know college bars were open, and that it was his captains who informed him and emphasized that he remind players to avoid going to bars I the team won.

"Friday night we ate dinner with the captains and that's how I found out about the bars," Narduzzi said. "They were the ones who told me that and got me to remind the players after the game. It's a dangerous spot for our kids to be in right now. If you want to play football that's not a spot you need to be in. Everybody wants to go have a celebration after a game and go out and have fun, but you can't do it."

Week three of college football was also a reminder of why Pitt's players can't take risks, as seven college football games were either postponed or cancelled. It had been the most games that were either cancelled or postponed yet this season. That number doesn't include Syracuse's game against Georgia Tech, which was delayed due to complications with COVID-19 test results.

"We haven't had any problems," Narduzzi said of Pitt's testing process. "When I wake up in the morning I know. The first weekend I know at Midnight. I found out at 5:51 a.m. this Saturday that we were good to go. I don't know what happened at Syracuse just so we can be prepared if that happens to us. You get two tests, they swab you stick in a vial, then do it again. If one comes out positive then they go to the second one and if that one's positive, then you're positive. There should be no delaying of a football game. So I don't know what happened there. But we have not had any issues."

Pitt's first game without any missing players due to COVID-19 was a good sign that the message is being received across the board. But Narduzzi's challenge to his players is unrelenting, as he reminds them it's a process they have to maintain every week if they want to have a complete season.

"It's the kids," Narduzzi said when asked about who the emphasis on to keep up Pitt's success in managing their COVID-19 protocols. "They have to do it, they have to want it, and I talk about every week they need to earn the right to play another game. We have to earn the right this week to play number four. That's what scares you; what happened this weekend after the game? What did they do? Where did they go? Can't babysit them."

• Pitt would be ranked as No. 24 in both the AP Top 25 Poll after their win over Louisville Saturday. It would be a three-spot drop from being ranked No. 21 in the same poll last week, despite the team beating Louisville, who ranked No. 24 last week, and being undefeated at 3-0 on the season, and 2-0 in the ACC. 

The drop was due to five teams from the Big Ten and the PAC-12 being added back into the poll with their seasons now set to begin on October 24th, for the Big Ten, and November 6th, for the PAC-12. Those teams were: Ohio State (6), Penn State (10), Oregon (14), Wisconsin (19) and Michigan (23).

• On Monday, Pitt announced an official time to be 4 p.m. for their October 11th matchup with Boston College at Alumni Stadium:

• After redshirt senior defensive end Rashad Weaver and redshirt junior linebacker Cam Bright won awards for best ACC defensive lineman and linebacker last week, Patrick Jones II was announced to be the ACC defensive lineman of the week after his three-sack performance against Louisville:

• Redshirt senior kicker Alex Kessman was named as a 'star of the week' by the Lou Groza Award for hitting all three of his field goals of 45, 42 and 41 yards, along with his two extra points. Those eleven points were crucial in Pitt's three-point win over Louisville:

Narduzzi noted some coaching changes to the week's approach helped Kessman's effort.

"Special teams obviously saw some great things," Narduzzi said about the unit's performance from Saturday. "There was some emphasis we made on our punt coverage team. We had two penalties the week before and our gunners weren't very good, but we went old school and turned back the tide on that. Obviously the field goal team changed up some things we were doing. We had the whole team yelling and screaming at Kessman on Thursday while he was kicking."

• Narduzzi noted the exceptional performance of true freshman receiver Jordan Addison who led the Panthers with seven catches for 77 yards and a touchdown (his second of the season), but also currently leads all ACC receivers with 21 receptions through three games.

"I didn't realize Jordan was leading the ACC in catches," Narduzzi said. "But it seems like with seven catches every game, he's done a nice job. There's a couple I would like to take back on some missed deep balls but he's done more than I thought. I compared Jordan's first game to Quadree Henderson's and Jordan's going to keep getting better as the season goes on. We just need to get him the ball."

• As Pitt's defense leads the NCAA with 17 team sacks, a feat that Narduzzi doesn't seem surprised about. He credited the success of his defensive pass rush to both his players and the scheme defensive coordinator Randy Bates. 

Pitt uses a lot of defenses with a 3-3-5 defense that uses three down linemen, three linebackers and five defensive backs. As Narduzzi explains, the purpose of the formation is to provide too many potential blitzing options for offensive lines to consider and raise the chances of a miscommunication and his actual pass rushers getting an advantage on the snap of the ball.

"That's all we do," Narduzzi said when asked about the formation. "That's why we like that 3-3-5 front. There's a threat of multiple guys going. Phil Campbell's had an incredible year so far and may be the unsung hero of the defense. He plays fast, hard tough. You have to worry about Phil, Cam Bright, SirVocea Dennis and which one of those guys are you going to block? When there's seven of them sitting up there and you're trying to change protections, it's hard. That's the scheme part of it. There's a lot of indecision."

Narduzzi would go on to explain how his team will prepare for North Carolina State's offense that will try to counter such an approach, noting their willingness to use two quarterbacks in redshirt sophomore Devin Leary and redshirt junior Bailey Hockman.

"North Carolina State is going to come out and gap protect and sprint out to get away from the pressure. We'll have to work against that and be prepared for them to max protect and leave no seams. Depending on whether Leary or Hockman, I don't know which quarterback we're going to face, but I expect to see both." 

He also went on to say that Pitt's offense will most likely see a similar look from North Carolina State's defense, noting their similarity in how they can present multiple blitzing players pre-snap in defensive coordinator Tony Gipson's scheme.

"They're in a 3-3 stack," Narduzzi said of North Carolina State's defense. "They can bring pressure from everywhere so you have to be aware. I know Tony recruiting-wise and we've hung out at some airport gates to talk ball. He's been a great coordinator so they've always had success and I'm sure he'll have those guys ready when they come to Pittsburgh."