Everything about playing sports in 2020 has been complicated, and those complications don't stop with Pitt figuring out its plans for the team's final home game against Virginia Tech 4 p.m. this Saturday at Heinz Field.
Not just because the team has multiple players who tested positive for COVID-19, or its game against Georgia Tech that's been postponed to Dec. 12, but also because it's senior day on Saturday, as it's the final home game of the season.
Senior day is normally a simple celebration and acknowledgment of the team's seniors and a sendoff to celebrate their contributions to the program. But with the NCAA's eligibility waiver that grants any player an extra year of eligibility if the choose to use it, the question of which seniors will use the waiver has lingered all season.
No player currently playing for the team has declared for the draft or publicly indicated they would use the waiver, but Pat Narduzzi did provide insight on which seniors he expects back next season.
"We've got ten seniors right now who will have senior day on Saturday," Narduzzi said on Thursday. "These are the guys we expect to move on to the next chapter of their lives. But that doesn't mean they can't change their mind from Saturday and onward. The guys who I don't mention are the ones that have indicated they might stay. They're going to evaluate the situation after three more games, but we've had preliminary talks."
"Our captains will be out there for senior day in Kenny Pickett, Jimmy Morrissey, Damar Hamlin and Patrick Jones. We'll also see D.J. Turner, Jason Pinnock, Rashad Weaver, Phil Campbell, Bryce Hargrove and Alex Kessman. I expect those guys to move on, however, they've got time. The guys I didn't mention are guys who've said they want to come back for another year, but they can still change their minds. It's a fluid situation, but I'm excited for all our guys regardless of whether they're moving on or staying."
Rumors on Pickett picked up Wednesday, but were swatted down by the quarterback on his own Twitter account as he indicated he'll make his decision after the season. You can read about all those developments in our Livewire file that tracks daily Pitt developments here.
But the rest of the players have been asked the same question about the waiver all throughout the season. Most of their responses have been similar, if not identical, to how Jones answered the question on Wednesday.
"I don't really think about that," Jones said when asked about using the waiver. "I haven't really thought about it with three more games ahead of me. We still have Virginia Tech, Clemson and Georgia Tech. That's my mindset right now."
Regardless of Jones holding the line of players staying hush about using the waiver, it's obvious he's among the top candidates for Pitt to declare for the 2021 NFL Draft and forego using the waiver. His eight sacks on the season are the second most in the country and have gotten him named to the watchlist as an All-America candidate, as well as for the Ted Hendricks Award, Bronko Nagurski Trophy and Chuck Bednarik Award. He's developed into one of Pitt's most dominant players in 2020.
"Coach (Charlie) Partridge has done a great job in developing his pass rush," Narduzzi said of Jones' development. "When Patrick goes to the NFL they're going to see he's really coached up and he's going to be a guy that can help someone right away. But I've seen him grow as a person. He's a captain and he's grown into being that leader. He's come so far, but that's what we expected. He's a character guy with good parents. He's made good strides on and off the field. He's a 'yes sir, no sir' guy who takes coaching on and off the field, and he's done an incredible job. He's a model guy. I want my son to be just like Patrick Jones."
Outside of Jaylen Twyman and Paris Ford, both who've opted out of the 2020 season, Jones is Pitt's highest graded prospect of the remaining seniors still playing. Any decision from him to skip the opportunity to use the waiver isn't a surprise.
However players like Pickett, Morrissey, Hamlin and Pinnock are more surprises as none of them have had stellar seasons that have vaulted them to prominence among this year's prospective draft class.
Pickett has played very well, scoring 14 touchdowns on the season, eight throwing and six rushing, with only three interceptions. But with an injury that interrupted his season and the lack of explosive numbers with 1,599 passing yards, 24th most in the NCAA, Pickett's draft stock won't be extremely high.
Similar observations can be made about the rest of the nine expected seniors to move on from Pitt who Narduzzi named.
From the seniors Narduzzi didn't name, most are players who didn't start for the entire season or were injured at some point.
Here's a full list of those seniors:
• RB A.J. Davis: has been a backup behind sophomore Vincent Davis.
• WRs Tre Tipton, Taysir Mack: Tipton was the fifth option at receiver this season and has missed multiple prior seasons due to injury. Mack missed the team's first two games and went from being Pickett's top option to falling behind Jordan Addison in production at receiver. He's had several bad drops this season in key moments, so it makes sense he would like to put out better tape for NFL scouts.
• OT Keldrick Wilson: Wilson has filled in sporadically for a struggling offensive line, and hasn't done too well. He could use another year for a chance at development and maybe playing with an improved offensive line next season.
• LBs Chase Pine, John Petrishen: Pine took over the starting job at Mike linebacker once Wendell Davis went down early in the season and has held that job. But he may want to benefit from being part of a talented linebacker group next season with young promising players like Cam Bright, Davis, and SirVocea Dennis. Petrishen's primary experience has been on special teams, so him returning for more playing time would also make sense.
• TEs Lucas Krull, Jake Zilinskas: Krull was the transfer tight end who was supposed to become a serious red zone target for Pickett, but early season injuries sidelined him for all but one game. Him and Zilinskas returning to a tight end department without any big returning names puts both with a chance to play more in 2021.
• DT Keyshon Camp: Camp was one of the unsung seniors Narduzzi was excited to have back this season after he suffered an injury that held him out of most of 2019. But he suffered injuries again this season, keeping him out for most of the year. He would stand a good chance to get playing time if he returned.
• CB Damarri Mathis: Injured before the season even began, Mathis was noted to be expected to return as he could burn his redshirt year. But with the waiver, he has the option to use either. Expect him to be the senior member of the cornerback room next year as the secondary regroups.
• LS Cal Aldomitis: He's the longsnapper, so any more tape he can put out for scouts would be positive, as it's very hard to get noticed in his position.
Regardless of which seniors do return next season, or which players will even be available to play Saturday, Narduzzi made a point to note that Pitt's players are focused on preparing for the upcoming game against Virginia Tech.
"We'll continue to wait for results, but our kids have been locked in and focused," Narduzzi said. "They obviously have questions in the back of their minds about whether we'll play, much like we did in August. It's a touch-and-go deal and we'll play as we go. My job is to coach and get our team prepared to play a football game. Our staff has done a great job of game planning and putting it out there. Our kids have done a great job too. We'll see how yesterday's results come out and Friday's as well."
• Narduzzi provided clarity to the rule about how long a player must be out or if they test positive or show symptoms of COVID-19. This is very relevant to Pitt's current situation considering running backs coach Andrew Powell said the team would be missing a 'main-line' player, as noted in my story from Tuesday.
"It is ten days from when they test positive or display symptoms," Narduzzi said. "Whether or not if they get a positive, if they display the wrong symptoms then we have to go based on that. Those ten day predictions can get tough to predict, but we urge everyone to call the trainer as soon as they think they have symptoms. We've had one person out for the entire week, and we didn't think he had it. We also don't think he has it now. But we held him out the whole week because we couldn't let him in the bubble until he tested again."